‘Promise of Niagara’ grows

Story by Joshua Maloni
Photo by Ric Berg
Tribune, Dispatch, Sentinel, May 3-5, 2007

The Rev. Joseph Levesque, C.M., president of Niagara University,
spoke Wednesday about pending campus improvements.

Since last August, Niagara University has been championing its past. Now, as its 150th anniversary school year draws to a close, plans are unveiling for the future.

At a press conference Wednesday, The Rev. Joseph Levesque, C.M., university president, and Robert Dwyer, chairman of the board of trustees, announced an $80 million capital campaign has begun, with a goal set toward modernizing Monteagle Ridge and remaining competitive with similar sized private colleges.

“Truly, right here and now, we are making history,” Levesque said of the drive, entitled “The Promise of Niagara – The Next 150 years.” “I believe this day is the single most important moment in my long association with Niagara – a history that spans nearly 40 years. And I dare say it will rank equal to, if not more important than, many of the milestones of the past 150 years.”

Not to be outdone by the achievements of the past, the capital campaign, which Levesque called “ambitious,” will be used to fund two phases of an NU master plan that calls for the construction of a $25 million science building, a new two-story addition to the Leary Theatre, renovations to the Kiernan Center, a contemporary resident dining commons and a cozier Vincentian residence for campus priests.

“Today, we embark on a future full of promise – the ‘Promise of Niagara,’ ” Levesque, campus president since 2000, said. “At this point in time, we begin a public effort to garner the resources needed to chart the history of Niagara for another 150 years. This is a pivotal day that will be looked on as the beginning of a new era of excellence for Niagara University.”

Phase one began last summer with the start of construction on the Bisgrove Hall/College of Business/College of Education academic building. That facility will be finalized and opened in time for the fall semester. Phase one will continue through 2012. Its crown jewel will be the science building, set to be located south of the main parking lot – across from the library and the Castellani Art Museum.

“Already, cutting-edge research is taking place on campus,” said Dr. Bonnie Rose, vice president for academics. “With the support of this campaign, I am certain that even greater and more exciting advances are yet to come.”

The parking lot will be transformed into green space. New parking will be added behind the Dwyer Ice Arena.

A new campus dining commons will be built east of the green space.

Also included in the first phase is a reconfiguration of the Leary Theatre, complete with extra seats.

Phase two, set to begin in 2012, will entail new student-style housing south of the Kiernan Center, an interdisciplinary wing attached to the science building, a new student center behind the dining facility, updates to the Castellani Art Museum and a two-story addition to the Leary Theatre – complete with a new entrance way and lobby.

In total, $40 million will go toward capital projects, with $30 million earmarked collectively for endowments, scholarships, faculty recruiting and the addition of programs. The remaining $10 million, to be called the “Niagara Fund,” will be used for academic and student life priorities, as they arise.

Within the past year, Niagara reached an agreement with the New York Power Authority wherein the university will receive low-cost power and land leading to its Witmer Road entrance.

Moveover, the biology department has developed a patent-pending medicine delivery system, which could result in the creation of a campus business.

To reach the $80 million goal, substantial private and alumni donations will be needed.

Dwyer, a 1965 NU graduate and former Morgan Stanley Dean Witter executive who has, himself, donated millions of dollars to the university, will chair the capital campaign, which he said is “the most significant in Niagara’s history.”

He said alumni, for as much as they give, rank below peer group competitors and will be called upon to help finance this initiative.

“(The key is) delivering the message of Niagara – the hope of Niagara – to family and friends”

“The opportunity with our alumni is almost an untapped resource,” Dwyer said. “Our job is to go on and convince them.”