Buffalo, NY – Close to 500 undergraduate and graduate students will receive their degrees from Canisius University on Saturday, May 16, when the Class of 2026 is celebrated during commencement ceremonies in the Koessler Athletic Center.
Kelly Ryan, president of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, will deliver the commencement address to students from the Division of Arts, Education and Sciences at 10:00 a.m.
Award-winning writer and Canisius alumnus Damon J. Young ’02 will address students from the Division of Business, Communications and Health Studies at 1:30 p.m.
“Commencement brings together what we value most in a Canisius education,” said Canisius University President Steve Stoute, who will confer degrees upon the graduates at both ceremonies. “Damon Young challenges us to think more honestly about culture and identity. Kelly Ryan shows what it means to turn commitment into action on a global scale. Our graduates are stepping into a world that needs both.”
Kelly Ryan is president of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, where she leads global efforts to serve nearly one million displaced people across 58 countries through education, emergency assistance, mental health support and advocacy. She has spent nearly three decades working at the intersection of law, diplomacy and humanitarian policy, including senior roles with the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. Ryan has also served as an advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and held leadership roles in international migration policy coordination in Geneva, helping shape global responses to refugee and asylum issues.
For Ryan, it is a life’s work built on the belief that compassion, courage and justice are not abstract ideals but guiding principles that shape action on behalf of those most in need. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC.
An award-winning writer, cultural critic and satirist, Damon Young ’02 is known for giving an honest and probing voice to the Black American experience.
He is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Very Smart Brothas, a widely read digital publication that shapes national conversations on Black culture and contemporary life. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and GQ, among other national outlets.
Young is the author of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He also hosts the podcast “Stuck with Damon Young” and will release his debut novel, Snowdrop, in 2027.
A native of Pittsburgh, Young arrived at Canisius on a basketball scholarship and initially intended to pursue a professional athletic career. Instead, he discovered his voice as a writer through poetry and student publications, launching his path as a storyteller.
He has since spent his career speaking to complexity – challenging audiences to confront uncomfortable truths and arrive at a more honest understanding of culture, identity and shared responsibility.
For more information about Commencement 2026, contact Audrey R. Browka, director of public relations, at @email or 716-888-2792.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
