From the Editor:

The Quest to Be Better

My old college baseball coach used to say, “You get better or you get worse; you don’t stay the same.” That phrase has stuck with me through my professional career, including my time at Siena Heights University.

After nearly eight years and 15 issues of being the editor of Reflections Magazine, it was time to take a fresh look at what we do with the magazine. It was not an easy decision. The reader feedback we have received on the magazine has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, there has been no clear evidence that we need to do anything different with the magazine.

So, why did we change? We recognize the University has changed quite a bit over the past few years, and we want to be able to change with it. Our readership continues to change (and grow), and today’s readers have different preferences and patterns. For instance, last year we added an on-line version of the magazine to allow our more tech-savvy readers to access content in a more mobile and convenient way.

Alumni Profile: Matt Larson ’07

Mission Accomplished: McNair Graduate Matt Larson ’07 Completes PhD, a First for SHU-Based Program

Matt Larson ’07 was the first, and hopefully, not the last. The graduate of the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program was the first Siena Heights University student to receive his doctorate since the program was instituted on the SHU campus.

Larson, who finished his dissertation and earned a PhD in criminology and criminal justice from Arizona State University last spring, is currently an assistant professor in the College of Public Health and Social Justice at St. Louis University.

“When I started at Siena I had no clue that I would go on to graduate school,” said Larson, a first-generation college student. “I was just thrilled to be pursuing my bachelor’s degree.”

In fact, Larson was perfectly content running on the track team and taking criminal justice courses until he discovered McNair, a federally funded program designed to encourage eligible students to pursue graduate studies leading to the completion of a doctoral degree.

“I found out about the McNair program at about the same time I started to fall out of love with running and in love with academics,” Larson said. “I knew at that point that graduate school was one of my options, so applying was a no-brainer.”

From the Alumni Office:

My College, My University, My Siena!

Jennifer Hamlin ChurchAssociate VP for Advancement & Director of Alumni Relations

Homecoming 2013: What a weekend! Hundreds of alumni came back to campus, the rain stayed away, there were reunions of all kinds—classes, cheerleaders, sorority sisters, fellow semester-travelers to Italy, baseball players. Read all about it in this issue of Reflections.

We work all year on Homecoming and when it’s over, I’m always in a reflective mood. That was especially true this year, because I was honored to be one of your 2013 alumni award winners. Standing on the awards stage at the start of Homecoming gave me a new perspective on Siena. So this seems a good time to talk about my work and why I am so grateful to be at this place.

My job is all about building relationships: inviting friends and alumni (you!) to reconnect meaningfully with the school you once attended. Sometimes, alums are concerned that today’s University seems different from the college they attended 20, 30, 50—or 5—years ago. And it is different: There are new buildings. There are men. There are no uniforms or room inspections, no mandatory Mass. There are students who never set foot on campus. Depending on when you attended Siena, any or all of those differences might be jarring.