BUFFALO, NY - Anthony J. Colucci Jr. ’55, Esq., cites the Catholic, Jesuit education he received at Canisius as a crucial influence in his personal formation and professional success. Now, he and his wife, Carmela HON ’88, are helping to ensure that tradition continues for future students with a seven-figure commitment to Canisius. The gift will be added to the endowment for the Anthony J. Colucci Jr. ’55, Esq. Family Scholarship Fund.
“Carmela and I are proud to support the college’s mission of providing a high-quality Jesuit education to deserving students,” says Colucci. He notes that “Canisius’ rigorous core curriculum, saturated with Catholic, Jesuit theology and philosophy,” prepared him well for life and his legal career.
While pursuing his juris doctor degree from the University at Buffalo School of Law, Colucci wrote for The Buffalo Law Review, a student-run law journal. He went on to practice law and serve as treasurer of the Erie County Bar Association. Today, Colucci is senior attorney and special counsel at the well-respected Bouvier Partnership in Buffalo and Block, Colucci & Associates in Palm Beach, FL. He built a reputation practicing banking, corporate finance and real estate law. But Colucci is most proud of a career that, he says, “was always guided by a moral compass.” It’s just one of many valuable lessons taught to him by the Jesuits. Another is giving back.
Colucci is among the region’s most engaged, influential and philanthropic leaders. The Western New York Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Bison Fund, and the Arts Council of Buffalo and Erie County all have called upon Colucci for his counsel. So too has former Governor George Pataki, who appointed Colucci to the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority. Colucci also served as chair of the City Civil Service Commission, at the invitation of the late Buffalo Mayor Frank A. Sedita ’33.
Carmela Colucci is executive director of the Peter and Tommy Fund, which is dedicated in memory of the Colucci’s two young sons: Peter Canisius and Thomas Aquinas. The fund is a major benefactor of pediatric liver research being conducted at Women and Children’s Hospital.
The Colucci’s spirit of civic service permeates even further when Anthony and Carmela work side-by-side. The couple has helped further such organizations as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute and the NativityMiguel Schools.
At Canisius, Anthony’s vision and strategic thinking helped guide the college during his two, six-year terms on the Board of Trustees, and five-year term on the Board of Regents. For his loyal service to alma mater, Anthony was inducted into the DiGamma Honor Society. He is also a past recipient of the LaSalle Medal and Distinguished Alumni Award. Canisius conferred an honorary doctor degree upon Carmela Colucci in 1988.
"Tony and Carmela's active involvement and longstanding support of Canisius have played vital roles in the college’s success story,” said President John J. Hurley. "We are deeply grateful for their generosity. This gift continues their legacy at Canisius and will benefit our students far into the future."
