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Under Father Cooke’s leadership, Canisius has invested nearly $142 million in 24 major capital projects on the Main street campus, including $85 million in eight major residence hall projects during this time. Plans to develop Science Hall, an interdisciplinary science center at the college, are underway.
Educating students for the demands of an ever-changing world is a high priority for Father Cooke. New majors in emerging fields such as bioinformatics, international business, accounting information systems, health and human performance and digital media arts have recently been added to Canisius’ comprehensive curriculum. Canisius faculty, students and staff are heavily involved in a wide variety of service learning and volunteer activities throughout Western New York and beyond.
Father Cooke received high marks in a Buffalo News poll of Western New York leaders which ranked Father Cooke as the second most influential civic leader and the college as the second most influential institution overall in terms of their positive impact on the community. Father Cooke was also recognized by The Buffalo News as one of its Outstanding Citizens for 2001 and named the 2003 Renaissance Man by the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation (BRF). He received the 2005 Humanitarian Award from the Niagara Lutheran Foundation, and the National Federation for Just Communities (NFJC) of Western New York presented Father Cooke with a 2007 Citation Award for his community leadership.
In early 2008, Father Cooke served as a delegate at the Jesuits’ General Congregation 35 that elected Father Adolfo Nicolas as the new General of the Society of Jesus. Father Cooke was also a delegate at General Congregation 33 in 1983 that elected Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach as General.
Prior to joining the Canisius community, Father Cooke served as executive and academic vice president of John Carroll University. Born in New York and raised in Hoboken, NJ, Father Cooke received a bachelor of arts degree from Fordham University in 1960; a Licentiate in philosophy from Loyola Seminary, Shrub Oak, in 1961; master’s degrees in teaching and philosophy in 1962 and 1965; respectively, from Fordham; advanced theology degrees from Woodstock College in 1967 and Yale University in 1968; and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1971. Father Cooke’s academic area of expertise focuses on ethics, the theory of knowledge and the philosophy of language.
Father Cooke is currently a member of the board of trustees of Fordham University, and a member of the finance committee of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus.
Revised 1/09