From the Heights—Summer 2016 Campus News

Adrian Dominican Sisters Gift St. Joseph Academy to Siena Heights University

The Adrian Dominican Sisters donated the St. Joseph Academy building to the University in February 2016. Located on the Sisters’ campus, the five-story building will be used for academic purposes, classrooms and faculty offices.

“We are grateful to the Adrian Dominican Sisters for this wonderful gift and promise to live out our Dominican values and traditions with all the students who are educated in this building,” said SHU President Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD. The Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, JD, noted that the Congregation was pleased to make this gift to Siena Heights University. “Whether through myth, legend or actual history of the Congregation, our Congregation grew when Mother Camilla, with great courage and daring, began the Academy from whence St. Joseph College, now Siena Heights, became a reality,” Sister Attracta said. “We can only begin to imagine the hundreds of Sisters and students who have learned about life and how to love themselves and each other in the classrooms and hallways of the Academy. We know that the many who have now gone to their reward will look lovingly and send special graces to all who keep alive the vision of Dominic there.”

The building, which formerly served as an elementary and high school since its construction in 1948, will undergo renovations this year. The first department to move to the facility will be the Education Department. Renovations will occur in phases, and the total project will cost around $4 million.

From the Editor:

Has It Been 10 Years Already?

In this issue of Reflections Magazine, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of our President, Sister Peg Albert.

Because I arrived at Siena Heights a few months before her, I’ve had a “front-row seat” of sorts to her presidency, and all that has happened during her time at SHU.

I had the privilege of introducing her to the Siena community at her opening press conference (I tried to act like I knew what I was doing back then). Being the first Adrian Dominican president in more than 30 years at Siena Heights, I remembered thinking, “this is history in the making.”

And the impact of her arrival was immediate. Things started happening. A lot of things. We’ve documented many of those “things” over the past decade in this magazine. But taking a step back, it truly is remarkable what has been achieved when put into the perspective of our 97-year history.

From the Editor:

Alumni, Keep Those Stories Coming!

I continue to be amazed at the alumni of Siena Heights University.

During the most recent Homecoming Weekend, I had a front row seat for both the alumni awards ceremony and the athletic hall of fame banquet. Those who were honored had some astounding stories to tell.

Katie Guilbault Decker, ’89 was honored with an alumni award for her work in transforming a struggling inner-city school in Las Vegas into one of the most successful in Nevada. In her acceptance speech, she talked about how the Adrian Dominicans made her Siena Heights education happen. Not able to afford the tuition, she spoke through tears about how the Adrian Dominicans stepped in and paid for her tuition, allowing her to earn her degree in teacher education, and go on to become the award-winning principal she is today.

Then there’s the story of small-town boy Adam Hartle ’06. A promising pole vaulter from the tiny farm town of Homer, Mich., he was garnering some Division I attention before he suffered a broken back. After doctors advised him that he should never compete again, most of the schools who were recruiting him left the picture. Not Siena Heights. Again, through a tearful Hall-of-Fame acceptance speech, Hartle talked about how Siena Heights and coaches Tim Bauer and Mark Dooley believed in him. The payoff: Hartle went on to become a national champion pole vaulter for the Saints. And most importantly, he earned his degree and is a successful and productive member of society.