Iona College suspended Provost Warren Rosenberg last Tuesday and said that it would be conducting a full investigation of a number of “inaccuracies” that were discovered in data that were reported to external agencies.
While the college”™s administration does not yet know the extent of the inaccuracies, it has launched an internal investigation by outside legal counsel and has commissioned an audit by an independent, third-party accounting firm to determine the nature and scope of the reporting irregularities.
The college has appointed Brian Nickerson, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, as interim provost.
Administrators were first notified of the discrepancies in the past week from a source within the college, said Sister Pat McGinley, special executive assistant to the college president.
McGinley said that she could not disclose the specific data, but said it included student performance data and information that would have been reported to state and federal agencies, among other organizations.
“We don”™t know the full extent yet,” McGinley said, adding that the investigation will likely take at least several weeks, if not longer.
She said that as more details emerge the college and outside contractors would be able to pin down exactly what information was fudged.
“It is our obligation to correct the problem and we will do everything to ensure that it never happens again,” she said. “We will do this full review of all records.”
Classes for the fall semester at the New Rochelle school began the week of Aug. 22.
