Grace and Salvatore Palestro Endowed Scholarship

Salvatore Palestro Jr., CPA, was a distinguished accounting educator who dedicated more than five decades of his professional life to Iona.

He began his service with the Iona community in 1961, joining the Accounting Department. Over the course of his career he rose to the rank of professor and was ultimately honored with the title of professor emeritus. He brought real-world professional experience to his teaching, ensuring that students received instruction grounded not only in academic theory but in the practical realities of the accounting profession. Even after his formal retirement, Salvatore continued to contribute to the Iona community, serving as an accounting professor until 2013.

In 2008, Salvatore established the Grace and Salvatore Palestro Endowed Scholarship at Iona to support accounting students, creating it in memory of his parents — Grace and Salvatore Palestro Sr. The endowment remains active today as part of Iona University's scholarship program within the LaPenta School of Business.