Buffalo, NY - Canisius University is modernizing its century-old Old Main building, converting former administrative offices into state-of-the-art "hyflex" classrooms equipped with technology and modular furniture designed for collaborative learning.
The renovation project will begin this summer with the transformation of office suites formerly occupied by Student Affairs, Business & Finance and Human Resources, which relocated to Bagen Hall. The former office spaces are being completely gutted and redesigned as learning laboratories with new carpeting, ceilings, lighting, mobile furniture, whiteboards and advanced audiovisual equipment.
"Students expect from their educational experience a technology enabled one," says President Steve Stoute. "One that is digital, engaging and personal, and so we have to create a space that delivers that for students while allowing our faculty to think critically about how they deliver a Canisius education."
Old Main has served as the university's primary academic building since Canisius moved to 2001 Main Street in 1912. The classrooms had not been renovated since approximately 1999.
"The goal is to modernize our academic spaces," Stoute adds. "The classrooms will become learning labs, with more technology. They'll be less like a lecture hall and designed to build an engaging environment where students are co-creating knowledge."
The two learning labs will be ready for the start of the fall 2025 semester. The summer work is the first phase of a broader plan involving the renovation of approximately 45,000 square feet of academic space on subsequent floors in Old Main.
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.
