Iona University’s Thomas Paine Institute featured in New York Times’ anniversary coverage

The Iona University Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS) was recently featured in The New York Times as part of the newspaper’s coverage marking the 250th anniversary of “Common Sense.” Reporter Jennifer Schuessler and photographer Tony Cenicola visited ITPS to explore how Americans have come to appreciate Thomas Paine.

During their visit, Dr. Nora Slonimsky, program director at ITPS, led a discussion about Paine’s legacy. The group examined artifacts from the institute’s archives, including early editions of “Common Sense,” Paine’s writing kit, and commemorative coins from his 1792 trial in London.

In her conversation with The New York Times, Dr. Slonimsky spoke about the broad appeal of Paine’s work. She said, “He’s accessible in a way that many other figures of the period are not.”

Iona University is a private Catholic institution founded in 1940. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees across various disciplines on its campuses in New Rochelle and Bronxville, located near Midtown Manhattan. The university has an enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni network of 55,000 worldwide. Iona has received recognition from national rankings such as The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report for its academic programs and social mobility outcomes. Its LaPenta School of Business holds AACSB International accreditation, a distinction held by only a small percentage of business schools globally.

For more information about ITPS’s involvement in The New York Times story on Thomas Paine, readers can access the full article through the publication.