Class Notes—Fall 2021

Notables:

James Ebben, former dean and interim president at Siena Heights between the terms of Lou Vaccaro and Sister Cathleen Real, passed away Nov. 30, 2020. In 1987, he became the first lay president of Edgewood College, a position he held for 17 years.

Dr. Mike Dawson passed away on Nov. 16, 2020. Siena Heights University hosted a memorial service for the former board member and benefactor Aug. 14 in O’Laughlin Stadium and Dawson Field. “Doc,” as he was affectionately called, left a great legacy at Siena Heights, as well as in the Lenawee community. He was a member of the SHU Board of Trustees for 21 years, serving as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee for many years. He also was a volunteer football coach, and was a very generous benefactor to the university, particularly in athletics. In fact, the field at O’Laughlin Stadium is named after Mike and his late wife, Lynne. “We are a grateful community to Mike and for Mike,” said SHU President Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD. “He served this community in so many ways over so many years. He is an example to all of us as one who persevered through adversity, who cared enough to support the things he loved, and who found his way into our hearts in special ways.”

Class Notes—Summer 2020

Notables:

Monica Echeverri Casarez ’08, a Henry Ford College surgical technologist instructor, died April 12, 2019, from complications due to COVID-19. She was 49. As a certified surgical technologist, Casarez worked for Southwest Solutions, a social services agency in southwest Detroit. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, she returned to the Detroit Medical Center to offer assistance and medical expertise in one of the pandemic hot zones. She soon fell ill due to the virus and passed away a week later. According to Henry Ford, Casarez was a business coach and consultant who founded her own company, Blue Order, LLC. She also used her bilingual skills to work as a Spanish interpreter, primarily in the healthcare field. She also recently co-founded Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week, which was launched during Hispanic Heritage Month with a team of volunteers to celebrate the diversity of Latin American cuisine found in Detroit.

SHU Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Physics Dr. Anthony Scioly passed away July 11, 2020, at his home in Ann Arbor after a battle with leukemia. He taught at Siena Heights University for more than 30 years, teaching chemistry and physics, as well as occasionally teaching classical Greek and Latin. Scioly was a department chair for many years, and served as the longest standing chair of the Academic Standards Committee. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award in 1999, retiring in 2016. According to his wife, Claudia, “You cannot believe how many faculty and students reached out since he got sick and then went into hospice care. He was so gratified to have them write, and see the scope of the impact he had on so many.” The University will plan a time for his former students and colleagues to remember his presence to the Siena community.

Class Notes—Summer 2019

Notables:

Sean Huddleston ’05 (Southfield) was named the new president at Martin University, a liberal arts college in Indianapolis, Ind. He previously served as the vice president for inclusion and equity at the University of Indianapolis. He formerly worked at Framingham State University in the Boston area, where he served as chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement from 2016-17, and chief diversity and inclusion officer from 2015-16. He held similar positions at Grand Valley State University from 2011-14. Huddleston, 51, started his new position on March 25, 2019.

Kenneth DeGraaf ’16 was named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year for the first-year Mount St. Mary’s (Md.) women’s bowling team. The NCAA Division 1 program finished second in the conference tournament in its first season and was nationally ranked despite having a lineup of all freshmen.

Col. John Detro ’85 of the U.S. Army moved to Fort Knox in August 2018 to become director of the Leader Development Branch. He will be the director for two years and has been selected for BDE Command. He supports the Talent Management of Army Medical Officers for the Army Surgeon General. He began his career at Fort Knox with basic training in November 1987.