Welcome Back
The 2005-2006 academic year is officially underway at Canisius College. The first day of classes was Monday, August 29 but student leaders and athletes arrived on campus August 10. The remaining student body arrived on August 27, including more than 250 freshman and sophomore students who live in the newly completed Eastwood Residence Hall. 

The view of the campus from the 7th floor of Eastwood Hall.

Now that construction on Eastwood Hall is complete, the Eastwood parking lot has been re-opened and includes 75 parking spots.  On-street parking on Main Street and Jefferson Avenue will be available again this year but only after 9 a.m.

Several major construction and renovation projects were completed on campus this summer.

The construction of Eastwood Hall, as well the new on-campus electrical substation that was required due to additional power demands, was completed at a total cost of $20.5 million ($1.5 million for substation).  The Health Science Building has a new biology lab on its ground floor, as well as a second-floor computer lab and staff lounge at a cost of $603,000. For more information on the new computer lab, click here for the LIS News page.  Renovations to 23 Aggasiz Circle, the new home for the College Relations Division, were completed at a cost of $275,000.

Several important on-campus events will usher in the fall semester. The official ribbon cutting for Eastwood Hall will take place on Thursday, September 1 at 10 a.m.  Later that day, the start of the academic year will be commemorated at the Mass of the Holy Spirit at 1 p.m. in Christ the King Chapel.  The Mass will be followed by a chicken barbeque in the dining hall from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., sponsored by the college’s Office of Campus Programming and Leadership Development.

On Thursday, September 8 at 2:30 p.m., all faculty and staff are invited to hear Canisius President Rev. Vincent M. Cooke, S.J., give his annual state-of-the-college address during the Academic Convocation in the Montante Cultural Center.  

Canisius Welcomes New Faculty and Staff
Canisius welcomes 35 new faculty and academic administrators this fall. Watch the next issue of NetGazette for introductions to and photos of the newest members of the college community.

Noonan’s Whale Research Receives International Attention
A new discovery by Michael Noonan, PhD, professor of biology/psychology, has found killer whales to be among those animal species that possess “cultural learning,” a phenomenon in which animals of the same species learn from other members of their group. 

Noonan’s study began five years ago at Marineland in Ontario, Canada, when he observed an orca luring gulls into his tank by spitting fish onto the water’s surface.  The mammal then sank below the water and waited for a gull to come down for the bait.  When it did, the orca lunged at the gull with open jaws.  Within a couple months, Noonan observed the whale’s younger brother adopt the gull-catching trick.  Their mothers soon followed in adopting the strategy and eventually the behavior spread through the killer whale population. 

Noonan presented his findings earlier this month at the Animal Behavior Society conference in Snowbird, Utah.  His research was reported in New Scientist magazine (London), Science News (Washington, DC), and by Animal Planet and Discovery Channel.  Noonan’s discovery has also received international media attention from such agencies as the BBC (“Good Morning Scotland”), the Berliner Zeitung newspaper (Germany), Agence France Press (AFP), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Aljazeera TV. 

For more information on Noonan’s research, click here.

New Library Service Gives College Community Access to Millions of Additional Books
Canisius College students and faculty now have access to more than four million books and reference materials through a new library service called ConnectNY.  ConnectNY is a collaboration of libraries within New York State dedicated to sharing library materials as efficiently and quickly as possible for faculty, staff and students at participating institutions.  Canisius students may initiate an on-line, direct borrowing request from any respective member library, with the expectation that request items will be delivered within approximately 48 hours.

“ConnectNY will make it possible for Canisius faculty and students to easily borrow from an expanded collection of millions of volumes,” says Joel A. Cohen, PhD, associate vice president for library and information services at Canisius College. “While faculty have always benefited from traditional interlibrary loan services, the amount of time needed for processing and delivery just did not meet student needs.  With books delivered in days rather than weeks, ConnectNY may have the greatest benefit for our students.” 

Canisius is the 10th member of ConnectNY, which also includes Colgate University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. Lawrence University, Sienna College, Union College and Vassar College.  Resources available include books, magazines, journals, newspapers, government documents, archives and manuscripts, audiovisual materials, maps, sound recordings, music scores, films, videotapes and other electronic resources. 

To use ConnectNY, start in the on-line library catalog on the library homepage and perform your search as usual.  If the book is not found in Canisius College, press the ConnectNY icon and follow the prompts to search for materials.  

Canisius Accreditation Reaffirmed by Middle States Commission on Higher Education
 

Canisius College’s regional accreditation was reaffirmed by the Middle States Association Commission on Higher Education, following an April visit of a nine-person team, led by John Convey, PhD, Provost of Catholic University of America.  The Office of Academic Affairs received the college’s letter of notification from Middle States on June 23.

The commission is the unit of the association that accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region. It examines institutions on 14 standards, which touch on every aspect of its operations and mission. 

Canisius received special commendation on four standards:  for clearly affirming its Catholic and Jesuit mission and identity; for the leadership of its Board of Trustees in strategic planning; for the stability of its senior administration; and for being a campus “welcoming to all religions.” 

“Canisius is extremely pleased with the outcome of the Middle States visit,” said Herbert J. Nelson, PhD, vice president for academic affairs.  “We had an excellent visiting team that was clearly able to perceive the significant accomplishments of the college over the past decade.”

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA  19104 (267-284-5000) is an agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Secretary of Education for accrediting activities in the Middle States region.  
 
NetGazette to Publish On-Line Version Only
This is the last issue of NetGazette that will be printed for hard-copy delivery. Hundreds of print copies have been left in mailboxes in the faculty lounge or thrown away. If it is more convenient for you to read NetGazette in hard copy, click the print-friendly icon on the NetGazette home page. If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Etu, NetGazette editor, at Ext. 2795.

The college will be closed, except for essential operating personnel, on Monday, September 5 in observance of Labor Day.