Navigating AI in Higher Education: Iona Faculty Publish National Op-Ed
Be part of the conversation at Iona’s fall education conference on September 26: “The Future of Teaching: Writing, Reading and Thinking in the AI Age”
From left to right: Christy Solorio, Ph.D., RN; Ivy Linton Stabell, Ph.D.; Christine Hardigree, Ph.D.; Rob Kissner, MBA.
Iona University faculty made national headlines with the publication of a powerful new op-ed exploring the role of artificial intelligence in higher education.
Authored by Christine Hardigree, Ph.D.; Rob Kissner, MBA; Christy Solorio, Ph.D., RN; and Ivy Linton Stabell, Ph.D., the article – featured in the USA Today Network – showcases Iona’s thoughtful, mission-driven approach to the evolving educational landscape.
“We’re not afraid of AI. Navigating the new landscape it creates will call on all our experience and creativity as educators, but that’s just what the work of teaching and learning has always demanded,” the authors write. “We find good guidance in the words of Thomas Merton: ‘You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.’”
The four faculty are inaugural Presidential Fellows of Iona’s Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning. The Gabelli Center serves as a hub for faculty development and pedagogical innovation, with a special focus on how emerging technologies like AI can enhance — rather than replace — the human-centered work of teaching and learning.
The Future of Teaching: Fall Conference
Be part of the national dialogue on Friday, September 26, as Iona presents its fall conference, “The Future of Teaching: Writing, Reading and Thinking in the AI Age.”
The event will feature John Warner, award-winning writer, educator and author of the acclaimed book, "More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI."
Warner’s keynote will kick off a day of presentations and interactive panels featuring faculty experts sharing creative approaches and classroom-ready strategies to nourish student thinking and inform AI-aware pedagogy in three areas that reach across the curriculum: writing, reading and data science.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged as space is limited.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of 55,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2025, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 6 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review once again named Iona to its “Best Business Schools for 2025,” recognizing both its on-campus and online MBA programs. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with one of the nation’s top hospitals. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.