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Progress Continues On Long-Range Strategic Plan

Members of the Canisius community gathered in the Montante Cultural Center yesterday (March 10) afternoon for an informative and productive talk about the college’s future.  The gathering marks the latest in a series of long-range strategic planning forums, hosted by President John J. Hurley, to gather input and insight from the greater campus community as the college charts a new course.


(from left to right) Canisius President John J. Hurley is joined onstage by Scott Chadwick, PhD, vice president for academic affairs; Ellen O. Conley, PhD, vice president for student affairs; Patrick Richey, vice president for business & finance; and Craig Chindemi, vice president for institutional advancement.

During the two-hour forum, President Hurley previewed the strategic plan, entitled A Transformational Education: The Strategic Plan for Canisius College.   The document includes a revised mission statement, a vision statement and five strategic goals, all of which aim to move Canisius College to the next level of excellence and strive for increased integration across campus, with a particular emphasis on academic and student affairs.

“It’s a solid framework, which will be followed by more tactical planning,” said President Hurley, who lauded the “remarkable amount of input from the campus community,” as well as the “quick pace” at which the document continues to evolve and move forward.

After the president and vice presidents outlined the strategic goals and the corresponding objectives and rationale, they opened the floor to questions and comments from those in attendance.  At the conclusion of the one hour presentation, President Hurley invited participants to discuss the strategic-plan in small groups.   The afternoon ended with spokespeople from each group providing feedback to President Hurley on the current state of the strategic plan.

To view the latest draft of A Transformational Education: The Strategic Plan for Canisius College, click here.  Video from Thursday’s strategic-planning forum will also be available on iTunes in the coming days.

Submitted by:  Public Relations

Canisius Receives NCAA Division I Certification

The NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification announced that Canisius College met its requirements for athletics certification. Canisius is one of 26 Division I institutions to receive certification.

A designation of certified means that an institution operates its athletics program in substantial conformity with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership. All 335 active Division I members participate in the athletics certification process.

The purpose of athletics certification is to ensure integrity in the institution’s athletics program and to assist institutions in the improvement of their athletics departments. NCAA legislation mandating athletics certification was adopted in 1993.

“This decision by the NCAA affirms both the quality and depth of the commitment that Canisius College has to its intercollegiate athletic program,” said Director of Athletics Bill Maher. “After a thorough self-study process, we can confidently say that our program is focused on providing the student-athletes at Canisius with the best possible experience, and that our commitment to the principles of the NCAA remains strong.”

The certification process, which involves a self-study led by an institution’s president or chancellor, includes a review of these primary components: governance and commitment to rules compliance; academic integrity; and gender/diversity issues and student-athlete well-being. Each member institution completes a self-study at least once every 10 years.

The Division I Committee on Athletics Certification preliminarily reviews an institution’s certification materials and provides a list of issues identified during the evaluation. The university then hosts a visit by peer reviewers who file a report regarding the institution’s resolution of those issues before a final certification decision is rendered. An institution’s failure to satisfactorily respond to the committee may negatively impact certification status.

The members of the Committee on Athletics Certification are: Anthony Archbald, Princeton University; John Balog, Jacksonville University; Robert Bernardi, Nicholls State University; Henry Brooks, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Ann Carr, Mississippi State University; Roger Caves, San Diego State University; Casey Comoroski, Missouri State University; Beth DeBauche, Ohio Valley Conference; Tom Douple, The Summit League; John M. Dunn, Western Michigan University; Amy Folan, University of Texas at Austin; Joanne Glasser (chair), Bradley University; Angela Johnson “A.J.” Grube, Western Carolina University; Barbara Luebke, University of Rhode Island; Sheila Patterson, Cleveland State University; William Perry, Eastern Illinois University; Judy Van Horn, University of South Carolina; and Sarah Wilhelmi, West Coast Conference.

Submitted by: Public Relations

Changes In Office Copying, Printing, Scanning

A campus forum to discuss forthcoming changes regarding campus printing, copying, and scanning will be held Thursday (March 17) at 1:30 p.m. in Regis South.  Canisius is engaged in a long-term program to become more environmentally responsible, save costs, and improve campus printing, scanning, and copying. Joel Cohen, PhD, associate vice president for library and information services; Pat Richey, PhD, vice president for business and finance; Frank Kirstein, director of computer infrastructure; and representatives of COMDOC, a print services company, will present and answer questions.

Submitted by:  Joel Cohen, PhD, associate vice president, library and information services

R.A.I.N. Training At KAC

Gary Everett, director of public safety, will conduct a Respond, Assess, Isolate, Notify (R.A.I.N.) training session Tuesday (March 15) in the Koessler Athletic Center (KAC) Room G21 from 2 – 3 p.m.  Another session will be held Tuesday, April 19 in the Student Center Conference Room from 2 – 3 p.m.

The training teaches what to do should an emergency or crisis situation occur on campus. It is open to all faculty and staff that have not yet had the training.  TO RSVP or for more information, contact Kathy Kelly in human resources at Ext. 2240 or kelly7@canisius.edu.

Submitted by:  Kathy Kelly, administrative associate, human resources

Travel Abroad With Campus Ministry


Rev. John Bucki, S.J., director of campus ministry, on a trip to El Salvador in 2010.

Canisius faculty and staff are invited to accompany all of Campus Ministry’s teams of students on two to three week service-immersion experiences in El Salvador, Jamaica, India, Poland and Ecuador.  Those who have the basic desire to travel with students to a poor part of the world in order to learn about the social injustices there, to live simply and at time rustically, to be able to reflect with the team from the heart and to have a sincere openness to partner with the people we will work among, are needed.

To learn more, contact Lu Firestone in Campus Ministry at firestol@canisius.edu.

Submitted by:  Luanne Firestone, associate campus minister, campus ministry