Linda Johnson/Submitted Photo“I was shocked. It was hard to believe that the Board of Trustees managed to keep such a secret from me,” retired President Antoinette Iadarola said, when asked about her first reaction upon hearing that Cabrini’s Center for Science, Education and Technology building was to be named for her.
Cabrini College’s Board of Trustees has honored Iadarola’s retirement by dedicating the campus’ state-of-the-art academic facility to her. It has been renamed the Antoinette Iadarola Center for Science, Education and Technology. The tribute was formally announced back in June and came quite unexpectedly, according to Iadarola.
“I am absolutely thrilled and surprised,” Iadarola said. “It has been truly an honor to lead Cabrini during a time of such transformation and success. It was an experience of growth for me.”
Iadarola sustained her position as president of Cabrini College for 16 years and retired on June 30, 2008. She is responsible for leading Cabrini throughout many years of progression and new opportunities, while strongly maintaining the college’s primary mission. The core value of combining moral issues and awareness of the common good with an education was kept alive throughout her time at Cabrini.
“We encouraged the students to become involved with the faculty, and the college campus joined together to envision what we wanted our future to be like,” Iadarola said. “So we prioritized by renovating Founders Hall as well as some of the residence halls. We also saw the importance for an athletic facility and an updated academic facility.”
Under her leadership, Iadarola set the stage for numerous improvements that the college community could be proud of. Among her many efforts, she supervised the addition of a thriving athletic building known as the Dixon Center as well as the Hamilton Family Communications Center, which is home to Cabrini’s student newspaper, FM radio station and television studio.
During her term as president, undergraduate enrollment went from 763 in 1992 to over 1,700 currently. Iadarola also oversaw the renovation of residence halls along with the building of three new student residences. The enhancement of outdoor lighting added to the restoration of Edith Robb Dixon Field, which is another one of her achievements, according to the summer 2008 edition of the Cabrini Magazine.
Iadarola spoke humbly about her impressive accomplishments, and pointed out that her goal when arriving as Cabrini’s president was mainly to connect students with faculty in order to maintain the college’s core values. Providing each student with the opportunity to receive an “education of the heart” was another strong ambition of hers.
“I wanted to help the Cabrini College community to dream again,” Iadarola said, in regards to her legacy at Cabrini which sparked this honor. “My aim was to visualize what our future could be today and do whatever was necessary to make changes.”
