Homecoming 2016: Always a Griffin is now a treasured memory for the Canisius alumni, family and friends who returned to alma mater to participate in the weekend’s activities.

A highlight of this year’s weekend included the formal dedication of the new Griffin statue outside of Science Hall. The campus community gathered to celebrate its majestic mascot as the 1,500-pound Griffin sculpture now permanently and prominently nests on the Canisius campus.

The king of birds and beasts, the Griffin trekked more than 1,200 miles from its creator, sculptor Mark Palmerton, owner of the Crucible Foundry in Norman, OK.

The Griffin sculpture is a gift from the Undergraduate Student Association and will serve as a permanent symbol of Canisius pride for generations of students and alumni.

Hundreds of alumni posed with the Griffin during Homecoming Weekend, including college student personnel administration (CSPA) alums who celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the master’s program.  Alumni from the CSPA Classes of 1998 through 2016 returned to Canisius to celebrate the anniversary. Some traveled from as far away as California, the Carolinas and Massachusetts.

Additional weekend activities included the Favorite Professors Event as alumni and faculty gathered to catch up and reminisce.  The always crowd-pleasing Tent Party received rave reviews from those in attendance. Events also included the Distinguished Alumni Dinner, Fall Fest, Griffs’ athletic events, Java with the Jesuits and the Homecoming Mass for alumni, family, students, parents and friends.

Submitted by: College Communications

The Canisius College Alumni Association presented its Distinguished Alumni Award to five outstanding graduates during the Distinguished Alumni Dinner on Saturday, September 24 in the Montante Cultural Center. Several hundred family members, alumni, friends and members of the Canisius community were in attendance for the event, which is part of Homecoming Weekend. The Distinguished Alumni is conferred upon alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers. This year’s recipients are:

• Michael N. Coppola ’70, retired president, chief executive officer and chair, Advance Auto Parts
• Nora McGuire MBA ’08, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Independent Health
• Mary V. Travers Murphy ’80, executive director, Family Justice Center of Erie County
• Ronald A. Raccuia ’90, president, ADPRO Sports
• Kenneth M. Sroka ’65, PhD, emeritus professor of English, Canisius College

Submitted by: College Communications

On Sunday, September 25, The Buffalo News published an opinion piece written by Bob Butler, PhD, professor of English.

Click here to read the article, entitled “Lives are transformed in prison classrooms.”

Submitted by: College Communications

The Canisius College United Way committee invites the college community to the United Way Hot Dog Fundraiser on Tuesday, October 4 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in the Bart Mitchell Quad.

For $5, guests receive a hot dog, chips and pop. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County.

Members of the senior leadership team will be grilling the hot dogs!

Submitted by: The Canisius College United Way Committee

It’s here! The 9^th annual Banned Book Week rolls into the Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library this week with a distinctly seasonal flavor…election. At the core of the library profession is intellectual freedom – the right of free expression, including freedom to read, seek and access information. Join the librarians and staff of the ALB Library as they welcome you, and especially, “Whistle Stop — the best pre- (and post) debate party in town.”

Monday September 26, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Marching Toward Suffrage

Students from the Women and Gender Studies and All-College Honors programs travelled to Seneca Falls, NY this past weekend to visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and National Women’s Hall of Fame. Students will share their experiences about the brave women and men who formed the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention that led to the passage of the 19^th Amendment ensuring women the right to vote. For more information on the National Park Service, click here.

Monday September 26, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. – He Named Me Malala will be available for viewing in the Library Learning Center, located on the first floor. The documentary film tells the story of the young Pakistani female activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who has spoken out for the rights of girls, especially the right to education, since she was very young.

Tuesday, September 27, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – WHISTLE STOP

Megan Kemple (poet/actor), Ben Brindise (member of Buffalo’s award-winning #PureInkPoetry slam team), Justin Karcher (Tailgating at the Gates of Hell) and Pat Kewley (published in Salon, Slate, and McSweeney’s), will read from important historically banned or censored works before reading some of their own works in the event WHISTLE STOP.

Aidan Ryan, ’14, adjunct professor of English and founding partner of Foundlings poetry magazine, will lead the discussion. Included will be presidential haiku, protest poetry, original verse, punk rock and riffs on the Founding Fathers’ street ball slam-dunking skills.

The event is sponsored by Foundlings and is free and open to the public.

Friday, September 30, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Griff 101: Young Adult Literature… Looking for Alaska…

Librarian Jessie Blum, librarian research and instruction coordinator at the ALB, will lead this discussion of Looking for Alaska… the number one Banned Book for 2015. Need more? Fifty Shades of Grey and I Am Jazz, numbers two and three on the list, respectively, will also be discussed. The Holy Bible, which ranks number six will round out the event. The discussion is free and open to the public.

Other on-goings throughout the week will include displays such as Censoring History – Found in the Archives (ALB second floor); Spontaneous Noon-Time Read Outs; Elizabeth Leader’s outstanding exhibit “Discarded Ancestors” in the Peter A. and Mary Lou Vogt Art Gallery; and a week-long contest, “Why Would Anyone Want to Ban a Book?” Stop by the Library’s Service Desk for an entry form. Watch the library homepage for more surprises http://library.canisius.edu/

See the most recent list of the most challenged and banned books here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

For more information, contact Kathleen DeLaney, archivist and special collections librarian, at Ext. 8421 or delaneyk@canisius.edu.

Submitted by: Kathleen DeLaney, archivist and special collections librarian