Patrick Dunican Elected Chair of the Iona College Board of Trustees

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The members of the Board of Legal Trustees of Iona College unanimously voted Patrick C. Dunican Jr. as its new Chair, officially announcing the election at the May 6, 2020 Board meeting. Mr. Dunican, Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons P.C., is a 1988 Iona alumnus.

Mr. Dunican has served in various capacities on the college’s Board of Legal Trustees since 2013, including Vice Chair of its Executive Committee and member of its Academic Committee and Committee on Trustees/Governance. Additionally, he chaired the Audit Compliance and Risk Committee, responsible for the periodic appraisal of the college’s financial control and accounting systems, oversight and coordination of its external auditors’ service delivery, and campus-wide compliance with a vast range of laws and regulations governing academic institutions, recommending improvements in all areas as necessary. Mr. Dunican previously served on the Planning Committee for the 25th Reunion of the Class of 1988. Iona has honored him with its 2013 Legacy Award and 2008 Loftus Award.

Kathleen Hurlie, Chair of the Committee on Trustees and Governance, informed Mr. Dunican of his election, noting, “This is a difficult time in our world, in our country, and at our beloved institution and I believe I speak for the Board as I thank you for your service during this time. You undoubtedly have the full support of the Board as we go through this together and we all look forward to the future as you lead us through the good times as well.”

Several members of Mr. Dunican’s family are fellow Iona alumni, including his father, Patrick C. Dunican (deceased) ’57; sister, Mary Spallanzani ’86; brother-in-law, Lawrence Spallanzani, ’84; and nephews, Lawrence Spallanzani Jr. ’17 and Jack Dunican ’21.

Mr. Dunican has been featured by The Irish Voice on its “Irish Education 100” list of the country’s most influential professionals of Irish descent involved in higher education. In addition to his longstanding work with Iona College, Mr. Dunican remains active with Seton Hall University School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 1991, serving as a past Chair of its Board of Visitors and Co-Chair of its Strategic Planning Committee. He previously co-chaired the Seton Hall Law Rising fundraising campaign, which exceeded its $25 million goal. During his tenure as Chairman and Managing Director, Gibbons endowed $1 million to Seton Hall Law to establish the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology, to provide funding to assist the law school in educating and training the next generation of attorneys in the technology and scientific communities. Seton Hall Law recognized Mr. Dunican with its 2011 distinguished alumnus award and its 2015 Saint Thomas More Medal.

In addition, Mr. Dunican is a Trustee of the Independent College Fund of New Jersey (ICFNJ), a nonprofit initiative of corporate and academic leaders established to help its 14 member institutions – independent colleges and universities throughout the state – find corporate and philanthropic partners to secure critical financial support and fulfill their mission to educate all qualified students. As a Trustee, Mr. Dunican helps ensure that the Fund cultivates productive relationships and makes appropriate strategic investments in programs, scholarships, and education that focus on quality, access, and affordability while also promoting the broader benefits and contributions of its members.

Mr. Dunican is a nationally recognized legal industry leader. He has been listed by New Jersey Law Journal as one of the state’s “Distinguished Leaders” in the legal industry; Essex County Bar Association and New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law as their selection for the 2017 “Professional Lawyer of the Year Award”; and NJBIZ, for its “Power 100” list of the most powerful people in New Jersey business, for ten consecutive years. A litigation attorney, Mr. Dunican is listed in both the New Jersey and New York editions of Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers for business litigation and in Woodward/White Best Lawyers® for commercial litigation. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and was named to “40 Under 40” lists in both NJBIZ and New Jersey Law Journal.