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Canisius College was one of the first private institutions to receive funding from the New York State Education Department to support the creation of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). HEOP is designed to support students who have the potential to be successful in college but due to academic and economic circumstances, would not be able to pursue a college education. The HEOP program became a model for access programs across the country and significantly increased the numbers of Black and Latinx students attending colleges and universities.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the college’s participation in the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program, Canisius will host a reception on Wednesday, April 15. The event is sponsored by the Division of Academic Affairs, Canisius Opportunity Programs for Education, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and the HEOP Student Organization.

The celebration will recognize the first graduating class of 1973, which consisted of six students: George Benson, Amanda Cordero, Dorothy Cordelius, Michael Norwood, George Robinson and Dwight Tate.

In addition, Canisius will honor HEOP graduates: George Robinson ’73, Carolyn Billingslea ‘75, the Honorable Kevin Carter ‘86, Paula Prince ’91 and Aimiamia Amadasu-McCray ’03.

To date, there are more than 44,000 HEOP graduates across New York State including 400 graduates from Canisius College.

Submitted by: Fatima Rodriguez Johnson, associate dean, Diversity & Inclusion, Academic Affairs