by Vince EVANS
To say that MAUREEN MILLANE RUSK loves to promote learning may be an understatement. But
what is not understated is her passion and drive in all that she embraces in life.
Maureen’s professional, volunteer and personal life is rich in examples of
contributions to furthering knowledge and nurturing growth. She credits Canisius College
through the leadership of Rev. Vincent M. Cooke, S.J., President for espousing the ideal
of academic excellence along with a sense of responsibility to use one’s gifts for
the service of others and the benefits of society. She is the Assistant Dean of the Wehle
School of Business at Canisius College where she is responsible for external business
programs for the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Canisius Center at Amherst, the Center
for Professional Development and the Urban Community Service Program.
While serving as the Executive Director of the Canisius Center at Amherst, Maureen was
intimately involved in every detail of the opening of the Amherst campus which functions
as a conference center, as well as hosting MBA and Center for Professional Development
programs. The center’s unique layout, which combines modern technology in its
conference rooms and computer labs with well-appointed furniture and artwork in its common
areas, provides an upscale yet hospitable learning environment. It’s not surprising
to learn that Maureen along with her boss, Dr. Richard A. Shick, Dean of the Business
School and the Center received the 1997 “Excellence in Education” award from the
Amherst Chamber of Commerce.
In her role with the Center for Professional Development, Maureen develops contract
training programs, public workshops and professional certification programs for the
business and not-for-profit community. Some of the new programs designed by Maureen and
her staff include Fundamentals of Fundraising, e-commerce for any business, Fundamentals
of Public Relations and Critical Thinking Skills, the latter of which has been offered at
twenty-five General Motors and Ford plants nationwide.
The Buffalo native honed her teaching and creative skills in her early college years. As a
sophomore she tutored upper- class students in chemistry at Cornell University for five
dollars an hour. She also held the distinction of refusing a date in lieu of the five
dollars with then Cornell football great and later Hill Street Blues star Ed Marinaro. She
was also one of the first females inducted into the prestigious Quill and Dagger Honorary
Society.
Maureen graduated with honors from the Cornell University Hotel Administration program and
earned her MBA with honors from Canisius College. She began her professional career as a
trainer in the organizational development department for the Marriott Corporation. During
her career, she served on opening teams for eleven hotels across the country and writing
over eighteen policy and procedure manuals and employee handbooks. Prior to joining
Canisius, she was Resident Manager of the 750 room Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers Hotel.
Maureen and her husband, Brian, a public relaions officer for the New York State
Thruway/Canal are parents of two children; Justine, nine and Michael, five. She is the
daughter of NY State Commissioner of Ethics Lynn Millane and the late “Bud”
Millane, attorney. Maureen volunteers a considerable amount of time to advancing the
interests of the community. Her past and present board memberships include American Red
Cross, Society of Human Resource Management and the Better Business Bureau and she is
actively involved in the United Way and Buffalo Rotary. With art as another of her
priority interests, she serves as a docent for the Albright Knox Art Gallery and conducts
personalized tours of the gallery on weekends and for corporate groups. To further raise
the understanding of business and industry in Western New York, Maureen is one of the
hosts and producers of “PULSE”, a business public service program that is
broadcast on Sundays on WUTV Fox 29.
A life devoted to service, a woman freely giving to her community, an unapologetic booster
of business in Western New York - Maureen Millane Rusk continues to nourish the seeds of
creativity and enlightenment in her everyday pursuits. We can learn much by her example
alone.
Vince Evans is a freelance writer.