Two notable things happened in Buffalo in January 1977:

1. The Blizzard of ’77. ‘nuff said.
2. Pat Greenwald came to Canisius College. Where do we begin?

If there was ever a Mr. Canisius, it’s Pat Greenwald who has been a fixture on campus and in the community for decades and who has raised literally millions and millions of dollars for the college. Pat recently celebrated his 40^th anniversary at Canisius and in his typically humble fashion, would only say “it’s easy to come to work every day when you do something you love.” Well, it’s safe to say that the love is returned to Pat in spades by the generations of alumni and donors who consider Pat to be part of their families.

Members of the Institutional Advancement team gathered at Agassiz yesterday to surprise Pat with an anniversary cake and a salute to his extraordinary service to Canisius. He had a little piece of cake and then got right back to work raising money. Happy anniversary, Pat!

Submitted by: Institutional Advancement

Charles Wigley, PhD, JD, professor of communication studies, delivered a guest lecture on “Cybernetics and the Principle of Requisite Variety” at California State University (CSU), Long Beach, on January 3.  The lecture was part of the course Communication Conflict Resolution, taught by Lynda L. McCroskey, PhD, associate professor of communication studies at CSU Long Beach.

One student responded, “My favorite take away from your lecture was when you said that by being uncertain we are able to become more complex human beings.” Another student responded, “After your lecture I pondered on my own behaviors, the teasing I sometimes do with my sister. I decided not to tease anymore because after we talked about it in class, I agree that it is unkind and it is an aggressive behavior.”

Submitted by: Charles J. Wigley III, PhD, JD, professor, communication studies

Last month, 13 Canisius students traveled to New York City with Margaret Stefanski, PhD, associate professor, and Richard Reitsma, PhD, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures. The trip was part of Reitsma’s Spanish course entitled “Almodóvar y la Movida Madrileña,” an upper-level elective that focused on Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar. The students had the opportunity to attend a talk by Pedro Almodóvar at the Modern Museum of Art where he discussed his film career, which includes more than 20 films and multiple Oscars and international cinema awards.

During the trip, seven students were inducted into the Spanish honor society, Sigma Delta Pi, at the Spanish Society of America in a beautiful room of murals by Soralla. The seven students are:

• Melissa Benjamin ’17, a senior communication studies major and Spanish language and culture minor
• Valarie Cavanaugh ’17, a senior early childhood/childhood education major with a Spanish concentration and childhood education (grades 1-6) with a Spanish concentration dual major
• Geovaira Hernandez ’17, a senior criminal justice major with a Spanish language and culture minor
• Ashley Ponza ’17, a senior special education (grades 1-6)/childhood education (grades 1-6) major with a Spanish concentration
• Lorisbel Romero ’18, a junior criminal justice major
• Alexa Valdez ’18, a junior human services and Spanish dual major
• Katrina Wagar ’17, a senior biology major with a Spanish language and culture minor

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