Welcome to Canisius University

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Welcome/Quad

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to Canisius University! We're a tight-knit community that's big on supporting everyone's personal development, and seizing uncommon opportunities to lead in the classroom, on the field, in our communities and beyond. Based in beautiful Buffalo, NY, Golden Griffins – "Griffs" for short – enjoy countless ways to get out there, get ahead, get together, and get involved.

Here are some tips to find your way around this virtual tour: To jump to the next destination, click or tap the arrow on the right side of your screen. Dive deeper into each location by clicking the interactive thumbnails on desktop, or tapping the information icon on mobile.

Student Experience

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Our tour starts in the Quad. This central hub is a peaceful oasis amid the city bustle. Griffs enjoy the fine weather by catching up over lunch, catching a football or catching some rays on a beach towel. When things start to cool down, warm smiles and s'mores shared across the bonfire pits keep things cozy. And in the winter, Griffs shrug off the white stuff by making snow angels, building snow people and waging some pretty epic snowball fights. Fun fact: Buffalo is home to one of the oldest cereal plants in the U.S., and on certain mornings your walk to class smells just like your favorite breakfast.

Student Center

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The Richard E. Winter Student Center contains our main dining hall and event spaces for on-campus activities. It's here you can grab something to eat and discover how to get involved in more than 90 student-run clubs and organizations spanning practically every interest and cause, including academics and honor societies, politics and diversity, athletics, performing arts, and social clubs.

But there's a secret lurking beneath the Student Center: a subterranean network that spirits Griffs from one end of campus to the other, even in the dead of winter – without getting their slides wet! … OK, it's tunnels. We're talking about tunnels. What they lack in secrecy they make up for in comfort and convenience, connecting most residence halls with the main part of campus.

Dining Hall

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The Dining Hall serves up nutritious, freshly prepared meals, snacks and quick bites for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Whether they're vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or have other dietary restrictions, every Griff can find something to enjoy at the five rotating stations. The Dining Hall has even hosted celebrity chef Jet Tila! Aside from daily dining, some campus favorite events are held here throughout the year, including Thanksgiving sit-down dinner, Buffalo Bills watch parties, and midnight breakfast, a finals-week tradition for all the students staying up late to finish their exam prep.

Palisano Pavilion

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Palisano Pavilion is our renovated campus fitness center. It features an array of cardio machines, weightlifting equipment, CrossFit training areas and group workout classes to work up a sweat alongside your friends. Changing rooms and showers are available to accommodate off-campus students and commuters. After your workout, head downstairs to SmoothieLab, where you can refuel with a protein shake – or reward yourself with an ice cream! You can also find our Esports Gaming Studio, which boasts state-of-the-art competitive gaming equipment.

Freshmen Dorms

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Frisch Hall and Bosch Hall are first-year residences. Both feature co-ed floors with options for suites, doubles and singles to accommodate Griffs' housing preferences. Each room contains all the basic amenities you need, including a bed, desk, dresser and closet or armoire. There are accessible bathrooms on every floor as well as lounge spaces where you can hang out with friends, study, try your hand at a new recipe at the kitchenette or unwind with some TV or a game. Bosch and Frisch also contain offices for Public Safety, Student Health and the Counseling Center, all of which offer round-the-clock support for your well-being.

Upperclassmen Housing

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Upperclassmen at Canisius have a few residence options to choose from: Dugan Hall, Village Townhouses or Delavan Townhouses. Dugan Hall offers suite style rooms with either shared living room or shared bathroom layouts. Each floor has a common space with a full kitchen and laundry. It also has some of the best views on campus! Village and Delavan Townhouses each offer apartment-style living with a community center with laundry facilities and a fitness center. Delavan is well suited to athletes because of the complex's proximity to the Koessler Athletic Center.

Athletics at Canisius

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The Koessler Athletic Center is home to our NCAA Division I athletics and boasts a multipurpose gymnasium, swimming pool, varsity weight room, fitness center, offices and classrooms. It's also home to the Athletic Training Center, where students in our health and wellness and sports and exercise health care programs can get practical experience working with athletes. Adjacent to the athletic center is Demske field, where our soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball teams defend our home turf – literally. The Harbor Center, located in downtown Buffalo, is the home ice rink for our D-I hockey program. Students can take the subway at one of two stations on campus and get to a game in minutes.

Science Hall

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Science Hall is one of the three main academic buildings on campus. Here, students get hands-on in state-of-the art labs. On a given day, you can find computer science students debugging industry-standard networks or programming robots, sport management and design students producing live broadcasts in the top-of-the-line ESPN3 studio, pre-med and health professions students working on their bedside manner with lifelike dummies, and psychology and education students working with children with special abilities in our nationally recognized Institute for Autism Research.

It's not all hard work in this high-tech space, though. You can pick up your favorite Starbucks order at the first-floor cafe and relax in the three-story, light-filled Commons.

Health Science

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Here in Health Science you'll find the animal behavior, biology and psychology departments and the Golden Griffin Battalion, our Army ROTC program. Health Science features many lab spaces to get hands on – and no, we're not talking about combining pre-portioned ingredients and washing test tubes. Even as undergrads, Griffs perform their own research and assist nationally recognized professors with theirs, Many students land coveted co-authorships on peer-reviewed articles and present findings at national conferences. Ignatian Scholarship Day, an annual campuswide event, offers students the opportunity to showcase their year-long research projects.

Library

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Don't judge Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library by its cover. This multipurpose, multicultural multimedia library has multiple layers. On the first floor you'll find Tim Hortons cafe, social and meeting areas, and the circulation desk, where knowledgeable librarians can help you navigate everything that's on offer to loan – magazines, movies, TV shows, comic books and board games… and, yes, books. There are also nondenominational prayer rooms, private spaces where students from any faith background can come to worship. The lower and upper levels offer group and silent study spaces, so when it's time to hit the books, you can work the way that works for you.

Old Main

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Topped by its iconic gold dome, Old Main is our primary academic building, and every Griff has a class here at some point. Here you'll find multipurpose classrooms, including the state-of-the-art Financial Markets Lab, where business students run the real-money Golden Griffin Fund (currently valued at over $400,000). Old Main is also home to the Griff Center, where you can connect with your Student Success Team to get help with a class, find a job, and more.

From knowledge and inspiration to challenge and success, just about the only thing you won't find at Old Main, or any Canisius academic building for that matter? Airplane-hangar-sized lecture halls. That's just not our style.

Christ the King Chapel

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Located at the center of campus is Christ the King Chapel, and no matter what faith background Griffs come from, the building is a reminder of what Canisius stands for: striving to become the best version of ourselves so that we can make a difference in something larger than ourselves. Campus Ministry is an important – but by no means mandatory – part of the Canisius experience. They host regular masses for students, faculty and staff, as well as a variety of retreats and service opportunities to give back to communities in need. Campus Ministry also offers an inclusive and peaceful environment to find comfort and support through life's challenging times.

Montante

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Among the guests who have graced the breathtaking performance space of the Montante Cultural Center are bestselling authors, acclaimed scientists, high-profile activists, and even Pulitzer and Nobel prize winners. It's also home to many of our admissions events and other large-scale campus activities. Some of our signature campus events held in this space include the Afro Fashion Show, Canisius Royals all-inclusive pageant, and countless readings, lectures and performances.

Buffalo

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Our tour would not be complete without mention of our beautiful hometown, Buffalo. Our connections to Buffalo run deep, from our connections to our historic neighborhood that counts the city's mayor among its residents, to our partnerships with area businesses and organizations. Here, Griffs are soaking in the sights of Canalside, a recently renovated recreation area on the shore of Lake Erie and just steps away from downtown. Accessing the entertainment and professional (and dining) opportunities that the Queen City has to offer couldn't be easier for Griffs, thanks to two metro rail stations adjacent to campus.

Thanks for exploring this virtual tour! The best way to experience Canisius is for yourself, so we invite you to schedule an on-campus visit soon!

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