Preferred First Name/Personal Pronoun/Gender Identification Information

Perferred First Name/Personal Pronoun/Gender Identification Information

Canisius University recognizes that some students, faculty, and staff use preferred first names other than their legal first name to identify themselves.  The university offers the option of the use of a preferred first name and extends this accommodation to help foster a more welcoming, supportive and respectful campus climate.  In addition, we now have the ability to select a personal pronoun and our gender identity.  The university is updating applications and processes to accommodate preferred name preferences systematically. This will be an ongoing process and your patience is appreciated.

Note: The preferred first name is not a legal name change. Students who are legally changing their name can use the link called Change Address, Name, SSN  found under Forms in the portal (my.canisius.edu); faculty and staff should contact Human Resources.

Inappropriate use of a preferred first name, including, but not limited to, misrepresentation or attempting to avoid a legal obligation, may be cause for denying use of the name.

Procedure for Updating Preferred First Name/Personal Pronoun/Gender Identification:

• Log on to myCanisius, under Campus Services and click on the Personal Information (SSB) link.  Then click on the edit button in the upper right-hand corner of the Personal Details page.  Make your edits and click update.

Currently, Preferred First Name will be used for:

  • Classlist in D2L and My Course Roster in myCanisius for faculty
  • Campus Directory
  • Desire2Learn for students and faculty
  • iAdvise for faculty and staff
  • Ellucian (Banner) Self-Service
  • Microsoft Outlook/Exchange
  • myCanisius portal
  • Some College Communications
  • ID Card (Note: Students who choose to replace their ID card with one displaying their preferred first name should be advised that, if they have no other form of photo ID, the ID card with the preferred first name can no longer be used as proof of legal identity for employment verification or other uses requiring a photo ID as proof of legal identity)

Upcoming Preferred First Name Implementations:

  • Additional College Communications
  • Gmail
  • GriffAudit

Legal First Name will be used for:

  • Commencement Program (with option to change)
  • Degree Verification
  • Diploma (with option to change)
  • Enrollment Verification
  • Federal and State Agency Reporting
  • Financial Aid
  • Official Transcript
  • SEVIS (Immigration status reporting)
  • Student Accounts
  • Employment
  • Tax Forms