It’s Time for a New Plan

When I arrived on the Adrian campus more than 15 years ago, I had a plan.

At the time, Siena Heights was in a transitional stage, where it didn’t know where it wanted to go, and was struggling to find a new direction. With an inauguration message of “Be Bold. Think Higher,” we set out to change that. We focused on starting new academic and athletic programs, worked on making the Distance Learning Program stronger into a respected academic operation and aggressively hit the fundraising trail to upgrade the University’s facilities and infrastructure.

Fast forward to present, and the fruits of that plan are apparent. Our Adrian campus has undergone a remarkable transformation, with a vibrant residential student experience and first-class academic and athletic facilities at the forefront. And our Online Program is now one of the most respected in the country, and we have the U.S. News and World Report rankings to prove it.

But it’s time for a new plan.

The everchanging, ultra-competitive landscape of higher education, as well as a global pandemic that has affected our university community in so many ways, required us to take a hard look at how things are done at Siena Heights University. If we are to remain a vibrant and viable institution, we must make the necessary changes to ensure our future success.

Enter the “Being Bolder, Reaching New Heights” Strategic Plan. This five-year plan has been in development for more than a year. And this past summer, our Board of Trustees approved this plan.

We are currently in the early stages of implementing various “launch initiatives” of the plan. These initiatives range from areas like innovation to marketing/branding to diversity and inclusion. All these efforts are focused on making us a better university and will position us for a sustainable future.

This comprehensive plan also includes a university-wide formal examination of the university’s curricular and co-curricular activities. We call it the Siena Transformation Effectiveness & Efficiency Reviews (STEER) process. It includes representatives of all areas of the university, including our strategic plan partner, Credo. Once completed, hopefully in early 2022, we will be acting on those recommendations.

I am grateful for the dedication of everyone who are working together to support the “Being Bolder, Reaching New Heights” Strategic Plan. I am enthusiastically looking forward to what is to come of the next few months!

And YOU are also a crucial part of our plan. We need your support now more than ever to help us keep Siena Heights the special place you know it is. Engage with us so we can indeed Reach New Heights.

And remember, it is the God of love who leads us all into new and exciting endeavors.

Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD
President