Bishop of Lansing Helps Siena Heights Dedicate New Altar in St. Dominic Chapel

SHU dedicated its new, custom-built altar in St. Dominic Chapel during Mass April 29. The Bishop of Lansing, the Most Rev. Earl Boyea, presided at Mass and the blessing ceremony. Funded by a grant from the Koch Foundation, as well as from benefactors and Siena Heights University, the new altar was hand-crafted by Amish carpenter Clayton Yoder and designed by Lenawee County architect Kara Lennard. In addition to the altar, the set also includes an ambo, presider’s chair, deacon’s chair, large table, small table, blessing font base and lectern. The bowl for the baptismal font was hand-made by an artist at the Toledo Museum of Art. A reception followed in the McLaughlin University Center. To see many more photos from the Altar Dedication ceremony, visit our web photo album here.

Ritz Retires from SHU

In December 2013, Bob Ritz announced his retirement after 11 years at Siena Heights University as learning specialist for Student Support Services and disability coordinator. His retirement was effective Dec. 31. Laura Lyall was hired to fill Ritz’s position in January 2014.

Mitchell Named Director of Education Program

Dr. Carrie Mitchell has been named the director of the Education Program at SHU. As a part of restructuring efforts, this newly created position is responsible for the administration of all aspects of both the graduate and the undergraduate Education programs. Sally Rae continues as program coordinator of the undergraduate Elementary and Secondary Education programs, while Eleanor Wollett continues as program coordinator of Language Arts and Kathy Burke as program coordinator of Child Development.

SHU Again Wins Battle for Blood Challenge

Siena Heights University kept the trophy in the Battle for Blood Challenge again this year by winning the Red Cross blood drive event. SHU donated 71 pints of blood, besting Adrian College’s 63.

Baker Testifies Before Congress in Washington

SHU accounting faculty member and small business owner Donna Baker testified earlier this year in Washington, D.C., before a Congressional hearing on the Affordable Care Act. She was featured on major news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, C-Span and Fox News.

Acapelicans Release First Single on iTunes

The SHU Acapelicans have released their first song on iTunes! All proceeds will go toward mixing and mastering future tracks and the release of the group’s full album. Purchase and download their first single “Hall of Fame”.

Graduate College Faculty Member Publishes Book

SHU Graduate College adjunct professor Dr. Kimberly Yost announced the publication of her book “From Starship Captains to Galactic Rebels: Leaders in Science Fiction Television” from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. The book explores crisis leadership and the principles of love, forgiveness, redemption and embracing the Other through the context of science fiction narratives and the military, political, spiritual, emergent and rebel leaders depicted in series over the past 25 years. Characters from television shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Farscape, Stargate Universe, Firefly and Star Trek Voyager, Deep Space Nine and Enterprise are profiled to encourage people’s reflective understanding of leadership in extremis and issues of social justice. The book is available on Amazon.

Youth Theater Program Celebrates 50 Years

Theatre Siena celebrated the 50th anniversary of the youth theater program with a gala celebration Feb. 1, 2014, in the Stubnitz Lab Theater. The reception and dinner preceded the Creative Stages youth theater performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Midterm” (right) in Francoeur Theater. This was an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic and directed by Joni Warner.

Barbee Publishes Book

SHU English faculty member Matthew Barbee has released his first book, “Race and Masculinity in Southern Memory: History of Richmond, Virginia’s Monument Avenue, 1948-1996.” The book is part of the “New Perspectives in Southern History” book series. According to Craig Thompson Friend of North Carolina State University, Barbee’s narrative reanimates Monument Avenue’s statues with the debates over their meanings and purposes in a city struggling with race and memory. The book also pays special attention to the impact of civil rights’ struggles on Monument Avenue. Barbee demonstrates that Monument Avenue has constantly evolved and has broadened to encompass a broader range of Richmond history but that it has consistently depended upon traditional values of Southern masculinity. “Race and Masculinity” is available online at Amazon.

U.S. News and World Report Honors SHU’s Online Program

U.S. News and World Report recognized Siena Heights University in its 2014 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs rankings, SHU’s Distance Learning Program was one of only 12 Michigan colleges and universities to make the national list, and one of only four private Michigan institutions ranked. SHU has offered online bachelor’s degree programs since 2004. “Siena Heights University has a long and successful history of educating adult and nontraditional students,” said SHU President Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD. “We are honored to make this prestigious list and it confirms what we at Siena Heights already know—our Distance Learning Program consistently delivers outstanding quality and value to students from all backgrounds and walks of life.” U.S. News and World Report used factors such as student engagement, faculty credentials and training, peer reputation and student services and technology as part of its methodology to determine the rankings.

Lollo Earns Sigma Beta Delta Scholarship

SHU Senior Mike Lollo recently earned a fellowship scholarship from the Sigma Beta Delta international honor society for business, management and administration. Lollo earned one of only 11 $1,000 awards for academic excellence.

English Faculty Members Publish Work

SHU English faculty members Alexander Weinstein and Karin Barbee recently had works published. Weinstein’s works include “Children of the New World” published in “Pleiades,” winter 2014; “In the Shadows of Great Action Heroes,” published in “Jabberwock Review,” fall 2013; and “Excerpts from the World Authorized Dictionary,” published in “Cream City Review,” December 2013. Also, Weinstein recently won the Lamar York Prize for Fiction for his short story, “The Cartographers.” The story appeared in the spring 2014 issue of “The Chattahoochee Review.” Barbee had two poems featured in the most recent issue of “Fjords,” a national literary journal.

SHU Granted StormReady Community Status

Siena Heights University has successfully completed the six-year comprehensive review to be granted StormReady Community status by the National Weather Service. In 2008, SHU became the first college or university in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana—and only the 24th nationally—to be granted the StormReady status. Today, there are 146 colleges or universities nationwide and 17 in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. According to the NWS, StormReady is a nationwide community preparedness program using a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of severe weather—from tornadoes to tsunamis. The program encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations.

Graduate Student Presents at National Conference

Roger Anderson, a student in the Graduate College’s Health Care Leadership cohort, had his submission, “Implementation of a focused patient mobility program,” selected for presentation at the 2014 Congress on Healthcare Leadership’s Management Innovations Poster Session from March 24-26 in Chicago. Anderson is the director of Rehabilitation Services at St. John Providence Health Care System.

SHU Again Wins Gift of Life Campus Challenge

Siena Heights University recruited the most new organ donor registrants compared to student population for the second straight year to win the Gift of Life Campus Challenge. SHU had 5.27 percent of its student population register, which was the best out of 14 state college and universities participating in the 11th annual event. The Gift of Life Campus Challenge is the largest college-based organ donor drive in the nation. In its history, the Campus Challenge has resulted in more than 35,000 people adding their names to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.

Graduate College Dean Presents in London

Dean of the Graduate College and Program Director of Counselor Education Linda Pettit, Ed.D., along with her husband, Bill Pettit, M.D., psychiatrist and adjunct faculty in the Counselor Education program, were in London presenting at a mental health conference entitled, “Mental Health Day: New Foundation, New Possibilities” on March 9. On March 10-11, they conducted a follow-up training seminar entitled, “The Simple Solution to Mental Distress.”

New York Times Best-Selling Author This Year’s Ethics Lecture Speaker

New York Times best-selling author and one of Christianity Today’s “50 Women to Watch” Rachel Held Evans was the featured speaker for Siena Heights University’s 13th annual Chiodini/Fontana Lecture Series on Ethics March 11 in Francoeur Theater. Her lecture was entitled, “Beyond the Blueprint: My Year of Biblical Womanhood,” which is based on her most recent book. Evans is an author, columnist and popular blogger from Dayton, Tenn.—home of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. In addition to her writing, the 32-year-old Evans travels around the country for retreats, conferences, universities and churches. She has been featured on NPR, Slate, the BBC, the Washington Post, The Times London, The Huffington Post and Oprah. To see our photo album from this event, click here.

Counseling Program Represents SHU in Hawaii

Three recent graduates of SHU’s master’s level Counselor Education program, along with a faculty member represented SHU at the American Counseling Association’s annual national conference March 26-30 in Honolulu, Hawaii. SHU ambassadors at the counseling profession’s flagship professional development event included: • Kathy Hill ‘13/MA, LLPC, a graduate of the Lansing program who works for Cognitive Consultants as a therapist. • Karen Morrison ‘12/MA, LLPC, a graduate of the Adrian program, who is in private practice at Perspectives Therapy Services in Lansing and serves as SHU’s Theological Studies Program director. • Kristy Blackmer ‘12/MA, a graduate of the Adrian program who is a contract therapist for Four Help Family Resource Center in Saranac and a community educator for RAVE (Relief After Violent Events) in Ionia County. • Linda Sandel Pettit ‘83, Ed.D., dean of the Graduate College, director of Counselor Education and Assistant Professor of Counseling.

Dunbar Gets Community Service-Learning Award

SHU Director of Student Engagement Gabe Dunbar was honored with a Michigan Campus Compact Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning Award Feb. 3. This prestigious biennial award is the highest MiCC bestows on faculty and staff in the state of Michigan. Dunbar was designated by peers as the faculty/staff person on campus who has made the most outstanding contributions in service-learning and community service. This award recognizes his influence on and the engagement of students to be involved in community service or service-learning through modeling, influencing or instruction. He was nominated by SHU Dean for Students Michael Orlando. Dunbar has led the Siena Serves initiative at Siena Heights University for the past two years. He has brought staff from across the university together to work in a organized way to help grow the opportunities for students to learn, grow and serve both locally and beyond the city of Adrian. He has co-advised an alternative spring break in New Orleans to assist with post-Hurricane Katrina recovery. This year, Dunbar worked with faculty and staff to create a Siena Serves credit-bearing course, which he will instruct next semester. He was formally honored during the Civic Engagement Institute 2014 Awards Ceremony and 25th Anniversary Celebration in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Tsuji Takes Home Origami Spore Challenge Prize

SHU Professor of Biology Dr. Jun Tsuji won the American Phytopathological Society Origami Spore Challenge. This challenge was established to assist the APS Office of Public Relations to educate the general public and to promote awareness about the impact of plant diseases. Tsuji successfully developed a 3D origami creation from a single sheet of paper that resembles a pathogen spore.

Jennifer Dean Named New Library Director

Jennifer Dean was named the new director of the Library in March 2014. Dean previously served as head of Collection Development and Acquisitions at Saginaw Valley State. She has a BMus from Central Michigan, a MMus from Northwestern and an MLIS from Wayne State.

Sister Schnapp Publishes Article and Poetry

SHU English faculty member Sister Pat Schnapp had her article, “Daniel Berrigan’s Lyrical Memoir”, published in the “Merton Journal.” She has also had poetry published in “The Southern Quarterly,” “St. Anthony’s Messenger” and “Vineyards.” Her review of Philip Kolin’s “In the Custody of Words” appeared in the “St. Austin Review” this spring.

Leadership Students Attend Chicago Conference

Six students in SHU’s Master of Arts program in Health Care Leadership attended the 2014 Congress on Health Care Leadership sponsored by the American College of Health Care Executives in Chicago. Students attending were Catherine Alvarez, Roger Anderson, Shelley Corp, Roland Gardner, Thea Picklesimer and Vicki Schroeder. Also in attendance were SHU faculty members John Fick, Ed.D., FACHE, and Lihua Dishman, M.B.A.

Frost Awarded Special Research Fellowship

SHU faculty member Dr. Julieanna Frost was awarded a Special Collection Research Fellowship at Hamilton College. She will work with documents on the Kerista Commune of San Francisco.

SHU Biology Students Claim Regional Awards

SHU Biology students Justin Bateson, Chas Frey, Nicole Palm, Logan Poskarbiewicz, Lindsay Rupp and Eric Wilson presented at this year’s Northeast Region District 4 convention of Beta Beta Beta March 29 at the University of Findlay, Ohio. Seventy-five students representing 11 colleges and universities were in attendance. Bateson received a second place award for his poster presentation on earthworm coelomocytes. Frey took third place recognition for his platform presentation on dragonflies and damselflies, while Rupp received a second place award for her platform presentation on barred owl pellets. SHU students received a third of all awards at this convention.

Michigan Campus Compact Honors 10 SHU Students

Siena Heights University had 10 students recently honored at the 18th annual Michigan Campus Compact Outstanding Student Service Awards Celebration Saturday at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing, Mich. Eric Gilbert and Jacob Waldvogel received the Commitment to Service Award for their breadth or depth of community involvement or service experiences. Only 36 students will receive this award. Amy Garno-Anderson, Koreena Hemker, Catherine Mangan, Jessica Rinehart, Samantha Staley, Tiffany Swoish, Celsie VanLoon and Mariann Weiss received the Heart and Soul Award. This award is given to students to recognize their time, effort and personal commitment to their communities through service. Each year, MiCC awards students from member colleges and universities across the state for their outstanding commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Michigan Campus Compact is a coalition of college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purpose of higher education.