Gift Launches Iona’s Institute for Entrepreneurship

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Iona College in New Rochelle has announced plans to endow an institute for entrepreneurs and innovative thinking.

The Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation was made possible thanks to a gift of $15 million from Iona alumnus James Hynes and his wife, Anne Marie Hynes. The gift is part of Iona’s Iona Forever campaign.

The institute will offer an interdisciplinary curriculum open to students from any major. New majors and minors in entrepreneurship will also be created.

“At Iona, we understand how important it is to prepare students for careers that were once unimaginable or don’t yet even exist,” said Dr. Joseph Nyre, president of Iona.

“The Hynes Institute will ensure that our students are not only receiving the education they’ll need to be leaders among their peers in this country, but throughout the world.”

Fellows are being recruited, and there is a search for a director of the institute, an endowed position.

Hynes holds a bachelor’s degree and an honorary doctorate from Iona. He is the chairman of the college’s board of trustees, a position he has held since 2008. He has been a board member since 1995.

The Hynes Athletics Center on Iona’s New Rochelle campus was dedicated in his honor in 2006 in recognition of his philanthropic support. An entrepreneur in the telecommunications industry, he co-founded and was first chief executive officer of Intelliquent, and a founder and first CEO of COLT Telecom Group. He holds a master’s in business from Adelphi University.

Mrs. Hynes is a member of the Hynes Institute design team. She is a member of the New York and Connecticut bars. She most recently served as a pro bono attorney with the Pace Women’s Justice Center in White Plains working with domestic abuse victims. She is the president of the Hynes Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a master’s in management sciences and a law degree, all from Pace University.