On Feb. 9, President of Iona College Br. James A. Liguori was presented with the Arthur A. Loftus Award. It took place at an awards ceremony dinner at the Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester.

The Arthur A. Loftus Award is named after Brother Arthur Austin Loftus, CFC (1904-1979). He was an active leader, who traveled extensively in the West Indies and Latin America. He was one of Iona College’s founders and served as its second president. Loftus then served as Provincial of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. He was the first New York brother to be named Superior-General. He was considered to be an exemplary model of a Christian brother. Therefore, the annual Loftus Award is named in his honor.

 Liguori thinks the award is a great honor and he has high respect for Brother Loftus. “He was the giant community; he was very special,”  Liguori said.

As Iona’s seventh president, Liguori is being honored for his excellent legacy.

“The Heritage Committee is very happy to honor the legacy of the Iona Christian Brothers by giving Br. Liguori the 2011 Loftus Award,” Director of Iona’s Mission Integration Regina Plunkett-Dowling said. “When you consider the recent list of Loftus Award recipients—including men like Br. Kenneth Chapman and Br. Robert Novak—you can see there are many paths to becoming an outstanding Christian Brother. But Loftus Award winners all have this in common: a passion for service, a daunting work ethic and humility. And they get that, ultimately, from Blessed Edmund Rice himself.”

Liguori has made a life-time commitment to the advancement of Iona and New Rochelle community. He grew up in New Rochelle and attended Iona Preparatory School. He was a student at Iona when it was still an all-male commuter college. After he graduated from Iona, he earned a Master of Science degree in English education from the State University of New York (New Paltz), then also Master of Arts and a doctorate degree in educational administration from Fordham University.

Liguori is a venerated academic administrator who dedicated almost 40 years working for schools. He has served as principal of Rice High School, Iona Prep and Bishop Hendricken High School. Moreover, in 1993, he was an associate superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York and superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Newark before he was named executive vice president of Iona College.

He dedicated admirable effort to Iona College, and all of his contributions are remarkable. Liguori uplifted Iona’s quality in virtually every aspect, including academics, community, student body and fund-raising. Iona is now a prominent, nationwide mid-sized college and an important neighbor in the New Rochelle community.

During Liguori’s presidency, he made significant economic impact to Iona College. Iona is home to 280 employees and about 3,000 students.  The college contributes over $60 million in both direct and indirect spending in New Rochelle and allocates 1,700 local jobs. As a result of his leadership, there are 23 different scholarship programs that provide students with funding. The new Brother James A. Liguori Scholarship Fund will maintain Liguori’s legacy of supporting academically qualified students. 

Liguori also developed and practiced the Presidential Strategic Plans, which raised more than $100 million during his presidency.  The funds qualified Iona College to have new buildings and the renewal of others. The expansion beautified the campus and improved student life. Such construction and renovations included the Hynes Athletics Center, the Robert V. LaPenta Student Union, five residence halls, the state-of-the-art Ryan Library, and trading floor for the Hagan School of Business.

On April 29, Liguori will be honored at Iona’s 50th Annual Trustee Award Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, in New York City, which is an event that will celebrate the College’s 70th anniversary. He will terminate his tenure on May 15 after presiding over the commencement ceremony for the undergraduate class of 2011.

“I am honored to be named as the Loftus scholar and to be associated with this extraordinary Christian Brother, the second president of Iona College,” Liguori said.