John Dionne – Advocating for the University For More Than 20 Years
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Kania magazine
he long line of Kania alumni who volunteer for the University goes back well before the business school’s establishment in 1978. John Dionne, ’86, is one of the strongest links in that chain. For more than 20 years, the Connecticut resident has worked tirelessly on behalf of the University. He helped launch the President’s Business Council and its annual award dinner, which has raised millions of dollars for scholarships. He is a former chair of the Board of Trustees, and helped lead a capital campaign that raised $129 million. And, he and his wife, Jacquelyn Rasieleski Dionne, ’89, developed the idea for the Kania School’s Business Leader Hall of Fame. Dionne began volunteer work for Scranton because of another alumnus, Paul Montrone, ’62, for whom he had worked at the former Fisher Scientific International. “He wanted to make a substantial gift to the University, but he wanted me to take care of all the details,” Dionne recalled. “So I spent a lot of time on campus and on the phone with people at Scranton.”
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John Dionne
That led to speaking engagements at Kania, and his involvement on campus took off. A New Hampshire native, Dionne came to the University because of his best friend’s uncle, Rev. J.J. Quinn, S.J., who was a professor here. “He introduced us not only to the school but also Jesuit education,” Dionne said. “I almost went to Fairfield University, also Jesuit, but chose Scranton because it was lower cost and I was self-financing my education. It was a great choice all around!”
“I find the University of Scranton students refreshing. They are far more appreciative than students I might find in my other travels.” – John Dionne, ’86 Dionne earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting, and later received an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career with Price Waterhouse before moving on to Fisher Scientific and other companies. He spent nearly a decade working for The Blackstone Group, leading its first proprietary hedge fund, and later, its Private Equity Business Development and Investor Relations Group. Dionne retired in 2013 and now serves as a senior advisor to Blackstone and a senior lecturer of business administration at the Harvard Business School. His work for The University of Scranton continues. He and his wife work with Interim Dean Murli Rajan, Ph.D., CFA, to plan the Business Leader Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, and Dionne frequently serves as an Executive in Residence in Kania. But for all that he does on the University’s behalf, he is most proud of the students he mentors. “I think I learn a lot (from them), too. Millennials think a lot differently than we do,” he said, adding that he admires their passion and eagerness to get out into the world. “I find the University of Scranton students refreshing. They are far more appreciative than students I might find in my other travels.” – Kristin Wintermantel Durkin
