Students Lobby For State Financial Aid

by Public Relations | Feb 16, 2012 | Alumni, Faculty, Parents, Staff, Students

(l to r) Sam Herberger, Ben Macaluso, Senator Patrick Gallivan ’82, Ean Tierney, Kelly Mahoney.

On February 7, 15 Canisius students traveled to Albany to make their case for continued state financial assistance.  The students directly informed members of the New York State Legislature about the importance of the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), Higher Education Opportunity Grants, and other scholarships provided by the state.  Nearly half of all Canisius undergraduates receive TAP awards.  Governor Cuomo’s proposed 2012-2013 state budget maintained student financial assistance at last year’s level.

Student Advocacy Day, a long-running undergraduate activity, is sponsored by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities and included participation this year by more than 60 schools from throughout the state.  The students arrange their own legislative meetings under the guidance of the Undergraduate Student Association and Ken Kruly, director of government relations.

During this year’s visit, Canisius students met with Canisius alums Assemblyman Robin Schimminger ’69, HON ’07, Senators Pat Gallivan ’82, and Mark Grisanti ’88, as well as members of the Assembly John Ceretto, Jane Corwin, Kevin Smardz, Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Raymond Walter; and Senators George Maziarz and Michael Ranzenhofer.

Several members of the student Albany delegation will meet with the college’s Government Relations Advisory Board at its meeting on February 24 to discuss their impressions of the lobbying experience.

Submitted by:  Ken Kruly, director, government relations

Dudek To Speak On EU Environmental Politics

by Public Relations | Feb 16, 2012 | Alumni, Faculty, Parents, Staff, Students

The Department of Political Science and the Fitzpatrick Institute of Public Affairs & Leadership will present a talk by Carolyn Dudek ’93, PhD on Wednesday, February 22 at 4 p.m. in Lyons Hall 313.  The topic of her lecture is “Europe’s ‘Paper-trail’: The Unintended Global Consequences of European Union Environmental Policies.”  The lecture is free and open to the campus community.

Dudek will discuss her research, as well as her road to academia from Canisius College, where she majored in political science, studied Spanish in Oviedo, and was a member of the All-College Honors Program.  Earlier in the day, Dudek will speak on the topic of “The Monroe Doctrine is Dead: EU-Latin American relations revived” in class taught by Paola Fajardo-Heyward, PhD on Latin American politics.

Dudek is associate professor of political science at Hofstra University.  As a specialist in comparative politics, her regional interests include Europe and Latin America, with a focus on Spanish politics.  Dudek has been a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, a post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University, and a visiting scholar at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University.  She was also awarded Fulbright Scholarships to Spain and Argentina.  Dudek has directed and taught study abroad programs in Australia, Central Europe, Spain and Italy.  She was a lecturer in the Semester at Sea program, circumnavigating the globe, and was invited back and taught on a summer voyage navigating Europe.

Submitted by:  John Occhipinti, PhD, professor and chair, political science

Women’s Basketball Hits The Homestretch

by Public Relations | Feb 16, 2012 | Alumni, Faculty, Parents, Staff, Students

Jamie Ruttle

The Golden Griffin women’s basketball team hits the homestretch of its 2011-12 campaign with four consecutive home games to close out the year.

This weekend, the Griffs meet the top two teams in the MAAC with defending champion Marist visiting the Koessler Athletic Center for a 7 p.m. game tomorrow (February 17) that is presented by Buffalo Steak & Sub.  Fairfield takes on the Griffs at 2 p.m. on Sunday (February 19).

For additional information, visit www.gogriffs.com.

Submitted by: John Maddock, associate athletic director – external affairs, athletics