Iona College celebrated its achievements of the last academic year and outlined future goals at fall Convocation on Sept. 9.

President Joseph E. Nyre expressed contentment concerning all that the college has accomplished over the last year, calling it what he considered to be an “exhausting year.”

As outlined in the Strategic Plan Second Year Report 2014, the college completed many of its large goals, many of them focused on the re-branding and expansion of the college.

These accomplishments include the creation of a master’s program in Communication Sciences and Disorders, launching a new website, the approval of a new campus master plan, which includes a new seven-story residential hall, and an increase in undergraduate applicants.

Dr. Mark Kiselica, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic affairs, presented the keynote speech.

The keynote focused on the “challenges and strategies for a Catholic college in an era of diverse millennials.”

After taking a quiz and concluding that he is only “35 percent millennial,” Kiselica talked about the challenges the college must face in educating the millennial generation.

“They’re on track to be the most highly educated group of people that our country has ever seen,” he said. “And compared to other generations, they are much more concerned about getting a job.”

Kiselica also spoke about the pressure from many various groups, such as the White House, to make college affordable and have students complete their degrees.

“We have to transform the way that we teach to fit their needs, and increase the percentage of students who graduate and get jobs,” he said. “And amid all of that, we need to keep tuition low.”

Kiselica acknowledges that Iona is doing well on some fronts, but needs to improve in other areas.

He applauded the efforts of the office of Student Affairs, saying that, “they should feel very proud of their never ending efforts [to the students.]”

However, Kiselica feels a “professional and moral obligation” to bring more diversity to the campus.

“Some institutions make a mistake of thinking of diversity as an after thought,” he said.

He hopes to resolve this by creating a forum on multicultural issues, addressing micro-aggressions made towards minority students and by recruiting a more diverse faculty.

Earlier in the program, two different awards were handed out to six faculty members for their achievements at the college during the 2013-2014 academic year.

The first award was the Faculty Award, which Kiselica gave to four faculty members who exemplify the Iona mission and show outstanding efforts in the classroom.

Dr. William Egelman and Dr. Fredrica Rudell received the Senior Faculty Award, Professor Carol Shanksy received the Junior Faculty Award and Professor John Lamassa received the Adjunct Faculty Award.

There also was a presentation of chairs to two professors who were celebrated for their accomplishments both at and outside the college.

The recipients were Dr. Sunghee Lee of the Chemistry department and Dr. Elena Procario-Foley of the Religious Studies department.

Two years of the five-year Strategic Plan are complete, but they did not pass without difficulty.

President Nyre’s speech gave thanks to all of the hard work faculty, staff and students have accomplished.

“This year was marked by more crisis and challenges than I anticipated,” Nyre said. “Yet collectively we moved forward to meet those challenges and advance the college.”