Buffalo, NY – The Office of Alumni Engagement at Canisius University will host its third in a series of live webinars on Thursday, December 10. “Diversity and Inclusion at Canisius University: Being Called to Make a Difference” will take place from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The webinar will feature a presentation by Fatima Rodriguez Johnson MS ’98, associate dean for diversity and inclusion at Canisius. It will be moderated by Patrick Eugeni ’21, a biology major at Canisius and president of the Undergraduate Student Association (USA), and alumnus Robert Maloney ’71, a member of the Canisius University Board of Trustees. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.
For more information and to register for the webinar, click here.
Fatima Rodriguez Johnson will share with the audience the college’s 2020-21 Racial Equity Plan, which includes curriculum and academic initiatives, the development of intersectional education programs among student organizations and college departments, and new strategies for the recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff. Rodriguez Johnson will also discuss how she is being called to make a difference in the Canisius community, and the importance of internal and external support.
Rodriguez Johnson became the first associate dean for diversity and inclusion at Canisius University in 2019. She works in collaboration with the ALANA Student Center, chairs the college’s Racial Diversity Team, oversees the Academic Talent Search Program and serves as director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program. In all of these roles, she provides leadership, coordination and strategic planning for campus-wide initiatives aimed at advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Rodriguez Johnson has two decades of experience working in higher education and previously served as associate dean of students for multicultural programs and services at the State University of New York at Geneseo.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the State University of New York College at Fredonia and her master’s degree in higher education and higher education administration in 1998 from Canisius University. In 2017, Rodriguez Johnson was honored with the INSIGHT into Diversity Giving Back Award.
One of 27 Jesuit universities, Canisius is the premier private university in Western New York. Canisius celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary during the 2019-20 academic year, marking 150 years of Jesuit education and leadership in the city of Buffalo and Western New York.
