The Ionian was afforded the opportunity to meet with and speak to the incoming president of Iona College Joseph E. Nyre when he was introduced to the community on March 1. Nyre has high hopes for the future of this institution, and is beginning the transition process in becoming the first lay president of Iona College.

Heather Nannery: I’ve been reading a lot about your background, but why Iona?

Joseph Nyre: For many reasons, one is Iona’s core: the reason Iona was founded parallels my life. I’m Catholic. I was raised in a working class town, in a working class Catholic family and I’m first generation college… I knew I was going to be a president of a faith-based college… but the Christian Brothers heritage and all Iona stands for is the most logical choice. Iona is also very well positioned, better than most people know. It’s well positioned both fiscally and academically – it holds more accreditations currently than any other private college in the state of New York. That’s no accident. So this is a college that’s very well positioned to continue to be both a regional and national college of distinction. So, Iona’s history, the fact that I’m Catholic, and how well Iona is positioned for the future are probably the top three reasons that I got engaged with Iona. I was looking at a lot of colleges, and I’m pleased that Iona looked at me.

Nannery: Do you think being the first lay president will make transitioning difficult?

Nyre: Well it certainly is a big transition for Iona and something that’s on my mind a lot. I worked with Br. Liguori to identify a mentor who is a brother – and that’s just beginning because I think that’s critical. I may have been raised Catholic and gone to Catholic schools, but I am not a scholar like a brother…

I think this responsibility of the first lay president at Iona, and this transition is something that students, faculty, staff and alumni, we share this together to stay true to the Christian Brothers that founded Iona. They stand at the foundation of Iona.

With their continued guidance, all of us are the future of Iona – but staying true to that Christian Brothers heritage and ensuring that this is a very successful transition is on my back. It’s something that I’m going to be turning to you, as students.

Nannery: I think that the foundations of the Iona community are strong enough for that to be able to sustain itself through the transition.

Nyre: What do you want to see out of the next president of Iona?

Nannery: I think that next president of Iona should look to maintain and improve academic programs… There are professors teaching 5 or 6 classes, and not really engaging with the students as much as they should be. So I think that’s a problem as well.

Nyre: Throughout higher ed, not to say that that’s the case here because I’m just getting to know the Iona community… If you look at student engagement, and the ability to engage students in both curricula and extra-curricula activities, the faculty loads, in terms of how much they have on their plates teaching and otherwise, is negatively correlated with engagement at a lot of other colleges – so that busier faculty get less student engagement. When you’re able to reduce loads… you see student engagement rise… We see that all the time.  How do you change hat to increase student engagement – because we’re here for you, the students. Without you, there’s no reason to have a college.

Nannery: I know you’re just starting to get to know Iona, but what do you think you want to focus on during your time here?

Nyre: Well, I can tell you two things: one is I believe strongly in shared governance, and second, I have a lot of listening to do. I will put forward a process to develop the next strategic plan that will highlight areas of distinction. When you look at the academic distinction of a college or a university, we were talking about faculty capital and excellence, program excellence, student excellence – look at graduation rates for an example. We want to make your degree from Iona more valuable every year, and I believe excellence is in a constant state of emergence. It’s not a destination. If we start to think of it as a destination, then we’re not advancing everyday. So that’s not to suggest that we’re not doing well on these areas, but if we begin to adopt the concept that excellence is in a constant state of emergence, then you’re never satisfied. That’s a positive way to live. It’s part of service and how we live in service.

I want your degree next year to be more valuable than it is this year. Five years from now, when you tell people that you graduated Iona, and they say, “Wow, really?” That’s our job. Every president wants to leave a college and university better than he or she found it when they arrived. Don’t make it worse! First rule of medicine is “Do no harm.”

Nannery: Do you think that because you’re coming from an institute where you did help build it up from the ground, do you think that it will help you in your endeavor here?

Nyre: I certainly hope so. I served the last eight years in the nexus of higher education, and taking higher education, and having an impact on the system of care… We linked the university system, and also a lot of state university partners with the system of care, and help manage that while also providing direct services to 29,000 people a year. We’ve trained 30,000 clinicians, physicians and researchers in the last 8 years. Making that bridge between some of our best knowledge in higher ed, and helping get it into the community is something that I felt very strongly about. Also, that job required a significant amount of fundraising, but also business modeling and strategic planning to ensure continued sustainability and success. Those skill sets are well suited, especially in private higher education today. It’s increasingly complex, and with our economy where it is today, being able to navigate through this an also raise funds, and plans to move towards excellence, is a skill set that I think… is very much needed at Iona and elsewhere.

Nannery: Do you think it’s going to be an adjustment for you moving from Illinois to very close to New York City?

Nyre: We lived in Boston before we moved to Illinois, and we have three young children. Our daughter lived in Boston, she doesn’t remember because she was so young. It’s going to be an adjustment for them. I office in Chicago and Springfield, and my kids spend time in the city but it’s not New York… There’s only one place like it.

It’s going to be an adjustment, and anything you get to know a community, and truly become part of the community by being President takes time and effort. So that’s also part of the transition. We are looking forward to that happening, and happening very soon within the next two and a half months.

Nannery: Are your children excited?

Nyre: My son Charlie is 2. My son Henry is 6. My daughter Hadley is 9. They all turn a year older in April – April’s a big month for us. So it’s their birthdays, then school ends and they move. They are excited, and they’re nervous. They have friends and activities… It’s much easier to move when you’re 8, 9, 10 than it is when you’re 16.

Nannery: Thank you for meeting with me. I’m really glad I was afforded the opportunity to interview you.

Nyre: It was a pleasure to meet you, as well.