LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring The Reverend Vincent M. Cooke, S.J. upon
the occasion of his retirement as President of Canisius College

WHEREAS, It is the practice of this Legislative Body to take note of and
publicly acknowledge individuals of remarkable integrity and character
whose endeavors have enhanced the quality of higher education in this
great State; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to recognize and honor
The Reverend Vincent M. Cooke, S.J. as he retires as President of Cani-
sius College after 17 years of service; and
WHEREAS, Since assuming the presidency of Canisius College in July
1993, Father Cooke has transformed Canisius College from a commuter
college serving primarily the Western New York market into a residential
comprehensive college that attracts students from across the Northeast
and beyond; and
WHEREAS, With the mantra of "nothing less than quality would be
acceptable," Father Cooke strategically crafted and implemented a
program that built modern residence facilities, created high-tech class-
rooms, heightened academic standards and enriched faculty programs; and
WHEREAS, Under Father Cooke's leadership, the look and feel of the
Canisius campus changed dramatically following the investment of 24
capital projects including a facilities facelift for Old Main, Lyons
Hall and the Montante Cultural Center; eight newly-constructed residence
halls; and the development of an interdisciplinary science center; and
WHEREAS, Technology upgrades were an important priority for Father
Cooke, and early in his tenure a significant amount was invested within
a 17-month period to create more than 50 state-of-the-art technology
classroom and computer labs in Old Main and Lyons Hall; and
WHEREAS, To meet the demands of an ever-changing world, Father Cooke
sought to make Canisius College more attractive to the best and bright-
est students of the 21st Century by encouraging new undergraduate and
graduate majors in such emerging fields as bioinformatics, digital media
arts, animal behavior, accounting information systems, ecology and
conservation, and health and human performance; and
WHEREAS, During his presidency, Father Cooke was known to say that
"our business is education first, education second, education a thousand
times before anything else," and Father Cooke backed-up those words with
actions that raised the academic standards and made a Jesuit education
more affordable by offering merit-based aid and other scholarship
assistance to students; and
WHEREAS, In tandem with these efforts, Father Cooke raised the bar for
faculty by creating learning programs that provided Canisius' best
educators with resources needed to focus on creative teaching tech-
niques; recruiting quality faculty, increasing the percentage of courses
taught by full-time faculty, and lowering the student-faculty ratio; and
WHEREAS, Father Cooke believed that the college also had a responsi-
bility to the community, and under his leadership Canisius enhanced its
community policing efforts, created an Employer Assisted Housing program
that provides incentives to college employees who buy houses near campus
and made it the college's policy to preserve, restore and revitalize
historic campus buildings, thereby revitalizing the neighborhood and
spurring economic development; and
WHEREAS, An influential civic leader, Father Cooke's leadership and
accomplishments have been recognized by a number of organizations and
his honors include Outstanding Citizen for 2001 by THE BUFFALO NEWS,
2003 Renaissance Man by the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, the 2005
Humanitarian Award from the Niagara Lutheran Foundation, and the 2007

Citation Award for Community Leadership by Just Communities of Western
New York; and
WHEREAS, Father Cooke's academic area of expertise focuses on ethics,
the theory of knowledge and the philosophy of language and his academic
career began with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University
(1960) followed by a Licentiate in philosophy from Loyola Seminary
(1965), Master's degrees in teaching (1962) and philosophy (1965) from
Fordham University, and advanced theology degrees from Woodstock College
(1967) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1971); and
WHEREAS, In addition to his duties at Canisius and his civic activ-
ities, Father Cooke is active in the Jesuit community and serves as a
member of the finance committee of the New York Province of the Society
of Jesus and in the past has served as a delegate at the Jesuits'
Congregation 33 (1983) and General Congregation 35 (2008); and
WHEREAS, Prior to joining the Canisius community, Father Cooke served
as executive and academic vice president of John Carroll University and
today, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of Fordham University;
and
WHEREAS, As Father Cooke completes his mission at Canisius College and
begins a well-deserved retirement, he leaves behind more than the mere
bricks and mortar that comprise the Canisius College campus; he leaves
behind a legacy of achievement, excellence, and dedication to the
college that benefits current and future students, faculty, and alumni
as well as the entire Western New York community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Reverend Vincent M. Cooke, S.J. upon the occasion of his retire-
ment, and to salute him for his achievements and the significant
contributions he made to Canisius College, the Western New York communi-
ty and higher education in New York State; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Reverend Vincent M. Cooke, S.J.