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Dr. Wheeler comes to Iona from the University at Albany (SUNY) where he is currently serving as dean of the School of Social Welfare, vice provost for public engagement, and professor. Previously, Dr. Wheeler held positions of interim provost & senior vice president for academic affairs at the University at Albany (SUNY), dean and professor at Loyola University Chicago, and associate dean for research and community partnerships at Hunter College School of Social Work.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Wheeler to Iona as our next chief academic officer, and I am confident he will demonstrate an immediate impact, inspiring and supporting Iona’s faculty and staff in enhancing existing academic and student life programs and launching new initiatives to continue the tremendous academic momentum at Iona.” said President Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D., “I am grateful to our faculty-led committee and all the members of the community who participated in the search process.”
A well-regarded and active scholar, Dr. Wheeler has published and presented extensively in the areas of health and mental health disparities; HIV prevention and intervention; minority health; individual and community resilience; LGBTQ community health and intervention; social justice; and community service and has been the recipient of numerous distinguished awards and honors.
Dr. Wheeler said, “I am very honored to have this opportunity to work with members of the Iona College faculty, staff, students and alumni. I look forward to being an active member of this community and working to ensure that Iona stimulates intellectual growth and positive impacts for our students, alumni and local and global communities.”
James R. Stellar, Ph.D., Provost at University at Albany SUNY said, “It was a great pleasure working with Dr. Wheeler, and while I am sad to see him go from a personally selfish perspective, we wish him well at Iona and know that he will produce the same positive impact there that he did here.”
According to Dean DeFino, Ph.D., professor of English and search committee chair, “The committee was presented with a pool of excellent, well-qualified candidates, each of whom underwent a rigorous review process, informed by the diverse perspectives and expertise of committee members, and hundreds of comments from members of the College community. In the end, the committee unanimously endorsed Dr. Wheeler. He is the right choice for Iona. We are thrilled to welcome our next Provost, and newest Gael."
Dr. Wheeler earned a BA in sociology from Cornell College, an MSW in health/mental health from Howard University, an M.P.H. in health administration from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Pittsburgh.
He succeeds Vincent J. Calluzzo, Ph.D., Iona’s current provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. Dr. Calluzzo will be returning at the end of the current academic year to the faculty, having served Iona College for more than 35 years as a faculty member in the Information Systems department, as dean of the School of Business and as provost and senior vice president.
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