Canisius College

The President's Perspective is a quarterly column in Canisius College Magazine. The following appeared in the Spring 2011 issue. 

While the winter seems to linger in Buffalo, the spring semester at Canisius seems to race by at breakneck speed. No sooner do we welcome students back from the Christmas break, then they are gone for spring break, and then the last day of classes is upon us.

As we greet the springtime in Buffalo, we take stock of our accomplishments of the academic year. Students are inducted into the college’s DiGamma Honor Society; the Jesuit honor society, Alpha Sigma Nu; and the business honor society, Beta Gamma Sigma; among other honorary societies. Students eagerly await word on applications to medical, law and graduate schools. And in mid-April, we celebrated student scholarship, creativity and artistic performances with our fourth annual Ignatian Scholarship Day. (For the program of activities, see canisius.edu/academics/ignatian.asp.) And of course, our seniors and graduate students anxiously welcomed Commencement Day this month.

We celebrate all of these accomplishments understanding that they are the result of our faculty working closely with our students to bring out their very best. This has been the hallmark of a Canisius education in every age, and today it is seen in every corner of the college. In this issue of Canisius Magazine, you’ll read about the extraordinary Mick Cochrane, PhD. The professor of English and director of our Creative Writing Program introduces the craft to a new generation of students (page 12). You’ll also read about our students tutoring Korean students in English through an initiative called MyLinkFace (see page 6), an ingenious technology-based venture encouraged by Ji-Hee Kim, PhD, associate professor of management/marketing and director of our Entrepreneurship Program. These are but two examples of faculty members going the extra mile with our students to provide them with a truly transformational education. 

Our students’ academic achievements are impressive. Equally impressive is their commitment to using their educations for the betterment of society, a commitment that we know will carry over into their lives as alumni.