Submitted by: Jerry Theresanathan, graduate assistant, alumni relations

On Friday, March 18, Mark Castner, director of the Braun-Ruddick Seismograph Station at Canisius College, spoke with Dave Debo of WBEN 930 AM radio about the earthquake that “rocked” Attica, NY.

To hear the full interview, click here.

Submitted by: Public Relations

Employers consistently cite the ability to write well as a top required skill for prospective employees. Students may not always see the assignment to write a lengthy research paper as a pathway to a great job but the core curriculum recognizes that link. All Canisius graduates have to take at least one advanced writing intensive (AWI) course.

The AWI courses at Canisius range widely, teaching the writing of traditional academic research papers, lab reports and news stories. All require students to demonstrate proficiency with organization, sentence structure, word choice and mechanics, as well as an understanding of the purpose and for the writing assignment and the ethical use of sources.

Students do well in those categories. In the recent assessment of advanced writing intensive courses, 87 percent of students met or exceeded expectations overall. Students scored best in their word choice, with 96 percent meeting or exceeding that objective. Organization of the paper (87 percent meet or exceed); understanding purpose and audience (89 percent meet or exceed); and ethical use of sources (87 percent meet or exceed).  Students were somewhat less successful in two areas: sentence structure and mechanics, both of which scored at 78 percent, meeting or exceeding expectations.

By providing these results to the Core Curriculum Committee and the faculty at-large, faculty members can work on these skills before the next round of assessments, in hopes that changes to the courses will improve student learning of these critical skills. Information about the core curriculum or its assessment processes is available from Rev. Pat Lynch, SJ, director of the core curriculum and professor of religious studies and theology, and Mark Meyer, PhD, associate director of the core curriculum and associate professor of computer science.

Submitted by: Sara Morris, PhD, associate vice president, academic affairs

Your Canisius Golden Griffin baseball team opens the home portion of its 2016 schedule with a game on Tuesday, March 22 against the University at Buffalo at 3:15 pm. The Griffs are coming off a season that saw them claim the MAAC Tourney title and advance to their second NCAA Tournament in three years.

Fans will notice a new seating area behind home plate, a new home team bullpen and a tented area for team meals.

For additional information, visit www.GoGriffs.com.

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

The campus community is invited to join Canisius students and the Office of Campus Ministry tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22 for the Burrito Project.

The Burrito Project is a ministry of hospitality and provides home-made burritos to the marginalized and homeless population in downtown Buffalo. The project is a ministry to some of the most vulnerable and forgotten of our society.

On the fourth Tuesday of the month, volunteers prepare burritos in the kitchen in the Undercroft of Christ the King Chapel from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The group then walks a four-mile route in downtown Buffalo, from 7:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., delivering the burritos.

A support vehicle follows us as we walk. Transportation is provided.

For further questions or to sign up, contact Joe Van Volkenburg, in Campus Ministry, at Ext. 2875 or at vanvolkj@canisius.edu. Space is limited.

Submitted by: Joe Van Volkenburg, Campus Ministry