Shawn O’Rourke, PhD, was appointed dean of the Richard J. Wehle School of Business effective April 1, 2024. Shawn has served as interim dean since August 2023.
Shawn’s strengths as an administrator, educator and scholar align with the Wehle School’s mission, goals, and potential for continued success. Shawn’s values fit perfectly with our Jesuit tradition of academic excellence and commitment to care for the whole person.
As interim dean, Shawn served the university well as a collaborative leader. He has a high level of support from the faculty and business community, and familiarity with as well as direct engagement in AACSB accreditation. Most notably he has an in-depth understanding of the challenges the university currently faces.
Shawn has 25-plus years of experience teaching sport management and administration in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He developed and is director of the university’s undergraduate program in sport management and graduate programs in sport administration and sport product development, the last of which was one of only two in the country when it launched in 2018. All three programs are consistently ranked among the best in the nation and produce graduates who secure successful careers at the intercollegiate and amateur levels and in professional sports.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, a master’s degree in sport management from the University of Richmond and a PhD in organizational effectiveness from The Ohio State University.
As dean, Shawn is charged with building on Canisius’ existing strengths while positioning the university for a strong and successful future. He will develop and foster successful and collaborative partnerships with members of the business community; advance academic excellence through outstanding teaching, scholarship, and service; and promote excellence in student learning. Additionally, he is responsible for developing new academic experiences that prepare students for success in a global society.
Please join us in congratulating Shawn on his promotion to dean of the Wehle School.
Just a reminder for those of us on campus today, Monday, April 8, that you can celebrate the Total Solar Eclipse with the Jesuit Community.
At noon today, we will broadcast a one-hour webinar, “The Great American Eclipse: A Jesuit Conversation” sponsored by the Vatican Observatory and hosted by Rev. James Martin, SJ.
Yes, the Vatican has an observatory and, yes, it is staffed by Jesuit astronomers!
The webinar features Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, director of the Vatican Observatory and himself a planetary scientist, and historian Christopher Graney. They will discuss the history of the Jesuits in astronomy, the current work of the Vatican Observatory, and, of course, the eclipse.
If you are on campus and wish to view the webinar together, we will gather in Churchill Tower 207 at 11:45 a.m. Christopher Kennedy, executive director of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, is on campus for the eclipse and will introduce the webinar, which will begin at noon.
For the eclipse itself, Chris Kennedy and I will be hosting a table with some materials, goodies, and eclipse-themed music in front of Loyola Hall on the Quad from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (although the major part of the eclipse will be from 3:00 to 3:30). If you wish, and are able to do so, bring your eclipse glasses and perhaps a folding chair or blanket and join us. If you have any extra eclipse glasses, bring those, too, so we can share with anyone who does not have them. You won’t be able to view the eclipse without the appropriate glasses.
Wherever you will be on Monday, enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Join the Canisius Adult Lifelong Learning Institute for its spring 2024 book club.
On Tuesday, April 16, at 1:00 p.m., we will discuss the first book in Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series: A Morbid Taste for Bones, a mystery set in the Middle Ages. This is a little different than our usual fare and we’re looking forward to it.
Meetings are in Old Main 219. Bring your lunch and join the conversation.
