Iona College opened its doors in 1940 with nine Christian Brothers and six lay faculty greeting the first class. Their goal was to open new paths to economic and social advancement for the sons of New York’s working class. They gave their new college the name of Iona, after a small island off the west coast of Scotland where St. Columba founded an abbey in 563. As did the monks of St. Columba’s time, Iona’s founders believed in the power of education to move the world.