On February 5, the men’s basketball team helped Petey celebrate his birthday at a tailgate party prior to their game against Iona. Students, along with Coach Scott Teeter’s daughter, Olivia, celebrated with Petey in the Patrick Lee Center with food, inflatables and cake!
Submitted by: Public Relations
The Canisius College Graduate Deaf Education Program is a collaborative program with St. Mary’s School for the Deaf that prepares students to teach students who are deaf or hard of hearing in a variety of educational settings. The collaboration between Canisius and St. Mary’s has been in existence since 1963 and provides a great opportunity for students to learn while they serve.
All graduate courses are taught at St. Mary’s in the deaf education suite on the third floor of the Main Street building. Having the graduate courses taught at St. Mary’s and completing practicum placements at the school provides opportunities for immersion of the graduate students in deaf culture. Another benefit of the collaboration is the many opportunities graduate students have to observe, teach and serve the students who are deaf or hard of hearing who attend the school. St. Mary’s students range in age between 0-21 years old. Graduate students also can live at St. Mary’s while completing the two-year program which further provides them with experiences on site with students of all ages and learning abilities.
St. Mary’s serves a diverse population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Some students use cochlear implants or digital hearing aids and communicate with speech and some sign language support. Other students communicate with American sign language or signed English. Some students have multiple disabilities and use augmentative communication technology. The graduate students receive practicum experiences with this diverse population beginning in the first semester of the program.
The Canisius College Graduate Deaf Education Program is one of the few in the United States that has an on-site collaborative program with a residential school for the deaf. It is a beneficial learning environment for each graduate student and provides the pedagogical background necessary to teach the diverse population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing seen in residential and public schools today. Because of the opportunity to serve St. Mary’s diverse student population and the many experiences throughout their graduate program, the graduates of the deaf education program are well prepared for a variety of employment opportunities serving the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing.
Submitted by: Sara Morris, associate vice president, academic affairs
The college mourns the loss of Susan M. Aronica, PhD, professor and chair of biology. Dr. Aronica died suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday, February 9 due to heart-related complications.
The following services are planned for friends and family.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 13 at Lombardo Funeral Home, 885 Niagara Falls Boulevard (near Eggert and Sheridan). Friends and family may gather from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. A service will begin at 11:30 a.m.
In addition, an on-campus memorial service will be held in Christ the King Chapel on Thursday, February 25 at 6 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Canisius College for the Susan Aronica Memorial Fund, which will be used to support student-faculty research opportunities in biology. To make a gift to The Susan Aronica Memorial Fund, please click here. Under Gift Designations, click Other Gift Designation and write The Susan Aronica Memorial Fund in the comment box.
Submitted by Public Relations
The Office of Alumni Engagement is soliciting nominations for the Distinguished Faculty and Distinguished Senior Awards. The deadline for submissions has been extended to Friday, February 19.
The Distinguished Faculty Award recognizes outstanding faculty members of Canisius College. To qualify, nominees must be full-time faculty members of the college and have served in that capacity for at least three years. They also must be distinguished for contributions to the academic world and teaching excellence.
The Distinguished Senior Award recognizes seniors who are in good academic standing and have distinguished themselves through leadership roles and involvement with the college.
If you are interested in making a nomination for either award, you may do so online by going to http://www.canisius.edu/alumni/awards/ or contact the Alumni Office at Ext. 2703 for further information.
Submitted by: Sharon Kasperczyk, alumni engagement officer
On Wednesday, February 10, the Canisius men’s basketball program was featured on the 5:30 p.m. edition of the Channel 2 News. This season, 13-year old Jason MacClellan has joined the men’s basketball team as part of the Griffs’ work with Team IMPACT.
Jason, an eighth-grader from Tonawanda, NY, was born with muscular dystrophy. He is sometimes able to attend school but often his illness forces him to stay home and receive instruction from tutors.
As part of the Team IMPACT program, Jason sits on the bench for Canisius home games, has a locker in the team locker room and has his own custom-made jersey which was presented to him by head coach Jim Baron.
To see Jonah Javad’s feature piece on Jason and his Griff teammates, click here.
Submitted by: John Maddock, associate athletic director, external affairs
