The Student State of the University

By: Mikayla Boyd and Ashley Kurz, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor

On Friday, Nov. 7, President Stoute, alongside Dr. Harold Fields, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dr. Bridget Niland, Vice President of Academic Affairs, held a Student State of the University. The event was in collaboration with the United Student Association (USA), thanks to President DeGlopper and the USA executive board’s efforts to put it on. The inspiration came from the faculty State of the University held each year in relation to administrative updates and questions from Canisius’ staff. Stoute thought of last week’s event as a “Student Town Hall,” with both undergraduates and graduate students in attendance. The event began at 2:30 p.m. and ended just after 4 p.m. with a few minutes for short conversations with President Stoute, Dr. Fields and Dr. Niland. 

Beginning with a presentation, Stoute addressed the audience regarding facilities, academic and financial updates. He revealed the university’s 2025-2026 strategic priorities: student success, enrollment growth, academic innovation, fundraising and financial stability. Each area had specific initiatives and focus areas regarding it: under student success, what Stoute remarked as “our [university’s] reason for being,” fell EAB Navigate, which is the new online advising hub, the Golden Griffin Guarantee and the Golisano Center for Student Success.

Stoute also gave an update regarding facilities on campus, focusing on three spaces. First, high flex classrooms, of which two in Old Main on the first floor are now online, with Stoute emphasizing that Old Main should be the academic hub of the university, so they are moving the “administrative arm of the institution out of Old Main and invest[ing] in the classroom teaching and learning space in Old Main and bring more technology to bear on [the] student experience.” Next up for the facilities update was the multipurpose health and wellness space above Palisano, used often by the dance team and yoga initiative, but also open to all students. More information on yoga can be found in the Oct. 24 edition of The Griffin, and more information on the studio as a whole can be found in the Sep. 12 edition of The Griffin. The final piece of the facilities update is the Golisano Center for Student Success, which will open on the second floor of the library next semester. This is the biggest project Canisius has taken on in the last decade, with a goal of centralizing the student success networks. This has been a challenge for the institution because of the resources being in different places around campus. Canisius’ sister school, Marquette University, opened its student success center two years ago and has seen positive improvements. 

For the campus buildings update, Stoute began with Lyons Hall and its many tax updates. Canisius intends to liquidate the building as an asset due to it no longer being subjected to a mortgage. There will be some subsidiaries that will occur because it is linked to the Village Townhouses and associated parking, which Canisius intends to keep. Once everything is settled legally the building will be placed on the market and sold. With the Health Science Complex, by summer 2026, the last of the academic programs there will have moved to Science Hall and the only Canisius-affiliated organization that will remain is ROTC. Science Hall is the newest building in Canisius’ portfolio, with continued investments being put into the building. Over this past summer, the animal behavior ecology and conservation (ABEC) program has been moved into Science Hall as well as the physician assistant and kinesiology programs. Being able to make the most of the space is the end goal. As for the resident halls, Stoute explained that they work on smaller pieces of each of the buildings at a time – furniture upgrades, new paint and updated lounge areas, for example. 

The next segment of the presentation was financial updates. Stoute explained that he inherited a large operating deficit but has brought it down significantly with the work of his administration. Currently, the university is almost at a balanced budget. An academic update was given next, this being in relation to the Golisano Center. Stoute explained the new advisement model: student success teams (SST). SSTs will manage the division of labor seen in faculty today, as well as being an asset for all students. Canisius will plan for students to lean on their SST and advisors. The academic structure has also changed recently, instead of there being three units, academic programs are now split into two. Stoute told the audience that this new structure means greater collaboration and efficiency in the programs Canisius offers. He wants all students to graduate with easily transferable skills and a well-rounded, broad education. Stoute characterized that new programs will cover the “needs of students.” This section was the end of President Stoute's presentation and began the question-and-answer portion with the attending students.

The first question asked was by a student concerned about AI art being used to promote Canisius and how it has leaked into DMA areas. They wanted to know why AI is being used in the curriculum and advertisements. Dr. Bridget Niland took this question. She said that artificial intelligence has been a tough subject for all universities and Canisius has not yet decided on where they stand. Dr. Niland explained that Canisius wants its students to be prepared for a world with AI, and there is also a competitiveness to it in terms of advertising. This is an issue the faculty is actively working on, in regards to sustainability and the student body. 

The next question was from a senior curious about the sustainment of current programs and members of faculty who have left the university. Stoute responded that professors have dealt with so much – post-COVID fatigue, the inability to keep up with curriculum changes and technology’s negative impacts on education. He also clarified that he cannot control who decides to leave and who chooses to stay. Stoute explained the $50,000 fellowship fund faculty recently received. There was mention of the many State University of New York (SUNY) schools dealing with the same issues as Canisius. Dr. Niland jumped in to mention the harsh reality of the private and public markets that universities operate in. Although private universities and public universities have a similar education model, public universities have always outpaced private markets. Being able to compensate with a good working and learning environment is the current issue, as well as a 15% reduction in the number of students going to college nationwide. 

The next student was concerned about the outcome of course evaluations. She believed that course evaluations have not been taken seriously enough by the school, with responses only being available to the professors. Any member of staff cannot access course evaluations without permission from the professor, Dr. Niland explained. The student thought it was pointless to mention issues students have with a course if there is not going to be any higher intervention, if necessary. Dr. Niland confessed her dissatisfaction with the current process and agreed with the students' concerns, clarifying that it is something she is looking into solutions for. For now, she told students to go straight to her with any direct issues. The answer concluded with President Stoute and Dr. Niland mentioning that they are working to improve. 

Another student voiced their concerns with the space in Science Hall and how it has taken on so many new programs. Stoute explained that the goal is for Science Hall to be a hub for students with heavy foot traffic. He assured the students that there is more than enough room; a higher density of students leads to sparks, innovation, collaboration and creativity across disciplines. The student also asked about the continuing work order issues. There have been heavy delays in work order compilation and response times, and Stoute explained that the current process is not getting the right people to the right place at the right time. This is currently being looked into by USA and will be considered by administration. 

The next question concerned the parking spaces in the Lyons lot and how they will be affected with the future sale of Lyons Hall. Dr. Fields explained that in the proposal that is currently being worked on, there will only be 20 spots lost in the sale, and they are exploring other possibilities to get to a net zero loss. New potential parking locations have been identified but not yet approved by anyone in administration. 

One of the final questions was asked by a student concerned with the dyslexia support at Canisius. It was explained by Dr. Niland that Canisius must be better. The teams have not always prioritized accessibility development, and they are actively working on making committees in student affairs to help teams take ownership of their own development. Sustainability practices are being built and Dr. Fields also expressed that the consolidation of the student center will allow for support teams to be more efficient and thorough as some accessibility support staff have had to serve as student success coaches as well, spreading them thin. 

Stoute and Dr. Niland closed by emphasizing that a balanced budget is key to gaining community support, and with our two sources of revenue being tuition/fees and philanthropy, we rely on community support to further our mission. With that, President Stoute, Dr. Niland and Dr. Fields turned it back over to President DeGlopper, who thanked the three for their time on behalf of the USA and the student body.