By: Ava C. Green, Editor-in-Chief
On Sunday, Sept. 22, The Buffalo News named Canisius “Best Local University” in their “Best of 716” contest. Adding to the recent accolades and making Canisius’ Public Relations Director Audrey Browka’s job a whole lot easier, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, U.S. News & World Report released its “Best Colleges” ranking, listing Canisius University #31 for “Best Regional University North.”
This 40th edition of the U.S. News list compared Canisius to over 1,500 other four-year universities and colleges all across the country, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer, that places Canisius in the top 20% of northern regional institutions. The Buffalo News’ contest, on the other hand, has contestants nominated and voted on publicly between May and September each year.
In the “Best of 716” contest, Canisius University beat out 14 other schools this year, securing a place in the final five by July, alongside Buffalo State University, University at Buffalo State, SUNY Fredonia, and our friendly rivals at Niagara University – a great improvement from the university’s fifth-place ranking in 2021.
The contest was promoted in posts in Canisius’ employee newsletter, The Dome, and urged faculty and staff to vote. The school’s recent emphasis in their social media presence was something that Vice President of Advancement, Dianna Civello, believed played a large role in “reenergizing” the school in recent years, and was also instrumental in securing votes, specifically from alumni.
Alumni support has been stronger in recent years than ever, according to Civello. She cited the president’s RISE tour as a reason for the increased engagement, saying “At these events, [Stoute] would call them ‘co-creators’ of the school’s vision. It empowered our alumni.”
In the end, the energized and empowered alumni showed up for Canisius – in the voting, and at Griff Weekend registration, supposedly, with a projected attendance of close to 1,000 people. This includes family, staff, present Griffs and former ones, all who are excited to relive their glory days at their recent award-winning alma mater.
“I’ve been here since 2003 and I have never seen this much energy,” Civello said. “In that first year, [President Stoute] really had the opportunity to hit the reset button. He reinspired, and I think reenergized us with his vision for the school; it brought back that sense of Griff pride.” She added, “He lit the fire.”
It is this passion from the president that Civello credits much of these winnings to. She recalled the post-Covid struggle felt by Canisius and most institutions at the time, and how President Stoute’s inaugural year was also our first year somewhat “back to normal,” and transformative to our school's “energy,” which she praised quite often as we spoke.
As we reap the rewards and awards of this transformational energy, President Stoute seems optimistic about what's next to come. He told The Griffin, “The recent wave of positive news reflects our success in delivering on our mission and the growing enthusiasm around our vision for the future of Canisius. For our students, current and prospective, this translates into enhanced opportunities, improved resources and a degree that carries greater intrinsic value in Western New York and beyond.”
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