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It is the largest single gift the college has ever gotten, they said.
Robert V. LaPenta -- now founder, chairman and CEO of the private investment firm Aston Capital – graduated from Iona in 1967. He is a member of the college’s Board of Trustees.
The company specializes in secure military communication companies and companies with green technology.
LaPenta is also chairman and CEO of Revolution Lighting Technologies and The Radiant Group.
LaPenta has made other donations to the college, including for the construction of its student union, the business school’s trading floor, and the Ryan Library.
Iona’s “Forever Campaign” hopes to raise $150 million. It’s coffers now contain about $63 million, according to media reports.
LaPenta’s gift will, college officials said, transform Hagan Hall, the business school’s home, into a new structure connecting to the existing building.
Nearly tripling the space available for students and faculty, the project includes state-of-the-art classrooms, case study and meeting spaces, faculty offices, a lecture hall, a business career center, and an expanded trading floor classroom.
“We are enormously grateful for this transformative gift,” said Iona’s president, Dr. Joseph E. Nyre. “It will enable us to construct a facility that advances our vision, sharpens our distinctiveness, increases affordability and strengthens infrastructure.”
LaPenta, saying that his time at Iona prepared him for a successful life in the world of business.
“I am proud to support Iona’s mission of creating graduates that are smart, ethical, creative problem solvers,” he said.
To learn more about Iona’s campaign click here.
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