BUFFALO, NY ― Canisius University will celebrate the formal installation of Steve K. Stoute as its 25th president, during an inauguration ceremony on Saturday, October 22 at 11:00 a.m. in the Koessler Athletic Center. A reception will immediately follow. Both the inauguration and reception are open to the public. President Stoute has selected as his theme for the inauguration: Leadership for the Future: Renew. Inspire. Serve. Empower (RISE). His inaugural address will call on the Canisius community to Renew its commitment to justice, Inspire a new generation of leaders, Serve all we encounter with love, and Empower others to do the same.
President Stoute’s inauguration ceremony will include the pageantry of a robed academic procession led by members of the Canisius University Board of Trustees and Board of Regents, delegates representing colleges and universities from across the country, and Canisius University faculty, students and administrators. Representatives from the college’s major constituencies, including city and federal government officials, will also be in attendance as it is customary for the various groups with whom the college interacts most often, to greet the new president.
As the new leader of a Jesuit institution, it is customary that President Stoute be formally missioned by a representative of the Society of Jesus. Performing this duty will be the Very Rev. Joseph M. O’Keefe, SJ, provincial for the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus, and Rev. Thomas R. Slon, SJ, rector of the Canisius Jesuit community. Unique to Jesuit schools, the missioning charges the new president with ensuring the Jesuit character of the institution continues as a ministry of the Church.
The Canisius University Board of Trustees appointed Stoute as the college’s 25th president on February 25, 2022. He began his tenure on July 1, 2022.
President Stoute is the former vice president for strategic initiatives and chief of staff at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. In these roles, he served as the university president’s senior advisor. His responsibilities included facilitating the implementation of the university’s strategic plan, leading transformative institutional projects, as well as serving as administrative liaison to the Board of Trustees on key executive and strategic matters.
An attorney, Stoute previously worked as an associate specializing in corporate and securities matters at Dechert LLP in Philadelphia, PA. His higher education experience includes work at Princeton University, first as an assistant director of the Princeton Varsity Club in the Department of Athletics and later as a capital giving officer in the Office of Development. He also served as the life skills coordinator in the Department of Athletics at the University of Southern California.
Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, a dual-island Caribbean nation, Stoute immigrated to the United States in 2000 to attend Seton Hall University in New Jersey. At Seton Hall, Stoute competed on the men's soccer team and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in business administration. After completing the prestigious NCAA postgraduate internship, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he completed a master's degree in exercise and sport science. He earned a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
An active alumnus, President Stoute served on Seton Hall’s Board of Regents and the Penn Law Alumni Society Board of Managers. A leader in Catholic higher education, he previously served on the Board of Trustees of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL.
Click here for more information on the Presidential Inauguration of Steve Stoute.
Canisius University is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and the premier private university in Western New York. Canisius University prepares leaders – caring, faithful individuals able to pursue and promote excellence in their communities, their professions and their service to humanity.
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