Canisius & Montante: More Main Street Development
AP today reports that Canisius College received a $5.1 million donation from the family of Carl and Carol Ann Montante for the creation of an interdisciplinary science center at the college--the largest in the Jesuit college's 136-year history.
The science center will be developed in the HealthNow building and parking pavilion at 1901 Main Street. The building is best known as the site of the former Sears Roebuck store, which operated there from 1920-1980. It consists of a four-story building with 237,000 total square feet (170,000 net usable square feet) set on three and a half acres. It includes a three-level parking ramp with a total of 1,350 spaces.
The center will bring together in one location the college’s biology, chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, environmental science, physics, psychology, computer science and mathematics programs. In addition to classrooms, laboratories, offices and other support space associated to accommodate faculty with research programs, the building will also have five interdisciplinary research training groups in bioinformatics, quantitative sciences, cellular molecular biology, analytical chemistry and neuroscience.
Carl Montante graduated from Canisius in 1964 and is the founder and president of Uniland Development Company, the largest developer of commercial real estate in Western New York. Uniland was recently chosen to develop the 120-acre Buffalo Outer Harbor, the community’s largest public/private venture. Montante has undertaken numerous leadership roles at Canisius including serving as chair of the Canisius College Board of Trustees from 1997-2001.
I love to see people giving back to the people and the community that has brought them to where they are. Carl and Carol Ann Montante are great examples of citizens who have a great relationship with their community. Being a graduate from Canisius myself I can tell you how nice it was to have the added bonus of the Montante Center. This recent gift is one of the greatest gestures I have seen in quit some time and he should be commended.
Thank you from one alum to another.
ps keep up all the great work
Now here are the questions that people need to be asking for the sake of Buffalo's future.
1) If UB Amherst Campus can have a hotel and conference center on Millersport Highway at the Marriott and the Hampton Inn, etc, then why cant Medaille, Canisius and Buffalo State bring a hotel and conference center to the remaining annexes of the Richardson Complex. There are no hotels, banquest halls and conference rooms on the westside or eastside. Plus the facility could serve the Burchfield Penny, the Albright Knox, the Historical Society, the businesses on the Elmwood Strip and the surrounding community.
2) A Multi-disciplinary Science Center for Canisius which is great but here is the problem. There is no synergy between the local colleges. For example, lets take one of Buffalo-Niagara major industries: Material Science. Look at Buffalo-Niagara and you cannot remove us from Chemicals, Metals, Plastics, Ceramics, Glass, rubber, and now Nano-Materials. Yet there is no Center for Excellence in Material Science. Does it take a genius to say that a consortium of local colleges should join together to support local industries with UB taking NanoTechnologies & Research, perhaps Canisius Teams up with Cornell for Glass and Ceramics, Buffalo State takes on Metals and Chemicals.
Now thats using all of Buffalo's knowledge industries to create a powerhouse that could rival any region in the country!
3) Now follow the same example with another of Buffalo-Niagara's major industries: Logistics & Supply Chain Managment. How could the various local colleges team up to support this local industry because its not just trains and trucks. Its software, material planning, trade law, just in time simulations, etc. Couldnt each local college join together to create a consortium to similarly support this local industry.
4) Lets look at another major Buffalo-Niagara Industry: Telecommunications (from fiber optics to ecommerce). This of all the aspects to this local industry. Couldnt each local college join together to create a consortium to similarly support this local industry.
5) Lets look at another major Buffalo Niagara Industry: Power Generation. Buffalo-Niagara was one of the first places in the country to get electricity and we could very easily lead the way to coal gasification, ethanol, hybrids, fuel cells, wind, solar, geothermal, etc. Couldnt each local college join together to create a local consortium to similarly support this local industry.
I GUESS WHAT IM SAYING IS THAT BUFFALO-NIAGARA IS RICH WITH GOOD SCHOOLS: UB, BUFFALO STATE, CANISIUS, MEDAILLE, D'YOUVILLE, DAEMON, TROCAIRE, HILBERT, ST BONAVENTURE, ETC. WE COULD AMPLIFY THE SUCCESS AND REPUTATION OF OUR LOCAL COLLEGES IF THEY WORKED TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY TAKING ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL INDUSTRIES PATTERNED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE.
WE ARE TRYING TO GROW A CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN LIFE SCIENCES WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE INDUSTRIES IN BUFFALO-NIAGARA THAT HAVE OVER A 100 YEAR HISTORY SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL ECONOMY BUT REMAIN IGNORED AND UNSUPPORTED BY OUR LOCAL EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY. THIS MUST END! SOMEONE MUST DEMAND THIS MYOPIA END.
Thanks
For the record, Buffalo States Professor of Chemistry, Zeki Y. Al-Saigh is willing to champion the effort of bringing a Center for Excellence in Material Science. He agrees with me that a consortium of local colleges should be created spearhead different aspects of Material Research. Unfortunately no local business and no other colleges have agreed to join a consortium.
For the record, UB has a Center for Excellence in Global Enterprise Management headed by Doctor Li Lin, Professor of Industrial Engineering and has agreed to expand the COE in GEM to include Logistics and Supply Chain Management to support local companies. Unfortunately no local business and no other colleges have agreed to join a consortium.