Joseph Gonzaga McKenna,
CFC (1922 – July 28, 1973) was an American educator and member of the
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice.
Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...
, a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
religious institute
A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...
. He served as the fifth president of
Iona College
Iona University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochell ...
in
New Rochelle
New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Early life and education
McKenna was born in 1922 in New York City, where he was raised with a sister, Mary.
He joined the
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice.
Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...
in 1936 at the age of 14.
In 1951 he graduated from
Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
with a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. , and received a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in 1955 from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
He additionally earned a bachelor's degree and a second master's.
Academic career
After graduating college,
Brother
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
McKenna began teaching at
All Hallows Institute in 1942, and later taught at
Rice High School,
Iona Preparatory School
Iona Preparatory School, or simply Iona Prep, is an independent, Roman Catholic, all-male, college-preparatory school located in the north end of New Rochelle, New York, in suburban Westchester County. It consists of the Upper School for Grade ...
, and
Power Memorial Academy
Power Memorial Academy (PMA) was an all-boys Catholic high school in New York City that operated from 1931 through 1984. It was a basketball powerhouse, producing several NBA players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Len Elmore, Mario Elie, Chris Mul ...
over the next eight years.
In 1950, he became a mathematics professor at Iona College, and two years later was appointed
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the college.
He served in that capacity until 1957, when he left New York to found
Catholic Memorial High School
Catholic Memorial High School (or CMH) is a co-educational Catholic high school in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Established in 1949, it is a member of the National Catholic Educational Association and is a World School in thInternational Baccalaureate O ...
in
West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...
,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, the first Christian Brothers school in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
.
He served as principal there until 1963.
President of Iona College
McKenna returned to Iona College in 1963, and served there as vice president until 1965, when he became the college's 5th president.
Under his leadership, the college notably changed from an
all-male institution to a
coeducational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
college.
The decision, made by the college's board of trustees, was announced by McKenna in November 1968.
The change in policy, which would take effect with the first female students entering Iona as freshmen in September 1969, was explained by McKenna in a press release:
The change is not as drastic as one may assume. The entrance of women into the other divisions of Iona that took place during the past four years was preparing the college, whether we realized it or not, for the recent decision of the board."
The decision for Iona to adopt coeducation was part of a national trend, with 62 single-sex colleges going coed in 1968 alone.
Within the Iona and regional communities, the change was met with mixed but mostly positive reactions. The mayor of New Rochelle, where the college is located, expressed his approval, as did several Iona professors, and students.
McKenna's predecessor as president of Iona College, Br. Richard B. Power, said, "While I do not like to see Iona become a coeducational institution, I can understand the decision of the board of trustees and I look forward with interest to this latest development in the history of the college."
Additionally, the representative of the junior class express student acceptance of the decision, while noting the possible lack of sufficient space to house female boarders.
In 1971, McKenna resigned as president due to ill health, but continued to teach graduate students in the school of business.
In addition to his work at Iona College, he also served as assistant to the superior of the Eastern American Province of the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
Death and legacy
McKenna died on July 28, 1973, of a heart attack while on vacation in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
at the age of 51.
McKenna's legacy is continued through the Brother Joseph G. McKenna Memorial Award for Academic Excellence, presented annually by the faculty of Iona College's Hagan School of Business.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Joseph G.
1922 births
1973 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholics
Schoolteachers from New York (state)
Presidents of Iona College
Burials in New York (state)
Business educators
Columbia University alumni
Congregation of Christian Brothers
Educators from Massachusetts
Educators from New York City
Fordham University alumni
Founders of schools in the United States
Iona College faculty
Mathematics educators
Roman Catholic religious brothers
20th-century philanthropists
20th-century American academics