Don Kleinow

Siena Heights University honored its former longtime coach at the inaugural Don Kleinow Memorial Invitational April 14 at O’Laughlin Stadium. There was a special ceremony in which the track was dedicated and blessed, and members of the Kleinow family and current and former track and field athletes ran a lap in memory of Kleinow, who passed away in 2011. The Saints also debuted a new raised runway pole vault pit, one of only a few in the Midwest. SHU’s Lenzey Stidham and Ricky DePalma took full advantage, winning the collegiate portion of the vault. Freshman high jumper Phoenix Duncan also set a new school women’s outdoor record at the meet by jumping 5 feet, 10 inches.

New Men’s Basketball Coach Hired at SHU

Joe Pechota

Joe Pechota was recently named the new men’s basketball coach. Pechota was the head coach for seven seasons at Brescia University, an NAIA school in Owensboro, Ky. Pechota led the Bearcats to appearances in the last two Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finals. Prior to coaching at Brescia, Pechota was an assistant at NCAA Division I Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne for six seasons, and also was an assistant at Ferris State and Alma. Pechota was an all-conference player at Concordia, graduating in 1995 with a degree in physical education. He earned his master’s degree in sport administration from Central Michigan University in 2001.

Competitive Cheer and Dance Begins in 2012

Siena Heights announced the addition of a competitive cheer and dance team to its athle- tic department. The new squads will start in the 2012-13 academic year, bringing the uni- versity’s total number of athletic teams to 20. Read more . . .

Siena Heights Is a Safe Haven for Many Students . . . Including the Homeless

By Doug Goodnough

Editor’s Note: Because of the sensitivity of the issue and privacy concerns, the names of the students who were interviewed for this feature have been changed.

Siena Heights University ends its mission statement with the phrase, “. . . respects the dignity of all.” That’s a bold statement to make. But Siena Heights has a history of educating students of all backgrounds, traditional and non-traditional alike.

However, there is another, almost invisible, group that also must be educated. It’s those students without a place to call home. Maybe they are victims of circumstances, a bad family experience, or just abject poverty. Society often shows little mercy on these students, leaving them to fend for themselves, bouncing from house to house, place to place, with little or no hope of escaping their fate. And the cruel irony is they don’t want to be seen, don’t want to be heard. In fact, many are embarrassed to even ask for help, often victims of their own fierce pride.  Read more . . .