Commencement

Undergraduate Commencement

Saturday May 18th, 2019 10:00 am

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Graduate Commencement 

Wednesday May 15th, 2019- 7pm

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Commencement Speakers 2019

David campbell canisiusUndergraduate Commencement Speaker 

David N. Campbell
Co-Founder and chairman of All Hands and Hearts - Smart Response

David Campbell, a former technology executive and investment banker, used his humanitarian endeavors to form All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response, a non-profit natural disaster response organization of which he is founder and chairman. Beginning his career in 1963 at IBM, Campbell has held such positions as president and CEO of Computer Task Group, CEO of Xpedior and president of BBN Technologies.

 

Lawrence VilardoGraduate Commencement Speaker

Hon. Lawrence J. Vilardo '77
U.S. District Court Judge 

Judge Vilardo earned a BA, summa cum laude, in history and political science from Canisius in 1977 and a JD, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1980. He was nominated to the U.S. District Court in 2015 by President Barack Obama.

 

 

Commencement Student Speakers 2019

Four students will be selected to address their respective schools at the 2019 Commencement Exercises.

Grad commencement canisius 2019Mohamed Diyani MBA ’19

Graduate ceremony

"Canisius College was the best thing that ever happened to me, I met some people that changed my life and they were willing to help me reach my goals even if they didn’t know anything about me or my background. I wasn’t just a number for them, and everywhere I went on campus people were receiving me with a huge smile and they did all what they could to help me not because I was a Canisius student but because I was a human being and that is what sets Canisius College apart from the rest of the school I have attended in my academic path."

Kairns CanisiusThomas Karins ’19

School of Education

"So what does it mean to graduate from Canisius College? It means being comfortable in your skin and doing what makes you happy, not others. It means listening to Ariana Grande or Demi Lovato and realizing that they make excellent music. It means doing what you want because you are the one living your life. Not your parents, not your siblings, not your friends. Finally and most importantly it means finding the lost confidence in yourself."

 

Cameron T. Rosenecker ’19Cameron Rosenecker

School of Business

"Canisius College is a place, like few others I have experienced in life, where I have not only seen a constant striving to do more and to be more, but it is also a place where I have found that breaking the status quo is accepted and encouraged."

 

 

Josh caravanJoshua Canavan ’19

College of Arts & Sciences

"Upon graduating, it would be my goal to live my life in a way that is consistent with the values demonstrated here on a daily basis so that others can experience the benefit of a Canisius education through me. I know I will falter, but I will continue to strive to be a worthy representative of this college and the countless people whose lives it has benefitted."

Honorees

Canisius will confer honorary degrees upon Vilardo and Campbell during commencement ceremonies. Also receiving honorary degrees in May:

Rev. Patrick J. Frawley, senior vice president of social responsibility for Centene Corp. and former CEO of Fidelis Care, a subsidiary of Centene; 

I. Joan Lorch, PhD, professor emerita of biology at Canisius College and former chair of the Biology Department;

Willie D. “Hutch” Jones, CEO and co-founder of the Willie Hutch Jones Educational and Sports Program, and teacher and coach for Buffalo Public Schools; and

Sr. Mary Johnice Rzadkiewicz, CCSF, founder and executive director of the Response to Love Center.