CEOWORLD magazine quoted Shawn O’Rourke, PhD, dean of the Wehle Business School, in an article about the skills shortage facing businesses, and how higher education can help prepare graduates who are workforce-ready. O’Rourke spoke about how experiential learning, which is core to Canisius’ academic experience, helps students develop skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and communication, all of which are critical to business success. Read the article in CEOWORLD
The Canisius University Women & Gender Studies program is happy to announce the 2025 Lorch Award winners. The Dr. I. Joan Lorch Award for Women & Gender Studies honors a person who has made a significant contribution to women and who exemplifies the pursuit of liberation and justice regarding sex, gender, and sexuality.
In the category of Canisius University student, the winner is Brianna Nosal’25, strategic communication. In the category of Canisius University employee, the winner is: Dr. Anita Butera, associate professor of criminal justice. In the category of a community organization or person, the winner is Victoria Pérez, the co-founder and director of Buffalo’s bilingual Hispanic theatre, Raíces Theatre Company. We congratulate all of these deserving people who help to make our world a more equitable world each day.
We heartily welcome everyone to celebrate Women’s History Month — and these three awardees in particular — on Monday, March 24 from 4-6 p.m. in the Grupp Fireside Lounge.
The event will begin with students from the Diversity Committee honoring women on campus who have uplifted and empowered others, and end with the announcement and celebration of the Lorch winners. Please join us for feminist solidarity and inspiration.
Submitted by: Tanya Loughead, Professor, Department of Philosophy and Women & Gender Studies
On Thursday, April 3, at 7 PM, in Grupp Fireside lounge, Aitina Fareed-Cooke, the poet laureate of Buffalo, will perform under the auspices of the Canisius Contemporary Writers Series.
A question-and-answer session and reception will follow. The event will be livestreamed: For a link, email series coordinator Mick Cochrane: cochrane@canisius.edu
Aitina Fareed-Cooke was born and raised in Buffalo and earned a BA in English and MA in education from Buffalo State University. She is a multifaceted artist—wife, mother, creative arts strategist, national recording artist, and Buffalo’s current poet laureate. She founded Get Fokus’d Productions, an award-winning media arts company dedicated to collaborating with emerging and professional artists to produce “human-first” narratives through digital storytelling. Among her awards are 43 North’s Ignite Buffalo People’s Choice Award, Buffalo State University’s Young Alumnus Achievement Award, a Citizens Bank Community Champion award, and the Arts Services Inc. Trailblazer of the Arts Award.
Founded with a grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation and continued through the Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professorship Program, the writer series is generously supported today by the Hassett, Scoma, and Lowery Endowments, and by gifts from its loyal patrons; cooperating partners are The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Just Buffalo Literary Center, and Talking Leaves Books.
