In 1951, Sister Theophane was transferred to work at the newly established Rosary Hill College in Buffalo, now Daemen College. Sister Rufina Lutz, an alumna of Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart class of 1918, became principal in 1954, followed in 1956 by Sister Corinne Halsema. The curriculum was enhanced to keep up with the changes in business and the sciences, and students took leadership roles in the Sodality and Third Order Regular of St. Francis. Members of the student council, one of the first of its kind in WNY schools, led the school in daily activities and participated in the planning of the weekly Friday Masses. Girls enjoyed dancing to juke box music during lunch and cheering on the SHA basketball team as they competed against other schools. The school newspaper, Our Lady’s Torch, was winning several top high school prizes in WNY. Gilbert and Sullivan operettas were performed on the SHA stage.
In the years after World War II, the old Buffalo began to disappear. The city's population declined, industries downsized, manufacturing moved out of the area, and Buffalo landmarks, such as the Larkin Soap Company, were demolished. While there was still construction, it often came at a cost. The Scajaquada Expressway, a symbol of modernism and progress, bisected the Olmsted Park System and split the heart of the city. Still on the forefront of science and invention, in 1958, Wilson Greatbatch patented the first internal pacemaker.