Iona College

One could say that the publication of Advancing the Legacy—The Story of Iona College has been 75 years in the making. The diamond anniversary was celebrated in 2015. After all, a polished diamond is made from an otherwise unattractive stone, and only after the rock is shaped, carved and polished does the brilliant light shine through. So the diamond out of the rough would be an accurate metaphor for what Iona College has evolved from in 1940 to what it is today.

The only problem is that a diamond is a finished product, and Iona College’s story is anything but complete. Since Brother Cornelia first took the reins as president, the College has been cut and carved and shined and buffed and rebuilt time and again, and like any great college, it will continue to be polished for its entire future.

Though Iona College’s ancestral roots date back more than 1,000 years—to the Isle of Iona—it is young when contrasted to the world of gems. Its gems are the thousands of students, faculty, and staff who have turned into brilliant lights spread across the globe, every one of them carrying the Iona message—and that of the Christian Brothers—that you not only go into the world, but you move the world.