President Dr. Joseph E. Nyre and the administration addressed several issues, including the new core, the new residence hall, enrollment and upgrades to campus at the Fall Town Hall meeting held Oct. 29 in Romita Auditorium.
Nyre was joined by Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Vincent J. Calluzzo; Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Anne Marie Schettini-Lynch; Vice President for Enrollment Management Mary Beth Carey; Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs Paul J. Sutera; Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, who is the director of the new core; and Student Government Association President and senior Tommy Severin.
“All of us are here to help you [the students] succeed,” Nyre said.
The new core was one of the major focuses of the meeting. It is scheduled to take effect in Fall 2016. It will not affect current students and only applies to those who begin at Iona then or after that time.
The core is reduced by 11 credits (from 57 to 46), which provides students with more flexibility to take additional elective classes outside of their major.
When the new core takes effect, Scientific and Technological Literacy (STL) classes will no longer be counted for one’s science requirement. Students will be required to take a sequence – two consecutive courses – in biology, chemistry or physics. As a result, new classes will be organized in these subjects to account for the large number of non-science majors taking them.
The four-quarter humanities sequence requirement for honors students will not be affected by the new core; it will remain the same.
“I’m interested in hearing more about the new academic core, as that will make a huge impact on future classes,” junior Patrick Lynch said.
The new residence hall was another major issue at the meeting. It is under construction, and the frame for the first floor is being put into place. The building is scheduled to be completed for the start of classes next fall.
The College is negotiating with food vendors and other stores to fill in the first floor of the building. Iona cannot release any names until the paperwork is finalized.
The suites in the new residence hall will house four students per unit; it will be broken down into either four singles or two doubles. It will be apartment-style living.
Each unit will have a kitchenette, which includes a sink, stovetop and microwave. Each floor will have a community kitchen that includes an oven.
One of the goals of building the new residence hall is to make the current residence halls less crowded.
“[Town Hall] was very informative about the new common core and residence hall,” senior Hannah Wyllie said. “I wish that I wasn’t graduating so that I could live in the new building.”
Upgrades have been made across campus, including the following: the science labs, the athletics facilities for students, Vitanza Commons and the roof of the Murphy Center.
SuggarPlums was added to the meal plan. It is a soul food restaurant located at 534 North Ave.
Commencement will likely be held May 21 at Madison Square Garden. Due to a conflict for the Theatre at Madison Square Garden May 14 (the originally intended day of commencement), Iona plans on moving the graduation ceremony back one week, but this plan will not be finalized until the contract is signed.
This schedule will also allow for a “Senior Week” to be held in the period between the end of final exams and graduation. One event that will take place during this time will be senior formal, which is scheduled for May 17.
Calluzzo stressed that one of his major initiatives is to ensure the success of students from the moment they set foot on campus as freshmen to the time they walk across the stage at graduation.
The Samuel Rudin Academic Resource Center hours were expanded, which includes staying open later and having weekend hours. There was a 60 percent increase in student use since the implementation of the online registration system to make appointments at the Rudin Center.
Calluzzo also stated that one of the areas of the student experience he is addressing is advisement.
“Advisement is high on my priority list,” he said.
Carey reported that the freshman class has 838 full-time students, split evenly between males and females.
Sutera spoke about the Iona Forever fundraising campaign. Iona has raised $63.7 million towards its goal of $150 million.
“The fact that we go to a school where the entire senior administration spends their day presenting to students shows a commitment to student-centeredness,” Severin said.

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