facultynotes
Canisius Mourns Passing of Price
Coleman Continues Support for Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellows The Coleman Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellows Program provided an $18,000 grant to expand entrepreneurial education opportunities for non-business faculty and students at Canisius. Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Ji-Hee Kim, PhD, will use the grant to appoint three faculty fellows. Peter Boehm, PhD, assistant professor of modern languages; Dennis W. Koch, PhD, associate professor of kinesiology; and Bill Sack, adjunct professor of digital media arts, will develop courses in their respective subject areas that provide students with self-employment skills and experiences.
Justine D. Price, PhD (right) with Mark Makar ’11 (left) and Nadean Bettilyon ’12 (center)
Canisius College mourns the sudden loss of Justine D. Price, PhD, associate professor of fine arts and director of the Art History Program. Price died unexpectedly on October 24 at age 42.
Peter Boehm, PhD, Bill Sack and Dennis W. Koch, PhD
Price joined the Fine Arts Department in 2005 and quickly became an active and beloved member of the campus community. She was a passionate educator and articulate advocate for the role of fine arts in a liberal arts education. Price’s broad range of scholarly interests included 19th century French and 20th century American painting, critical theory, the history of art criticism, and the history of photography. She supported Faculty for Study Abroad programs, and participated in the London-Metropolitan Study Abroad Seminar for Canisius students and the exchange between Canisius and the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts.
Boehm will teach entrepreneurship and ethics to German majors. Koch plans to teach small business operations in health and exercise. Sack will teach presentation skills and commercialization techniques in a course that explores the rapid prototyping of technological ideas.
Outside the classroom, Price involved herself in Campus Ministry's Ignatian-based Kairos retreats. She was a faculty mentor for this past summer’s service-immersion trip to Poland, and an enthusiastic cheerleader for the Golden Griffin hockey team.
The Coleman Foundation is a private, independent grant-making foundation that supports educational institutions, cancer care and services for the disabled.
Price leaves behind her mother, father, stepmother and sister.
New Director Named to Pre-Med Center Wellenzohn Appointed Assistant Dean Nancy Wellenzohn, EdD, is the new assistant dean for the School of Education and Human Services. In this role, Wellenzohn collaborates with Canisius faculty to develop and maintain quality programs that adhere to state standards and meet students’ needs. She also coordinates the School’s accreditation process, and the advisement and administration of undergraduate affairs. Prior to this appointment, Wellenzohn served as an assistant director and instructor in the college’s Educational Administration Program. She will continue to work in this capacity, as well. Wellenzohn holds a doctorate of education in educational administration and a master’s of business administration in Nancy Wellenzohn, EdD marketing from SUNY at Buffalo. 12 0
| C ANI SIUS COLLEGE M AGA ZINE • FALL 2011
Canisius College appointed Allyson D. Backstrom, PhD, the new director of the Dr. George E. Schreiner ’43 Pre-Medical Center. The Pre-Medical Center assists students in medical school selection, helps them prepare for entrance exams to these institutions, and provides financial assistance to qualified students who pursue medical and healthrelated professional degrees. Backstrom comes to Canisius from Midland Allyson D. Backstrom, PhD University (formerly Midland Lutheran College), where she served as associate dean of the university, chair of the Department of Chemistry and past chair of the school’s Sciences and Mathematics Division. In her tenure there, Backstrom advised students in the full range of science majors and pre-health professions. She also developed and promoted Midland’s dual degree and early acceptance programs in medicine. Backstrom holds a BS in chemistry from Upsala College, and an MS and PhD in organic chemistry and bioorganic chemistry from Cornell University.