Antoinette (Toni) Iadarola

A distinguished alumna, Dr. Antoinette (Toni) Iadarola earned a BA in history/political science from her alma mater, Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, Conn. A former Fulbright Scholar affiliated with the London School of Economics, she received her MA and PhD degrees in European History from Georgetown University and did graduate and post-graduate study at Fordham and Yale.

Toni began her academic career at Saint Joseph College in 1973. She was tenured, promoted to associate professor and served as chair of the History/Political Science Department. Toni was named an ACE Fellow in 1981, spending a year at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Leaving SJC, Toni became the provost/dean of faculty at the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Cincinnati (l983-86) and later served in that capacity at Colby-Sawyer College (l986-92) in New London, New Hampshire.

Toni was appointed the sixth president and first lay president of Cabrini College in 1992. During her tenure, full time enrollment more than doubled and the residential population tripled. She successfully led the college through three capital campaigns in support of several new buildings and an innovative core that integrates community service throughout the student’s college experience. Cabrini College is a founding member of the Southeastern Consortium for Higher Education, which has raised almost $20 million from government and private sources in support of faculty development projects. In addition, Cabrini partnered with Drexel University to provide all technology-related services in what the Chronicle of Higher Education has hailed as “the first of its kind.”

Toni is a frequent participant in peer accreditation activities and has chaired a number of team visits. She has numerous presentations and publications in the areas of international history, women’s studies, and higher education issues. She has served on the UN/UNESCO Commission on Disarmament Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace, and on local, regional and national committees and boards such as the Main Line Chamber, Girard College, the PA Athletic Conference, NAICU, CIC, and AICUP. A strong advocate of community service, Toni has done volunteer work with NGO’s in Belarus, helped with privatization issues in Russia and Kyrgyzstan, and cared for children in Guyana and Swaziland. She has been named one of the “Thirty Most Powerful People on the Main Line” and in 2007 was recognized as Distinguished Woman of the Year by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Toni retired in June 2008 and the board appointed her president emerita and named the newest construction, the Center for Science, Education, and Technology, in her honor.