| Speaker Background | |
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John J. Hurley is
the Vice President for College Relations at Canisius College, a position
he has held since August 1997, after more than 16 years in private
commercial law practice. In his position, Mr. Hurley oversees the
college's advancement operation, which includes development, public
relations, alumni relations, government relations and community relations.
He also serves as secretary to the college's Board of Trustees. While at Canisius, Mr. Hurley led the college's advancement team during the Imagine Canisius capital campaign which raised $39 million, 30% over goal by its June 2000 completion date. The college is currently in the quiet phase of its next comprehensive campaign. He also designed the college's Employer Assisted Housing Program which offers employees grants in the form of forgivable loans to assist them with the purchase of homes near the college's central Buffalo campus. Mr. Hurley is a graduate of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, Canisius College (B.A. 1978 summa cum laude, English/History) and the University of Notre Dame Law School (J.D. 1981). He practiced with large firms in Chicago and Buffalo and concentrated in the areas of secured lending, loan workouts and creditors' rights with a special emphasis on bankruptcy. Mr. Hurley is currently the national chair of the Jesuit Advancement Administrators, a professional association of advancement professionals serving Jesuit higher education in the United States. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He and his wife, Maureen, are chairs of the Bishop's Council of the Laity for the Diocese of Buffalo. He was also a member of the City of Buffalo's Charter Revision Commission in 1998-1999 and a member of the Citizens Planning Commission. He is a past president of The Buffalo Club, the Canisius College Alumni Association, the St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute Board of Trustees and The Arts Council in Buffalo & Erie County. He has served as Chair of the Taste of Buffalo and Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME). Mr. Hurley was inducted as a Distinguished Alumnus of Canisius College in 2002. He is also the recipient of Business First's Forty Under 40 Award (1993), the Canisius College LaSalle Medal for exceptional service to the college (1996), HOME's James Crawford and Director's Awards for outstanding service to the cause of fair housing (1990, 1997), Notre Dame's Exemplar Award (1997), and the YMCA's Toast to Buffalo Award (1997). He was inducted into the St. Joe's Signum Fidei Society in 1998. |