Spring Break
Drexel community bids farewall to Caneris
By: Nancy Lan
Issue date: 6/1/07 Section: News
Originally published: 6/1/07 at 1:43 AM EST
Last update: 6/1/07 at 1:44 AM EST
Originally published: 6/1/07 at 1:43 AM EST
Last update: 6/1/07 at 1:44 AM EST
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The day's festivities kicked off with a ceremony at the newly named Caneris Hall, previously East Hall. Tobey Oxholm, Dan Steinberg and Bob Buckley all spoke at the dedication ceremony and provided personal anecdotes about their experiences with Caneris. "There isn't a better person that worked for the university," felt Buckley. Steinberg, the former Undergraduate Student Association president, said that students were pushing for East Hall to be renamed as Caneris Hall and were extremely pleased with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In the afternoon, an open reception was held in the Great Court. Dozens of people stood in line to greet Caneris and his wife, Antoinette. At the reception, Papadakis credited Caneris as being a "driving force in our transformation into a nationally ranked, comprehensive research university." He felt that people responded to Caneris' leadership because he displayed strong moral guidance and stressed that Caneris had become "the most beloved administrator at Drexel University." Papadakis went on to proclaim May 31 "Tony Caneris Day" and announced two new endowed scholarships: the Anthony T. Caneris Emerging Leader Scholarship and the Anthony and Antoinette Caneris Scholarship.
During his years at the University, Caneris worked closely with Student Life, as Stacey Rose, Student Life Assembly Chair, reflected in her speech. "He isn't just that old man that doled out cash, that approved or disapproved activities…he has become a mentor, benefactor, and teacher," stated Rose. Caneris felt a strong attachment to the students and tried to attend every student affair, such as the Crystal Ball and college night baseball games. He hopes students remember him as a true working man's Vice President, someone who believed in equality regarding race, gender, wealth and all aspects of life. "I take care of everybody… and it's very emotional to have to leave," remarked Caneris.
Over 600 people attended a sold out dinner banquet held at Behrakis Grand Hall in Caneris' honor. The banquet raised approximately 425 thousand dollars for the two scholarships in Caneris' and Antoinette's names. The event maintained a festive and light atmosphere with Eric Zillmer, Athletic Director, as the master of ceremonies. Zillmer joked that Caneris had "multiple personality disorder" and presented his three distinct personalities. The first personality was Santa Claus, who was extremely generous, followed by Sherlock Holmes, who got to the bottom of issues, and finally the phantom, who "acted as the enforcer of all good and the destroyer of all evil."
At the end of the night when Caneris spoke, he told a story about a dream he had the previous night - he dreamt that he died and went to the gates of heaven where St. Peter was examining books of people's lives and deciding whether they would be sent to heaven or hell. Upon reaching Caneris, St. Peter flipped to a bookmarked page in Caneris' "book" and hastily said he was going to heaven. Caneris chuckled to the audience and said when he asked St. Peter about the quick decision, he said, "You worked for this guy named Taki, which means you've been through hell already."
