On the Right Path

Rice Award Winner Julie Barst Leaves Career in Accounting to Teach English

By Doug Goodnough

A career in accounting just didn’t add up for Julie Barst.

After graduating from Central Michigan University with a degree in accounting and working as a successful CPA at one of the top accounting firms in the nation, Barst knew she wasn’t on the right path.

“I pretty quickly realized it wasn’t for me,” Barst said of her accounting job. “It wasn’t fulfilling me. It wasn’t making me happy.”

A mysterious debilitating back injury that laid her up for several months allowed her the time to reassess her career. When she recovered, she left her accounting position, returned to school, earned her master’s and doctorate in Literary Studies from Purdue University and started her new career in higher education.

Barst, who completed her seventh year as an English faculty member in Siena Heights University’s College of Arts and Sciences, was honored April 26 with the Eileen Rice Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Barst, an associate professor of English who also directs SHU’s Ethnic and Gender Studies Institute, said being honored with the award helps validate her decision to enter higher education.

Summer 2019 Campus News

SHU Nursing Program Achieves 96 Percent First-Time Pass Rate on
NNCLEX-RN Exam

The Siena Heights Nursing Program announced that its 2018 graduates achieved a 96 percent first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) exam. This is the second consecutive year the program has achieved the highest pass rate in program history. In fact, the program has averaged a 92 percent first-time pass rate on the exam for the past four years. This far exceeds the standards set by the Michigan Board of Nursing and the AACN-CCNE accrediting body.

University Announces Siena Tuition Advantage Program

Recognizing the national trend of rising tuition costs in higher education, Siena Heights University is taking a bold step to remain affordable for its students. On the heels of Siena Heights’ 100th anniversary, President Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD, announced The Siena Tuition Advantage price certainty plan. The private Catholic university headquartered in Adrian, Mich., is locking tuition rates for full-time undergraduate students enrolled at its Adrian campus and many of its other programs beginning with the winter 2019 semester as well as for the 2019-20 academic year. In addition, SHU will phase in a two-year fixed pricing plan for all students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College for Professional Studies and the Graduate College. The University has Michigan degree completion centers in Dearborn, Southfield, Benton Harbor, Monroe, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Jackson as well as a nationally ranked Online Program.

On Higher Ground

Spencer Performing Arts Center Modernizes Siena Heights University’s Performing Arts Programs

This fall the new Mary M. and Sash A. Spencer Performing Arts Center will take center stage at Siena Heights.

Opening in time to begin the fall 2018 semester, the more than $11 million facility will open students as well as the community to new opportunities in the arts. It features a new theater, music hall, band room, dance studio and modern classroom and office space that has filled a longtime University need.

“The Spencer Performing Arts Center will put us on par with any college or university in the region in regards to performing arts facilities,” said SHU President Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD. “It was something we considered a top priority for quite some time, and the fact that we were able to build this entirely with private funding is a testament to our alumni and benefactors. We hope this new facility will be used extensively for decades to come.”