To: The Canisius College Campus Community
From: John J. Hurley, President
I am happy to make two very important announcements regarding our search for a new Vice President for Academic Affairs for Canisius College.
Based on the report of the search committee and the input of the campus community, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bridget M. Keegan as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Canisius. Dr. Keegan’s appointment, however, will be effective June 15, 2013.
For the 2012-2013 academic year, I have asked Dr. Richard A. Wall to continue as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Dr. Keegan is professor of English at Creighton University, where she has taught since 1996. She holds her B.A from Harvard University and a Masters and Ph.D in Comparative Literature from SUNY Buffalo. While at Creighton, Dr. Keegan has served as Chair of the English Department, Chair of the Modern Languages Department, and Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. She has directed Creighton’s World Literature Program and the university’s scholarship and fellowship program.
During her interviews at Canisius, Dr. Keegan impressed the search committee and members of the college community with her grasp of many critical issues facing Canisius and with her understanding of our Jesuit mission and identity. I am confident that she will be a great academic leader for Canisius.
In my deliberations, however, I have concluded that it would be best if we postponed her appointment until June 15, 2013, and Dr. Keegan has agreed to this arrangement. As the campus community is aware, the challenges we have faced in developing an operating budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year have highlighted the need for the college to engage in a comprehensive program review – academic, co-curricular, and operational – over the next twelve months. As it is anticipated that this process will need to begin very shortly, I believe that we would be best served if Dr. Wall led and completed that process prior to Dr. Keegan’s arrival.
As of July 1, 2012, Dr. Keegan will be in communication with us while she concludes her duties at Creighton and prepares for her move to Buffalo. Dr. Wall will keep her apprised of developments with the program review process. I fully expect that this arrangement will allow Dr. Keegan to hit the ground running when she arrives next summer. I know she is eager to begin to work with us and I am equally excited about the prospect of working with her to move Canisius toward its vision.
I am grateful to Dr. Wall for his willingness to continue serving as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs during this time. He has brought steady leadership to the position this year and I know that he enjoys the trust and confidence of our faculty as he embarks on a most challenging assignment in the year ahead.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Search Committee, and in particular, the committee’s co-chairs, Dr. Mariusz Kozik and Patrick E. Richey, who worked very hard over the past several months to develop a great pool of candidates and an outstanding choice to lead the college’s Academic Division.
Submitted by: Office of the President
