Niagara University Celebrates 150 Years

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Niagara University is a liberal arts university in the Vincentian and Catholic traditions. Basic to the academic, co-curricular and extracurricular programs at NU is the conviction that the students need, on the one hand, to be prepared for productive roles in society and, on the other, to be provided with the opportunity to fulfill their intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual potential. The various colleges offer courses and directed experiences which equip students for a wide variety of professions and other careers. A broadly based, integrated program of liberal arts and sciences courses, supported by an array of extracurricular activities chosen for the wide variety of their appeal, is designed to supply holistic education.

Niagara recognizes its place in the local community and feels obligated to place its considerable facilities and resources at the disposal of neighboring groups and individuals, to whatever extent may be feasible. Thousands of people come to the campus annually to attend intercollegiate sporting events, theater performances and other cultural activities. Niagara participates in 15 NCAA Division I sports in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Its men's and women's hockey teams play in the College Hockey America conference.

Vincentian tradition gives Niagara University its unique identity. It was founded in 1856 by the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers, who take their name from their founder, Vincent de Paul. Vincent was a French priest who lived from 1581 to 1660. Vincent's special dedication was to the poor and helpless. Because of its Vincentian heritage, Niagara seeks to instill in its students a deep concern for the rights and dignity of the human person, especially for the poor, the suffering, the handicapped, and the outcast. This has been recognized by The Templeton Foundation, which numbered Niagara among 100 colleges and universities nationwide that were recognized for offering programs that inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives.

B. Tom Golisano Makes Large Gift to Niagara University College of Arts and Sciences

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Father Levesque Said

A year ago last May, Niagara University embarked on the largest fund raising campaign in its 152-year history. We knew it was an ambitious undertaking, but we also knew it was an essential one if we are to continue the wonderful transition taking place in teaching and learning on this campus. The new Academic Complex is evidence of the progress that has been made in improving our facilities. The Promise of Niagara, has received the largest gift in the long and distinguished history of Niagara University, B. Thomas Golisano, a businessman and philanthropist perhaps best known to Western New Yorkers as the owner of the Buffalo Sabres, has committed $10 million to support construction of a new interdisciplinary science building, a facility that will radically alter the teaching and research environment on our campus. Bio-technology and bioinformatics have been identified as potentially vital new industries for our region, and Niagara University intends to be a player in their growth and development.

Dr. Nancy McGlen Said

With our community and academic partners, NU science faculty and students have done research on initiatives that have produced the start-up of a new biomedical company headquartered at NU, a pending patent for a new drug-delivery system designed by an NU faculty member, and developed insights into solving important health and community problems.; At the heart of this effort are the science faculty who have implemented cutting edge instructional methods that have dramatically enhanced the quality and breadth of undergraduate studies in the sciences at NU. Our professors provide students with opportunities to use the latest scientific technologies to engage in integrated, interdisciplinary research on real-world community problems. This extraordinarily generous gift will allow us to expand our efforts exponentially. The B. Thomas Golisano Center for Integrated Sciences will serve as a source of inspiration for our students to explore the future of scientific study. It will allow students to directly observe, as well as more easily participate in, research projects in integrated science. It will instill, at an early stage, a career-long expectation of collaboration among scientists of diverse disciplines, and in so doing, the new facility will significantly enhance student success in their careers.

Ashley Bantelman Said

I am a junior biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to my major, I have minors in math, chemistry, philosophy and French. And like a lot of my classmates, I am doing research with one of my professors, Dr. William Edwards.; Our research centers on ecology and limnology, the study of bodies of fresh water, which we have in abundance around here. Our labs are also involved in the study of heart disease with the Heart Center of Niagara. We do all this in a facility that needs updating. And that makes this gift all the more special. It is an investment in a very good university that will only get better as a result of Mr. Golisano's generosity. I have only one regret. As a junior, I will not get to see the completion of the B. Thomas Golisano Center for Integrated Sciences. But I will always be a Niagaran. I will always be proud of my alma mater and grateful for the fantastic education it provided me. And I will be absolutely delighted a few years from now to look back, with pride, on how far my university has come in advancing the study of science.

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