Creativity in the Classroom

Spirit of Academic Innovation
Continues at Siena Heights

By Doug Goodenough

Creativity has always been a calling card in the Siena Heights classroom over the years.

In Siena’s earlier days, it was educating Adrian Dominican Sisters over the summer months to keep them teaching in elementary and high schools during the fall, winter and spring.

In the 1960s it was the genesis of the Creative Stages youth theater program that blazed new trails and connected education to performing arts like never before.

The 1970s had Siena Heights leaving the Adrian campus to teach adult and nontraditional students across Michigan and beyond.

Today, that spirit of innovation continues. One course fuses a familiar concept—food—with one a little harder to grasp—chemistry. Another combines the endless possibilities of creative writing with the new and evolving visual arts in a true liberal arts collaboration.

What it means for the Siena Heights student is learning in new—and sometimes fun—ways.

Scholar and Mentor, Prankster and Philosopher, Counselor and Friend

Memories of Sister Pat Hogan, OP

By Jennifer Hamlin Church

Pat Hogan, OP, aka Sister John Mary, began teaching philosophy and history at Siena Heights College in 1966. She went on to chair the philosophy department from 1979 until her un-expected death March 13, 1991, while at home in Chicago on sabbatical.

Pat Hogan’s legendary impact on students was never more evident than at the 2009 Alumni Awards ceremony, when three honorees—Tod Marshall ’90, now a poet and English professor at Gonzaga University; Jacob Chi ’85, now conductor of the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra and professor at Colorado State University; and Gabrielle Davis ’85, a lawyer specializing in women’s rights—all credited her with helping them find the right road to their future.

Tod Marshall remembered goofing off and skipping the reading for his independent study with Sister Pat—until the day he found her in the library “bent over her notes and poring over what we were going to talk about that day.” Startled to realize how much time and effort she was putting in “for me—just for me,” Tod reshaped his attitude. Knowing how committed she was to his education, he said, he “never again dropped the ball” on his studies.

Jacob Chi was a 28-year-old violinist, without funds and or a place to stay, when he arrived from China to attend Siena Heights in the early ‘80s. Sister Pat opened her home, as well as her heart and mind, to the talented musician. “There is no one in my entire academic life as important as Sister Pat,” he said recently, and “no other universities (as important) as Siena Heights.”

Class Notes—Fall 2014

From The Sites:

SHU—Battle Creek

2007
Jon Campbell was one of 15 members appointed in June 2014 by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to the newly created Indigent Defense Commission. The commission was created as a result of efforts to improve legal representation for low-income criminal defendants in the state. Campbell has been an Allegan (Mich.) County commissioner since 1991 and previously served 27 years as a police officer with the City of Otsego (Mich.). He is a member of the Allegan County Central Dispatch Policy Board, the Michigan Sheriff Coordinating and Training Council Advisory Committee and the State of Michigan 911 Committee. He will represent local units of government on the IDC.

2008
Lisa Payne is employed as a resolution specialist for the Marshall (Mich.) Community Credit Union. Her position specializes in repossession, foreclosures and small claims.

SHU—Lansing

2008
Mark Vroman was recently promoted to battalion chief with the Meridian (Mich.) Township Fire Department (right). He also is an adjunct instructor for SHU’s College for Professional Studies.

SHU—Southfield

1994

Trevor Block was named the Dealer Development manager of the northeast region for Digital Monitoring Products of Springfield, Mo. He will be responsible for developing new sales and providing ongoing service for DMP-authorized dealers in Pennsylvania, western New York, southern New Jersey and Delaware. Block previously was employed as vice president of Field Operations with Guardian Protection Services as well as general manager for ADT Security Services. He currently is the chair of the Installation and Service Professionals Group of the Electronic Security Association. DMP is a manufacturer of intrusion, fire, access control, network and cellular communication products.