Empire State Today

Canisius President Steve K. Stoute announced today that the college received a $1 million gift to support its Urban Leadership Learning Community (ULLC) from an alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous.

The ULLC provides scholarship support toward tuition, housing, meal plans and fees to the best and brightest students from Greater Buffalo, with the aim to create the next generation of leaders in Buffalo and Western New York. Students in the program are from populations historically denied access and systemically excluded from positions of influence and power.

The ULLC fosters transformational leadership through team-based learning, mentorship, leadership development and involvement in co-curricular, extra-curricular and service activities. ULLC students form a diverse learning community, grounded in collaboration, inclusiveness, immersion in living and learning experiences, and problem-solving.

“We are extremely grateful for this generous support for one of Canisius’ most distinctive high-impact programs,” said President Stoute. “This gift to the ULLC shows a deep commitment to our Catholic, Jesuit, urban mission, which calls us to be persons for and with others and allows us to inspire a new generation of leaders. It will have a lasting impact on Canisius, Buffalo and Western New York for generations to come.”

The ULLC enrolled its first class in fall 2000 and experiences an impressive 80 percent, four-year graduation rate. Almost 200 ULLC students have graduated since 2004, and currently, there are 36 ULLC students pursuing undergraduate degrees in a wide-range of majors. ULLC students have gone on to graduate programs and careers in education, medicine, business and social work, among others.

Learn more about the Urban Leadership Learning Community here. 

One of 27 Jesuit universities in the nation, Canisius is the premier private university in Western New York. Canisius prepares leaders – intelligent, caring, faithful individuals – able to pursue and promote excellence in their professions, their communities and their service to humanity.

Original source can be found here.