Iona announced on Sept. 12 that the new school of business will be named after alumnus Robert V. LaPenta, who donated $17.5 million to the project.

The $37 million project will completely renovate and expand the existing building by the spring of 2020, according to the college.

LaPenta, along with Iona College President Dr. Joseph E. Nyre and the LaPenta School of Business Dean Dr. William Lamb, stood on the steps of McSpedon Hall to make the announcement.

“Bob LaPenta’s gift is important to the future of this school and to generations of students,” Lamb said.

Nyre thanked LaPenta before talking about the school’s new mission for the business program.

“Our new business school is going to be the nucleus of business school elevation strategy,” Nyre said.

The speakers at the event repeated the various amenities which will be included in the new building, such as “smart” classrooms, an expanded trading floor, student lounge areas, faculty administration offices and a video studio. Gensler Architectural Firm and Langan, an engineering and environmental consulting service, are Iona College’s partners on this project.

“Mr. LaPenta has been very actively involved in the design process for the building,” Lamb said in an email interview. “As a trustee he has also played a vital role for many years in supporting the success and improvement of the business school.”

Dozens of staff, faculty and students were in attendance for the announcement. There was free food and giveaways and after the announcement was made a confetti cannon went off. After the event, students were also given a chance to go up and speak to LaPenta in person.

Lamb says that the new building will open opportunities for students and the college as a whole.

“The new building will … [help] us create a stronger sense of community thanks to all these new spaces,” Lamb said. “It will be a crossroads where students, staff, and faculty can meet and work together every day. It will also be the type of facility that helps us attract undergraduate and graduate students.”

Following the announcement and the recent groundbreaking of the new building, some upperclassmen remain nostalgic for the old Hagan Hall.

“I think it was an amazing donation from Mr. LaPenta,” senior Alexandra Guerra said. “I also feel that I came to Iona knowing the business school as Hagan so it’s sad to see the name of the building change, but in the end we have to give credit to the person who donated over $15 million to improve our education. As upset as I am for the name change, if I were Mr. LaPenta and donated that much money to a building, I would also want my name to be on that building.”

Senior Edtznah Verdejo is also thankful for LaPenta’s donation, but says that she will miss Hagan.

“I think that it is out of respect and gratitude that Iona named the School of Business after LaPenta especially since they donated so much money, but it will [take] some getting used to since many of us knew it as Hagan,” Verdejo said. “Not to mention the confusion people are going to have in the future when they say they’re going to LaPenta and don’t classify which one!”

While there have been positive reactions to the announcement, junior Liana Yoanidis thinks that other matters on campus also need attention.

“Although LaPenta’s gift is very generous and will help business students, there are other things which will need to be attended to first,” junior Liana Yoanidis said. “Amend needs new windows and even some of the newer buildings need work.”

LaPenta previously invested in the construction of the LaPenta Student Union Building, the Ryan library and the trading floor for the School of Business. He is also a member of the school’s Board of Trustees.