Over the summer, Canisius hired Spencer Liechty as its new director of campus ministry.
Liechty used to work at Xavier University after having gone there for both his undergraduate and masters degree. He worked at Xavier for four years and enjoyed his time there, but decided he would move to Canisius College. Liechty came to Canisius because it had a need to be filled and he was “looking for his next step to grow both professionally and personally.”
Liechty also has ties to the Jesuits and the Ignatian values since he was at Xavier University. When asked what his favorite of the values is, Liechty said, “Discernment has to be my favorite because it is extremely important to a college environment since it’s about figuring out what is best for an individual.”
When comparing Canisius College and Xavier University, Liechty said that both campuses were beautiful with very strong communities. One difference he noticed is that Canisius has a larger commuter student body than Xavier.
Liechty mentioned that he will handle his new position with three core beliefs: radical inclusivity, student led programs and building equitable and just programs. He holds these values because they not only align with his personal values, but his faith calls him to these because he wants to show that Campus Ministry is for more than just students who are Christian.
Liechty wants to hold the Service Learning Immersion Program again here at Canisius, and applications for the Wheeling, West Virginia trip have already gone out to students and are due Oct. 3. He also wants to continue to make events that Campus Ministry holds inclusive to every student here.
In his short time here, some notable moments for him were meeting students at the masses, at Ignite Nights, during Orientation and during the Leadership Conference. These moments stood out to him because he wants to get to know the students here at Canisius.
Liechty is excited for some of the upcoming events that Campus Ministry is holding this year such as the film screening of a movie about Laudato Si on October 17, the KAIROS retreat which will start in the first weekend of November and the Winter Break service-learning immersion program in Wheeling, West Virginia from January 7 to 13.