blue&goldbriefs Commencement 2014: A return to campus
Three Golden Griffins Honored by MAAC
The pomp and circumstance for Commencement 2014 will be a bit more celebratory, as undergraduate ceremonies move back to Canisius following several decades off campus.
Wolf Blitzer
Jon Luther
Scheduled for Saturday, May 17, in the Koessler Athletic Center, undergraduate commencement will include three ceremonies: One at which the entire graduating class hears from the commencement speaker, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Afterwards, there will be a separate ceremony for the College of Arts & Sciences, and another for the School of Business and the School of Education & Human Services. A Kenmore native, Blitzer is CNN’s lead political anchor and host of “The Situation Room.” He began his tenure at the network as its Pentagon correspondent and went on to cover the top stories, at home and abroad. Blitzer has interviewed every sitting U.S. president since Gerald Ford, as well as former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and the late South African President Nelson Mandela and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Another Kenmore native, Jon Luther, will address the graduate Class of 2014, during ceremonies on Wednesday, May 14 in the Koessler Athletic Center.
A veteran of the food-service industry, Luther is the retired chair and CEO of Dunkin’ Brands. He is credited with the transformation, revitalization and global expansion of its two iconic businesses – Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. Luther expanded the businesses from their core Northeast region to key markets in the U.S. and abroad. He also modernized the menus and re-energized Dunkin’ Donuts’ marketing efforts, which led to the award-winning campaign “America Runs on Dunkin’.”
Billy Baron ’14
Billy Baron’s season on the court keeps getting more spectacular. In January, the senior basketball guard earned player of the week awards from the MAAC and ECAC. At the time, Baron ranked third in the nation in scoring and averaged 25 or more points in five straight games. He averaged 30.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in three MAAC contests between January 6 - 12. Two members of the swimming and diving team also received MAAC accolades in January. Junior Marissa Oakey was named female swimmer of the week and freshman Wyatt Sintay was named male swimmer of the week for their performances in a January 11 sweep of Gannon. Sintay was also recognized by the ECAC and selected the Division I – Metro/Upstate men’s swimmer of the week.
Under Construction: Bouwhuis Library Construction crews moved in to Bouwhuis Library in January to begin Phase I of a renovation project that will transform the space into a technology-rich learning commons. The $1.4 million makeover will add two new group study lounges and a new collaborative learning classroom. It will also include the expansion and redesign of The Curriculum Center, which is home to a comprehensive collection of educational materials to help teachers-in-training enrich their lesson plans. Phase I of the library renovation project was made possible by three generous Canisius alumni and a gift from the George I. Alden Trust. Learn how you can make a gift by visiting canisius.edu/gift. C ANISIUS COLLEGE MAGA ZINE • WINTER 2014 |
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