Greenwich Time: Greenwich couple give $15 million to Iona
Greenwich Time
James Hynes has very fond memories of his alma mater, Iona College.
His parents were immigrants from Ireland, and he was the first of his family to graduate from college, which he did in 1969 from the New Rochelle, N.Y., school founded in 1940 by the Christian Brothers. Hynes’ education there put him on a path toward a very successful career as an entrepreneur and telecommunications executive, with a residence along the shore in Greenwich.
Now Hynes is giving back, in a big way. He and his wife, Anne Marie Hynes, made a $15 million gift to Iona this week to create the Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation there.
Hynes said he has a special fondness for students at Iona, young men and women often coming from modest backgrounds like himself.
“I think Iona’s mission is an important one, and the kids it educates are mostly first- and second-generation, kids who need access to a university education — and affordable access and a quality education. And we provide all of that,” he said. “It will make the education they get more valuable.”
Hynes also said he’s a big believer in fostering entrepreneurial skills in young people. The new initiative will be open to undergraduates, and cover a wide range of study areas. Graduate students in the business school at Iona will also be tied into the Hynes Institute.
A co-founder of Inteliquent, a provider of interconnection services, Hynes believes young people should be exposed to an entrepreneurial mind-set no matter what their career goals are.
“It’s the ability to solve problems, to think independently, and adaptably, and ethically,” he said. “I think these are critical life skills. And these are the traits I’ve seen in entrepreneurs, and these are the things we have to imbue in the entire curriculum. And all higher education.”
Anne Marie Hynes agreed. “We think this is a new way of having people think creatively,” she said. “We think it’s something everyone should know how to do. As the world is changing, people need to be more independent.”
Anne Marie Hynes, who earned a law degree at Pace University, is active in elder-care, philanthropy and pro-bono legal work. She’s on the board of directors of River House, a non-profit that runs an adult day care center on the Mianus River in Greenwich.
Like her husband, she grew up in the Bronx and attended Catholic schools.
James Hynes said he has “tremendous” memories of his school days at Iona, rowing crew, holding down a job, running campus clubs.
“The reason I wound up being as entrepreneurial as I am was the activities there,” he said. “Doing things, leading things, building things.”
Hynes’ father was a longshoreman and a sanitation worker, and his mother was a homemaker. His college career gave him the tools to run a successful company and buy a home in Greenwich in 1976, and he felt a need to help do the same for those who came after him.
“Let’s give back and try to help others,” he said this week.
The telecom executive said he’s come across Iona grads who are embarking on ambitious projects, such as building water filtration and solar systems in the developing world, and he’s supportive of that kind of risk-taking.
“There are quite a few kids who come out of there, doing amazing things, and I’d like to see more of that, and learning those skill sets, in whatever endeavor they choose,” he said.
The president of Iona College, Joseph Nyre, said the new institute would make a significant impact on the school.
“The institute will enhance Iona College’s reputation as a forward-thinking institution and will establish Iona as a national hub for entrepreneurial development and thought,” he said in a statement released by the school.
Hynes has been active with the college for many years. He’s also a big fan of the school’s basketball team, the Gaels, which he joked can be a “frustrating” preoccupation.
Hynes said he feels a sense of accomplishment in the work he’s put in to help the school grow.
“I feel quite proud to be in the center of it,” he said.
