Sound Shore

Peyton, the potbelly pig currently residing at the New Rochelle Humane Society, woke up Tuesday morning to a breakfast that included oatmeal, apples and a peanut butter-coated carrot. As explained here in this story, Peyton came to the shelter Sunday by way of a trio of Iona College students who rescued her from a man on Long Island who’d been keeping her as a pet but planned to dispose of her. (Apparently, Peyton didn’t get along with the man’s German shepherds.)

(Peyton the pig. Photo by Ned P. Rauch)

The Humane Society is looking for a permanent, more rural (and muddier) home for the pig and has been in touch with Farm Sanctuary, in Watkins Glen. It’s about four-and-a-half hours away, in the Finger Lakes region, and seems like it’d make for a happy home for a hog.

Iona College has named Paul J. Sutera its new Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs. The New Rochelle college had conducted an international search for an experienced hand at raising money. Sutera, who lives in Wallingford, Conn., was a vice president for development at Quinnipiac University and oversaw the school’s fundraising efforts. Before that, he spent nearly 10 years at Houston’s Rice University.

The appointment is the first major hire by first-year President Joseph Nyre, who said Sutera would “play a pivotal role in leading advancement, alumni relations, communications and external affairs. He will also lead the strategy, development and execution of Iona’s next major campaign in support of the college’s forthcoming strategic plan.”

The City of New Rochelle and Iona College have named the members of the Iona Planning Committee, a task force whose mission will be to develop solutions for the college’s housing crunch that satisfy the school, the city and the neighborhood. Iona had planned to build a high-rise dorm off of North Avenue, but the effort met with vehement opposition from neighborhood residents. With a new president in office, the college scratched the plans and admitted to the city that, because of overcrowding in its dorms, it had been in violation of the city’s zoning codes. The city and the college agreed to spend two years striving for an answer that meets the school’s — and the community’s — needs. The first meeting will be in the middle of this month.

The committee members are:

Chairman/facilitator (non-voting member):

Matthew Fasciano

From the City Council (non-voting members):

District Three representative, currently Jared Rice

District Five representative, currently Barry Fertel

City Representatives (voting members):

City Manager Charles Strome III or his designee

Development Commissioner Michael Freimuth or his designee

Neighborhood Representatives (voting members appointed by the city manager):

Sara Dodds-Brown, Rochelle Heights Neighborhood Association

Bob Kelly, Beechmont Neighborhood Association

Madeleine Peters, Greater Mount Joy Neighborhood Association

Naomi Towers, Mount Joy Neighborhood Association

Nick Williams, Halcyon Park Neighborhood Association

Iona Representatives (voting members appointed by Iona College president):

Charles Carlson, vice provost for Student Development

Kyle Harry, former president of Iona Student Government Association and current graduate student and Admissions Operations secretary

Jonathan Ivec, vice president for Finance and Administration

Joseph E. Nyre, president (or designee)

Marilyn Wilkie, acting vice president for Advancement and External Affairs

Iona College has scratched its controversial proposal to build a 10-story dormitory across North Avenue from the heart of its campus — a project that had drawn protest from neighbors.

Instead, officials from the college and the city announced Tuesday at City Hall that they will work with the neighbors to hash out a plan to accommodate Iona’s growing student body in a way that all sides agree benefits the area.

(New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson at the podium, in City Hall, and Iona College President Joseph Nyre to the right.)

With Iona’s new president, Joseph Nyre, beside him and members of local neighborhood associations behind him, Mayor Noam Bramson said the new agreement with Iona “represents a fundamentally different approach to campus development.”

Iona’s plan, submitted in early 2010, had been fought bitterly by area residents, who repeatedly told city officials they were worried about the effect more noise, cars and partying would have on their quality of life.

Nyre took office June 1, and his arrival appears to have immediately improved Iona’s relationship with the city and neighborhoods surrounding the campus. On Tuesday, the new college president stressed his commitment to being “a good neighbor.”

Greg Varian, a local lawyer who helped lead opposition to the planned dorm, said, “I sense there really is a changed tone in Iona’s leadership.”

The new agreement was struck after Nyre alerted city officials to the fact that the college’s dorms had, for several years, been in violation of New Rochelle’s occupancy regulations. The college was in compliance with state occupancy rules, though, and under the terms of the agreement, the city would amend its regulations to match the state’s.

Read more about this topic in Wednesday’s editions of the Journal News.

Dr. Joseph Nyre has begun work as president of Iona College, but he hasn’t had the pomp and circumstance of a formal inauguration ceremony. That will change Oct. 27-28, and in preparation, the college has formed a committee to plan the festivities.

The co-chairs of the committee are Ronald M. DeFeo of Westport, Conn., a member of the class of 1974 and President and CEO of Terex Corporation, and trustee and Sister Patricia McGinley, Special Executive Assistant to the President.

The other members of the committee are Dr. Paul M. Beaudin, Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator; Ms. Kathleen A. Hurlie, a trustee; John Manley, a professor of Finance, Business Economics and Legal Studies; Penelope Moore, Associate Professor and chair of Social Work; Tricia Mulligan, Associate Professor and chair of Political Science; Jessica Nealon, a student and the president of the Student Government Association; Brother Robert Novak, Professor and Chair of Physics; Marie Pace, Executive Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Science; Amy Parise, Director of Alumni Relations; Monica L. Judge, president of the Alumni Association; and Michael Petre, a student and President of the Edmund Rice Society.

Joseph E. Nyre began his tenure as president of Iona College this week.

Nyre is the New Rochelle school’s eighth president and the first not to be a member of the Christian Brothers.

He served in the Navy and has held academic and administrative positions at the University of Kansas, Harvard Medical School, Baylor University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Hope Institute.

“This is a very exciting day for my family and for me. We are thrilled to be at Iona and to live in New Rochelle,” Nyre said in a statement.

James P. Hynes, Chairman of Iona’s Board of Legal Trustees, said, “Dr. Nyre brings a leadership acumen and skill set to the position of president that we believe will take Iona to national prominence.”

(Photo of Joseph Nyre provided.)

As the search for missing Edgemont resident Lauren Spierer, a student at Indiana University, continues in Bloomington, Ind., students attending summer sessions at Lower Hudson Valley colleges generally feel safe, according to reporting by our news staff today.

Christopher Vaughan, the Editorial Board’s intern who is focused on social media, talked with students at Iona about how their perceptions of safety. Here are some of the reactions he received:

“I’ve always felt safe here. Security was something I was absolutely looking for going to grad school.” — Melissa Albano, 22, graduate student




“The sidewalks here are definitely dangerous … but the cops here always make me feel safe around campus. Even if someone tried to break into my house, cops would be there in like 30 seconds,” — Ryan Finlay, 21, Iona senior




“I always try to not walk alone and preferably have a guy with me to walk somewhere. You just have to stay alert and be street-smart.” — Amber Belus, journalism major




“It is always in the back of my mind to take safety into account,” — Matt Cahill, 21, senior marketing major




“I see more cops driving during the regular term, there is less of everything in the summer. When we do go out it is close to our house and we take a car.” — Maureen McNulty, English/history double major.

“It is well lit at night. That was one of my biggest things because I didn’t want to be on campus in the dark.”— Lindsay Decarlo, 20, Speech Communications major from New Haven, Conn.

Justin Samela Miceli, from New Rochelle, was a 19-year-old sophomore at Iona College when he died in a car crash in 2007. Now, the college and Miceli’s mother, Alicia Samela, have established a scholarship in his memory.

The Wings of Hope Foundation Endowed Scholarship will give financial assistance to full-time Iona students aiming to complete their degree within five years. Preference will be given to students taking classes at the Hagan School of Business. Scholarship recipients must maintain a grade-point-average of 2.5 or better.

“To think someone can have an opportunity to attend Iona College in Justin’s name is an amazing accomplishment,” Samela said in a news release issued by the college. “This is what he would want.”

The scholarship was established with a $20,000 initial donation. The Wings of Hope Foundation will hold its annual fund-raising dinner on July 28 at 7 p.m. at Beckwith Pointe, in New Rochelle. For more information, visit www.justinswingsofhope.com.

Iona College, in New Rochelle, celebrates the opening of its new Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic tonight at 6:30. The school’s Speech Communications Department trains undergraduates in speech pathology and audiology. The clinic serves community members as well. Attending the ribbon-cutting will Iona College President James Liguori and other college officials. The event will take place at the college’s Spellman Hall.

This Friday, Iona College, in New Rochelle, will host the Conference on Security Threat Assessment, an all-day look at all things security-related, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Local, state and federal law enforcement agents will discuss terrorism, gang violence, crisis management and other facets of the security-ensuring business. Among those in attendance will be criminologists, educators, public officials and consultants. “The goal is to have an open discussion of security threats that are local and nation-wide,” said Cathryn Lavery, chair of Iona’s Criminal Justice Department and coordinator of the conference. The event is open to the public. Admission is $100 a person.