Buffalo, NY - In gratitude for the education her father received, Anne Duggan established The Sigmund T. ’41 and Rose M. Kaszuba Chemistry and Biochemistry Research Endowment Fund at Canisius University this past fiscal year. The endowment supports important student-faculty research.
Sigmund Kaszuba was the first member of his family to attend college. After graduating with a degree in chemistry, he joined Durez Plastics and Chemicals Inc. in Niagara Falls, NY, where he worked as a chemist until enlisting in the Navy in 1942.
Kaszuba’s Canisius education qualified him for officer training at the Naval Academy and Cornell University as part of the war effort. He served in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II. Upon his military discharge in 1946, Kaszuba returned to Durez Plastics and Chemicals, which later became Occidental Chemical Corporation. He remained there until his passing in 1980.
According to Kaszuba’s daughter, “It is hard to overstate the benefits my father’s education had on the quality of his life and that of our family. It made possible a career he truly loved in a field that prized continued learning,” says Duggan. “He exemplified the adage ‘Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ He relished going to work each day. He delighted in scientific advancements and in having a job that promoted his continued professional development. His Canisius degree in chemistry made that career possible.”
