Iona College Announces
Senior Vice President for Advancement & External Affairs to Lead Fundraising Efforts

Iona College announced the appointment of Laura Doherty as senior vice president for Advancement & External Affairs, where she will provide strategic direction to propel Iona’s fundraising goals to new heights while exploring creative ways to expand private support for the College and its students. 

An experienced advancement administrator and fundraiser, Doherty most recently served at Purchase College as vice president for the Office of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the Purchase College Foundation and Charitable Entities. Prior to her positions at Purchase, Doherty was CEO of the William & Mary Business School Foundation as well as associate dean of Advancement for the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William & Mary.

“We are delighted to have someone of Laura’s caliber join us at Iona,” said Seamus Carey, Ph.D., president of Iona College. “She has delivered extraordinary results through past advancement programs during her career and now her innovative leadership will strengthen our efforts at the College. Her vision for the Office of Advancement & External Affairs aligns ideally with the new chapter we have begun at Iona.”

During her time at William & Mary, Doherty’s team successfully doubled the size of the William & Mary Business School Foundation’s endowment while increasing unrestricted annual fund totals by 30 percent and providing start-up capital for new degree programs. Notably, Doherty was part of the advancement team that raised more than $1 billion for the university’s For the Bold campaign.

“I am honored to join the Iona College community and continue to build upon the College’s legacy of excellence,” said Doherty. “With such a supportive community and generous donor history, there are no bounds to where Iona can go next.”

Iona has experienced significant financial growth recently, particularly the successful completion of its $150 million fundraising campaign, which paved the way for transformational changes across campus and directly supported student scholarships, faculty enrichment and innovative new programs. Launched in 2015, the Iona Forever campaign concluded on Sept. 19, 2021, and was the most successful campaign in Iona’s history.

Separately, Iona also announced its collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian to form the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences with a $20 million accompanying gift. The NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences will be housed on Iona’s newly acquired campus in Bronxville, offering a new vision for collaborative health care education, modern workforce development, and community care.