BUFFALO, NY - Canisius University named Mary Ellen Bakowski a major gift officer within the Institutional Advancement Division.
Bakowski’s responsibilities include identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding long-term philanthropic relationships with the college’s most generous donors. She reports to Kimberly Venti, associate vice president for Institutional Advancement.
Bakowski comes to Canisius with more than 30 years of development and advancement experience. As director of development for the East Aurora Educational Foundation Inc. she developed a comprehensive fundraising program and grew the foundation’s prospect base from 50 to 600 members. Bakowski is also the former director of development for the University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences/Health Sciences and the former director of development for the university’s School of Nursing. She served as director of the WNY Women’s Fund and as executive director for Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center Foundation.
Bakowski earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1985 and a master’s in business administration in 1990 from Canisius. She was director of development services at the college from 1986-1993.
Canisius is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
