Are You One of Those People?

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Siena Heights?

Maybe it was an event like Homecoming Weekend we recently celebrated on the Adrian campus.

Or perhaps it is the majestic magnolia trees in full bloom in front of Benincasa Hall on a calm, sunny spring day.

However, when I think of Siena Heights, I think of people.

There are thoughts of the many colleagues, students and alumni I’ve gotten to know over the years. They come and go, making an impact in their own unique way. Some are high-profile, some not so much. But they all add up to what I know to be the Siena experience. Or the “Siena Effect.”

And over the past year, Siena Heights lost three people – three good men. Former board member and benefactor Dr. Mike Dawson, former student Mitchell Prater and former men’s lacrosse coach Ed Maloney all passed away during the past year, but not before making a tremendous difference for the university and their communities in their own special way.

“Doc” Dawson was a man of few words. Usually I got a nod out of him and maybe a brief conversation if I was fortunate. But he quietly went about with his support of Siena Heights. He was a driving force in beginning football on this campus, and he and his late wife, Lynne, have their names embedded on the Dawson Field turf to prove it. But as I learned at his memorial service, he meant much, much more to the University and to his community. He was a standout orthopedic surgeon until a farming accident took his left arm. He was a supportive family man who embedded himself in the community in so many ways. And, because of his powerful presence, he was like John Wayne in a baseball cap.

Mitchell Prater was a student who always had a wry smile on his face around campus. It seemed he was everywhere, and probably was. In fact, when the journalism class I was teaching livestreamed a cooking show in Benincasa, Prater served as the student judge on the panel. He played his role to perfection, and always seemed to have the right quip at the right time. His impact on the students at Siena Heights continues to resonate, even after his untimely death. Watching his family accept the Recent Graduate Award at Homecoming in his honor was a special moment.

“Steady Eddie” as I liked to call Ed Maloney, was just an engaging guy. When he came on campus to start our men’s lacrosse program, I knew he was the right man the first time I met him. He exuded a calm confidence that put you at ease. And you knew there was an intensity behind him, especially when he stepped on to the playing field. Although pancreatic cancer claimed his body in June, I know his spirit lingers here at Siena Heights. Just ask any of his former players and colleagues.

These are just three of the many, many people I have had the pleasure of knowing at Siena Heights. And to be honest, I didn’t know them as well as I probably should have. But you didn’t have to know them that well to know the impact they had – and continue to have – on this place.

People are what make this place what it is, and people will continue to make the difference as we move into the future. Make sure you are one of those people.

Doug Goodnough
Editor