The first of the three presidential finalists visited campus this Thursday. Glynis Fitzgerald, Ph. D, the current provost at Alvernia University, was the first of three finalists to visit campus.
Her visit included meeting with numerous faculty and staff members, as well as a public forum where she answered questions from members of the campus community. The forum was held on Thursday in Montante Cultural Center and was also live-streamed via Zoom.
Dr. Fitzgerald wasted no time jumping in. She started with a quick introduction, explained why she wanted to be the next president of Canisius College and then took questions for the remainder of the time.
A Native of Grand Island, Fitzgerald wrote in her cover letter, “I always held Canisius College in the highest regard and aspired to attend. However, when the time came, my family and I agreed that I would only apply to public institutions, based on perceived financial barriers.” She spoke about her desire to make Canisius College accessible to as many prospective students as possible.
At her current institution, Alvernia University in Reading PA, Fitzgerald services approximately 3000 students as provost and senior vice president. During her tenure in higher education, Fitzgerald has also served as a professor and has held many administrative positions at Central Connecticut State University.
In her time at Alvernia University, she has had experience assisting the college with financial problems. In the restructuring process no professors were cut, some took voluntary separation agreements. Academic programs were retained as well, however, some were merged with others.
Fitzgerald shared that she has a strong belief in shared governance and transparency. She wants to work on building trust with faculty, staff and students — something that, due to past events, has occasionally been spotty.
In her cover letter, she wrote, “I am firmly committed to academic excellence and broadening participation in higher education, passionate about community engagement, public service, research and economic development, and a facilitator of student, faculty and staff success. I believe in the transformational power of education and providing faculty, staff and students the tools and financial structure to facilitate their success in every endeavor they undertake.”
If chosen for the role, Fitzgerald would be the first woman to serve as president of Canisius College in its 151 year history.
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