Iona College’s annual Heritage Week hosted several events on campus from April 9 to April 15.

“Heritage Week: A Community of Innovators” was sponsored by the Office of Mission and Ministry and coordinated by the Heritage Committee in collaboration with several departments on campus.

Heritage Week hosts various programs across campus with emphasis on the tradition of Edmund Rice, the Christian Brothers in Iona College and its foundations.

Programs included “Meet the Christian Brothers,” “A Community of Innovators Teach In,” “Hands Around Iona,” “Loftus Dinner 2018”—which honors the service of faculty, staff and administrators—and a celebration of spring religious holidays.

Dr. Carl Procario-Foley, director of the Office of Mission and Ministry, believes that Heritage Week helps the college reconnect with its roots.

“Heritage Week is a week that is designated to honor the founders of the college and the founding mission of the college and to celebrate that heritage as an institution,” Procario-Foley said. “We chose the theme ‘A Community of Innovators’ and intentionally started with ‘Meet the Brothers’ as the first event because they really founded the school.”

Iona is the sole Edmund Rice Christian Brother college in the Americas, according to Procario-Foley. He also spoke about the significance of the role of the Christian Brothers as innovators in their creative roles as scholars and artists on campus, acting as “social entrepreneurs.”

The “Meet the Christian Brothers” event, co-sponsored by the Heritage Committee and the Honors Program, was an exhibition and “meet-and-greet” event featuring the work of the Iona College Christian Brothers.

Sophomore Timothy Strowbridge attended the “Meet the Christian Brothers” event.

“I feel the Meet the Brothers event was very impactful,” Strowbridge said. “Seeing the works of the brothers and talking to them instilled a feeling of pride for being part of the Iona community.”

Sophomore Hannah McGowan, a campus minister with OMM, spoke about the impact of Heritage Week on campus.

“I think the most important part of [Heritage Week] is the general essence of it and to remind students of our Edmund Rice heritage and to have events that really focus on that,” McGowan said. “There are a lot of opportunities to learn about the Christian Brothers, to learn about Edmund Rice, and I think there’s an amount that Iona students should know about where we come from and how we currently take what was before us and apply it to our time here now.”

Procario-Foley spoke about the true meaning of Heritage Week.

“Iona has a unique story to tell and that story is grounded in the courage and the innovation of the brothers who found this school,” Procario-Foley said. “We want to continue to celebrate that heritage and that’s what [Heritage Week] is all about.”