SHU Announces 2021 Alumni Award Winners

This Year’s Recipients Were Honored Oct. 15 During Homecoming Weekend

Outstanding Alumni Award

Angela Edward ’09
Jackson, Michigan

The recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award is Angela Edward (class of 2009) of Jackson, Mich. Edward works as a social worker at Thome PACE, an organization that provides a variety of services to the elderly, allowing them to maintain independent lifestyles and stay out of retirement homes. She was also the 2020 winner of the Jackson Community Big Sister of the Year Award. The Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes outstanding professional achievements and/or volunteer contributions to promote Siena positively to the community, demonstrate strong leadership characteristics and serve as significant role models for others.

From the President:

It’s Time for a New Plan

When I arrived on the Adrian campus more than 15 years ago, I had a plan.

At the time, Siena Heights was in a transitional stage, where it didn’t know where it wanted to go, and was struggling to find a new direction. With an inauguration message of “Be Bold. Think Higher,” we set out to change that. We focused on starting new academic and athletic programs, worked on making the Distance Learning Program stronger into a respected academic operation and aggressively hit the fundraising trail to upgrade the University’s facilities and infrastructure.

Fast forward to present, and the fruits of that plan are apparent. Our Adrian campus has undergone a remarkable transformation, with a vibrant residential student experience and first-class academic and athletic facilities at the forefront. And our Online Program is now one of the most respected in the country, and we have the U.S. News and World Report rankings to prove it.

But it’s time for a new plan.

Who Took the Jeopardy Challenge?

SHU Professor Dana Schumacher-Schmidt Appears on Iconic Game Show

This university English professor appeared on one of America’s most iconic television game shows. Who is Siena Heights University Associate Professor of English Dana Schumacher-Schmidt?

Appearing as a contestant on “Jeopardy” on April 27-28, Schumacher-Schmidt was crowned the new show champion on April 27 in come-from-behind fashion, and finished second on the April 28 show. She had a two-day total winnings of $22,600, and got both of her Final Jeopardy! answers correct.

She said she was contacted to be on the show in late January, and flew out to the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif., in late February to do the taping.

“I did feel a little bit nervous,” said Schumacher-Schmidt of making the trip during the COVID-19 pandemic. “But I felt like it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”