Iona College President to Take Helm Of Seton Hall University in August

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Dr. Joseph E. Nyre will become president of Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., Aug. 1. He has served as president of Iona College in New Rochelle since 2011.

The appointment was announced Feb. 4.

“It is a great honor and my distinct privilege to be selected to serve as Seton Hall’s 21st president,” Dr. Nyre said.

Dr. Mary J. Meehan has served as the Seton Hall’s interim president since March 2017. 

In a phone interview with CNY, Dr. Nyre, the first president of Iona College who is not a Christian Brother, said he has “huge affection and appreciation for all that is Iona College. I’m still their president at Iona, and I will be through the end of June.”

Asked how he would advance Catholic identity at Seton Hall, and how he has done so at Iona, he said he believes Catholic identity is “the collective responsibility of the institution and the governance system,” and it is something he thinks a lot about.

When he arrived at Iona, Dr. Nyre formed a team of Christian Brother advisers. He also plans to form a team of priest advisers at Seton Hall “to help ensure that I have a strong and continuous understanding of not only the legacy but how to ensure that the legacy drives the future.”

Dr. Nyre said the Catholic university system “is a great gift to this country.” Wisdom, he noted, is knowing what to do, while virtue is doing it, and at a Catholic institution “we teach both.”

A native of Beloit, Wis., Dr. Nyre, 50, is a husband and father of four. The family belongs to Holy Family parish in New Rochelle. The four children—daughters who are ages 17 and 6, and sons who are 14 and 10, attend Catholic schools in the archdiocese.

A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Nyre attained three advanced degrees and completed pre- and postdoctoral studies at the University of Missouri, University of Kansas and Harvard Medical School. He is known for his research, state and national policy work, and leadership.

Dr. Nyre has practiced as a psychologist in academic, clinical and private practice settings while serving at several prominent institutions, including Baylor University, the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.

Iona will begin a nationwide search for its ninth president.