This Friday, July 17, will be Joseph “Joe” Snodgrass’ last day at Canisius University. Joe has accepted a position with the Linde Technology Center, a regional engineering and procurement hub for industrial gases and green technologies located in Tonawanda.
Joe has served in key operational and facilities leadership roles during his tenure at Canisius, most recently as assistant vice president for operations. His work has shaped several major campus initiatives that directly support student success and the university’s academic mission. Most notably, he oversaw the development of the Golisano Center for Student Success, a 30,000-square-foot renovation project that centralized academic, career and support services. Joe also led the multi-phase modernization of Old Main which, when complete, will have converted approximately 45,000 square feet of classroom space that includes state-of-the-art HyFlex classrooms equipped for collaborative, technology-enabled learning.
Additional projects under Joe’s direction included the relocation of the Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation (ABEC) Program to Science Hall, complete with repurposed lab spaces and modern facilities for research and teaching, and the establishment of new athletic facilities for the acrobatics and tumbling program.
Joe’s contributions have made a meaningful impact on the campus community, and the university extends its sincere appreciation for his service and dedication to Canisius, his alma mater.
As the university prepares to launch a search for Joe’s successor, Matt Wylucki, facilities operations coordinator, will serve in an interim capacity to ensure continuity across operations and facility projects.
Cory Walck (’26), a recently graduated biochemistry major, is one of four first year medical students at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine to be selected for the Buffalo Primary Care Initiative. This new initiative aims to increase the number of family doctors in the City of Buffalo, helping to address a critical need for underserved populations in the city. The program is accelerated, leading to an MD degree in three years. In exchange for full-tuition scholarships, students in the program pledge to stay and practice in primary care in Buffalo for at least 5 years following residency. At Canisius, Cory was an active biochemistry major, who conducted chemistry research over 3 years and most recently presented the results of his work at the national spring 2026 American Chemical Society meeting.
Business First included the new Golisano Center for Student Success in a July 9 feature story about college libraries being reimagined into hubs that house student services. “Colleges and universities are recognizing that they have to support the whole person, not just the academic side, if they want successful graduates,” said Timothy Rider, principle, vice president and partner for Trautman Associates, the architecture and design firm that work on the Golisano project. Click here for the story.
The Buffalo News reported on the recent success of Canisius University’s annual fundraising campaign in its July 9 edition. The university raised $9.3 million during its 2025-26 campaign, after setting a target of $9 million. “We are deeply grateful to our alumni, families and friends for their extraordinary generosity,” Vice President for Advancement AnneMarie Haumesser, EdD, told The News. Click here to read the full story.
WBEN-AM Radio 930and theOlean Times Herald reported on a new articulation agreement between Canisius University and St. Bonaventure University that gives students a pathway to a master’s degree in occupational therapy. Qualified Canisius students who complete their undergraduate degree will be guaranteed acceptance into St. Bonaventure’s MS in Occupational Therapy Program.
Richard Reitsma, PhD, continues to expand Canisius University’s global academic partnerships through teaching, research and collaboration focused on borders, migrations and identity.
In June, Reitsma presented a Spanish-language lecture, “Resistiendo la opresión distópica en la frontera mediante la fantasía” (Resisting Dystopian Oppression at the Border through Fantasy), at the Jesuit University of Ibero Puebla in Mexico. The lecture, part of the university’s International Summer program, explored his research on film, literature, borders and migration and was attended by more than 100 faculty members, staff and students across disciplines.
Reitsma also taught an intensive seminar at Ibero Puebla focused on creative writing, literature and the power of storytelling. The course connected students with international authors across genres, including several writers previously featured through Canisius’ Latine & LGBTQIA+ Speakers Series and Borders and Migrations Speakers Series.
His international collaborations will continue through an Erasmus+ International Mobility Grant awarded with colleague Dr. Ewa Antoszek of the University of Marie Curie-Sklodowska in Lublin, Poland. The grant will support joint research, teaching and faculty and student exchange opportunities related to borders and migrations in the United States, Mexico, Europe and beyond.
Reitsma also recently published an article, “We Carry the Border with Us: Queer Immigration, Border Crossings, and Culinary Identity in I Carry You with Me,” in Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature. The article examines migration, queer identity and the role of food and memory in the film I Carry You with Me, which follows the true story of a Mexican gay couple navigating love, identity and migration between Mexico and the United States.
Say Yes Buffalohas provided funding for four Canisius University literacy tutors to support young children at two summer camp sites. Canisius students are trained in the early literacy reading intervention and Reading Ready, which is designed to support emergent readers to lift off into word reading and spelling. The program builds a striving reader’s phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling skills using multimodal activities and decodable books. Canisius tutors work with 6-7 students each for 4 days/week during the 6-week summer camp. The tutors can be found at Gloria J Park Community Center and First Shiloh Baptist Church. Data is being collected at the beginning and end of the program to demonstrate the effectiveness of high-dosage, research-backed tutoring.
Submitted by: Elizabeth Turner, Director of Educational Partnerships
Richard Reitsma, PhD, continues to expand Canisius University’s global academic partnerships through teaching, research and collaboration focused on borders, migrations and identity.
