Legacy Room A Permanent Fixture on Adrian Campus

The new Legacy Room made its debut during Homecoming Weekend 2019. Located in the former Farver Lab in the Library, it will serve as the permanent historical display for the University highlighting past and present people, places and events. The Legacy Room is open daily from 9-5. To see more pictures of the Legacy Room, visit our gallery here.

Sissen, Schumacher-Schmidt Present at Conference

On Sept. 28, 2019, SHU faculty members Melissa Sissen and Dana Schumacher-Schmidt gave a presentation titled “Engagement Through Ethnography: What Students Learn When They Write About the Library” at the 2019 Corridors: Great Lakes Rhetoric and Writing Conference.

World Wildlife Fund’s Dr. Gabby Ahmadia Featured as Issa Lecture Series Speaker

Dr. Gabby Ahmadia of the World Wildlife Fund was the featured speaker at SHU’s William Issa Lecture Series Oct. 30, 2019. Her talk was “Conservation in the Anthropocene: Creating a World Where Both People and Nature Can Co-exist.” This presentation gave an overview on global trends in biodiversity in both the land and the sea; describe the evolution of conservation approaches; provide a dose of conservation optimism and journey through different regions of the world with conservation success stories. The Issa Lecture Series is presented by SHU’s Sustainable College Committee.

Frost Has Submission Published in American Communal Societies Quarterly

SHU Professor of History Dr. Julieanna Frost had her submission “A Short History of the Columbian Phalanx,” published in the American Communal Societies Quarterly (October 2019).

Wassmer Participates in Reintegrating Biology Workshop Series in San Diego

SHU Associate Professor of Biology Thomas Wassmer was chosen to participate in the 2019 Reintegrating Biology Jumpstart Dec. 4-6 in San Diego. This collective effort charts a course for a more integrated approach to research in the biological sciences. The workshop series aims to identify the exciting new research questions that could be addressed by combining approaches and perspectives from different subdisciplines of biology, the key challenges and scientific gaps that must be addressed to answer these questions, and the physical infrastructure and workforce training needed.

O’connell Has Chapter in New Book Release

SHU Associate Professor of Humanities Michael O’Connell had a chapter titled “‘Somewhat Lost and Desolate Inside’: Overcoming Acedia in The Pale King,” in the book, “David Foster Wallace and Religion: Essays on Faith and Fiction.” It was released by Bloomsbury Press.

Jenkins Wins Prize at Michigan State Conference

Senior Communications major and McNair scholar Jacob Jenkins ’20, attended the AGEP Student Success Conference in fall 2019 at Michigan State University. At the conference, he was awarded the third place undergraduate poster presentation prize for his work entitled “Code-Switching for Success: African American Vernacular Use on College Campuses.”

Siena Heights Food Drive Sets New Record

The 16th annual Siena Heights Food Drive set a record with 137 boxes of food donated to The Daily Bread. The event is sponsored each year as a service-learning project in the social psychology course. The ideas for and staffing during the food drive are all student-led. The theme was H.O.P.E., which stood for “Helping Other People Eat.”

Wolf Featured in National Enrollment Management Publication

SHU Vice President of Enrollment Management George Wolf was featured in the December 2019 issue of the Enrollment Management Report, a national higher education publication. The article addresses the challenges of a shrinking applicant pool and more aggressive price competition from state universities. To view the article, click here.

Online Learning Program Again Nationally Ranked; Top-Rated in Michigan For Fourth Consecutive Year

For the seventh consecutive year, SHU’s undergraduate Online Learning Program was ranked nationally by the U.S. News and World Report. And for the fourth consecutive year, Siena Heights was the top-rated in Michigan among all institutions. Siena Heights tied for 33rd among all public and private institutions, and was the second highest ranked Catholic institution and the fifth highest ranked private college or university in the nation. In addition, Siena Heights was also ranked tied for 26th in the nation in the Best Online Bachelor’s Program for Veterans category. That was also the highest ranking by a Michigan college or university in that category. U.S. News and World Report’s methodology included student engagement, faculty credentials and training, peer reputation and student services and technology to determine the rankings. The publication released its 2020 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs rankings Jan. 14. Siena Heights also ranked third nationally in student engagement and fourth in faculty credentials and training, according to the publication.

Weinstein Releases New Book: ‘Universal Love’

SHU Associate Professor of English and award-winning author Alexander Weinstein released his new book “Universal Love,” at 7 p.m. Feb. 17, 2020 release party in the Klemm Gallery. The book is a collection of speculative fiction about compassion, love and human resilience in the technological hyper-age, according to the author. The book “welcomes readers to a near-future world where our everyday technologies have fundamentally altered the possibilities and limits of how we love one another.” Weinstein is also the director of the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. His book, “Children of the New World,” was chosen as a notable book of the year by The New York Times, NPR, Google and Electric Literature.

SHU Inks Partnership with Hospice of Lenawee

Siena Heights University and Hospice of Lenawee have announced a business partnership that will offer degree completion and other educational opportunities to Hospice of Lenawee employees. Hospice of Lenawee provides compassionate, patient and family-centered care to the people of the community during and after the last season of life. It is Lenawee County’s only free-standing, independent non-profit Hospice. Under the partnership agreement, qualified Hospice of Lenawee employees will receive a tuition discount and will receive personalized advising and student success and career counseling from Siena Heights.

SHU Granted Stormready^® Status

Siena Heights University was again granted StormReady^® status by the National Weather Service. 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. SHU has the designation through 2023.

Jaramillo Presents at Conference

SHU Theological Professor Eileen Jaramillo was invited by Bishop Earl Boyea to give two presentations to the Michigan Bishops and Religious Superiors at St. John Conference Center in Plymouth, Mich. on March 5, 2020. Her initial lecture focused on the current forms of consecrated life that exist and the new ones that are emerging. The second one concentrated on the ways that consecrated life brings hope to a deeply troubled Church and world. Both presentations were followed by discussion.

Iacbe Grants SHU Graduate College Candidate for Accreditation Status

The Graduate College at Siena Heights University has been awarded the status of Candidate for Accreditation by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE. In granting candidacy status, the IACBE has determined that the business programs in the following degrees are eligible for accreditation:

• Master of Arts with concentrations in Healthcare Leadership and Organizational Leadership
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Business Administration: Healthcare specialization

The IACBE Board of Commissioners met from March 30-31, 2020, to consider SHU’s application. The board approved SHU’s application and granted Candidacy status effective through March 30, 2025. Final determination on accreditation will be made by the IACBE Board after a self-study is prepared and a site visit is conducted.

Niebauer Elected to National Student Nurses Association Nominating and Elections Committee

SHU Nursing student Jessica Niebauer was elected to the National Student Nurses’ Association Nominating & Elections Committee for 2020-21. Niebauer will represent the Northern Election Area on the committee.

SHU Named MVAA Veteran-Friendly School

Siena Heights University was named a Silver-level Veteran-Friendly School for the 2019-20 academic year by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. The Michigan Veteran-Friendly Schools Program recognizes academic institutions committed to supporting the needs of veterans and military-connected students. These institutions are awarded based on their veteran-centric services and programs. Program criteria include:

• Established process for identification of current student veterans
• Veteran-specific website
• Active student veteran organization or club
• Veteran-specific career services, resources, advising, and/or outcome monitoring
• On-campus veterans’ coordinator and/or designated staff point of contact
• System to evaluate and award academic credit based on prior military training and experience
• Monitoring and evaluation of student veteran academic retention, progress, and graduation rates

Siena Heights met at least four of those criteria.

Horkey Article Receives Honorable Mention Recognition

SHU Assistant Professor of Nursing Dr. Erin Horkey was notified that her article entitled, “Reasonable Academic Accommodation Implementation in Clinical Nursing Education,” received honorable mention award recognition for all primary articles published in Nursing Education Perspectives in 2019. A committee of Editorial Board members made the selection based on the following criteria: significance to nursing education research, clarity and quality of writing, engaging writing style, sound conceptualization, forward thinking, depth and scope of the research, uniqueness and popularity based on website metrics. Her article was an extension of her research for her doctoral dissertation. Dr. Horkey will be recognized at the National League for Nursing (NLN) Summit in the fall 2020.

Siena Shares Series Debuts With ‘Inside The Huddle’

Siena Heights University debuted the Siena Shares Series with “Inside the Huddle,” featuring Saints head football Matt Kohn, on May 21, 2020. Coach Kohn discussed the history and overview of the program, including recruiting, coaching philosophies and student-athlete success off the field. Siena Shares will feature a series of virtual presentations and discussions on topics/themes such as academics, athletics, financial aid, the arts, career services, online learning and student life.

SHU Announces The Sister Jeanne O’laughlin, OP, Phd Scholarship Endowed By Trish and Dan Bell

Siena Heights University announced in July 2020 that Miami-area philanthropists, and honorary Siena Heights alumni Trish and Dan Bell have gifted the university more than $1 million to create the Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin, OP, PhD Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship honors the late Adrian Dominican Sister who was a 1958 Siena Heights graduate and a close personal friend of the Bells. Sister Jeanne championed human rights and social justice issues as president of Barry University for more than two decades. She passed away in June 2019. The scholarship will be awarded to female students who exhibit a commitment to community service and also display a financial need.