Alumni in the News

September 25, 2019
Canisius Responds to Call by Vive Shelter
Provides assistance to asylum seekers

One of the four elements of the Society of Jesus’ Universal Apostolic Preferences, formed from an 18-month discernment process among Jesuit apostolates and approved by Pope Francis in February 2019, asks our Global Ignatian family to “walk with the excluded.”

Canisius was able to respond to this call in June when the nearby Vive Shelter, a program of Jericho Road Community Center, was looking for assistance with a sudden influx of 100 individuals seeking asylum. Canisius was able to provide 13 long-term residents of Vive with three-weeks of respite housing in Bosch Residence Hall, including food and home-cooked meals.

America magazine covered the story.

 

Alumna Sets Out to Map the Catholic Church’s Land 
Burhans '14 receives "Young Champions of the Earth Prize” for her efforts

Molly Burhans '14, founder and executive director of Catholic Geographic Information Systems Center (CGISC), better known as GoodLands, is setting out to digitally map the land under ownership of the Catholic Church. Her prior initiative, to launch an advanced mapping initiative to help the Catholic Church use its vast landholdings as a vehicle for good, has paved the way for her digital journey.  

Burhans is a recipient of The Young Champions of the Earth Prize, powered by Covestro, UN Environment Programme’s leading initiative to engage youth in tackling the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Burhans is one of seven winners announced this year!

Read more here.

 

Abraham MSEd ᾽11, MSEd ᾽13, Uses His Life Lessons to Teach Students Discipline
McKinley principal overcame poverty and abuse to achieve success

Marck Abraham MSEd ᾽11, MSEd ᾽13 grew up in a violent, poverty-stricken part of south Florida and struggled academically at a failing high school. Positive mentoring by both his high school football coach and then later Coach Turner Gill at the University at Buffalo gave Abraham the confidence to improve his writing skills and ultimately pursue four degrees.

Today as principal of McKinley High School, Abraham wants to pay it forward by instilling discipline and confidence in his students.

Read more here.

 

Alum Pioneers Cancer-Fighting Drugs
Hangauer ᾽79 is chief scientific officer at Athenex

David Hangauer ᾽79 is chief scientific officer at Athenex (formerly Kinex Pharmaceuticals). Born out of his lab at the University at Buffalo, Athenex has grown to more than 600 employees and has factories in China and Western New York.

Athenex has two promising cancer-fighting drugs in phase II and III trials including one that is less toxic than chemotherapy.

Read more here.

 

Lee MSEd ᾽89 Named CEO of Baker Victory Services
Alumna guides mission of human services organization

Cindy Lee MSEd ᾽89 is the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Baker Victory Services, a local agency dedicated to fostering the highest possible quality of life and personal achievement by partnering with children, adults, their families and the WNY community through a diverse array of social, health and human services. 

In this role, Lee oversees a workforce of more than 1,000 while guiding the organization’s mission and managing a portfolio of human services and programs. She previously served as chief clinical officer and director of education.

Read more here.

Read more here.

 

Alumnus Recognized by Continental Who's Who
Dillon ᾽66 is Lifetime Achiever in Medicine

William Paul Dillon ᾽66, MD is included in the Continental Who’s Who as a Lifetime Achiever in the field of medicine. He is associate professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the University at Buffalo - Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.    

Read more here.