Siena Heights University - Sister Peg
Mitch Blonde introduced today’s speaker and colleague, Sister Peg – President of Siena Heights University who has been with the institution for the past 7 and a half years. She is originally from south Florida where her Father of 93 still lives. Mitch said that Sister Peg is a “wonderful balance of that drive and that fire in the belly that you need to move things forward but mixed with compassion”.
Sister Peg began by telling the audience that the service the Noon Rotary Club provides impacts the entire community and thanking us personally for that as well as the scholarship we provide through the foundation. Siena is “alive and well” she said, and still growing! Their mission and vision is very important to them and was built on a foundation of deep spirituality back in 1919 by a group of courageous women whose shoulders the institution now stands on. SHU has another campus in Florida as well as a high school in Wilmet, IL and a grade school in W. Palm Beach as well as a couple of hospitals.
The true definition of “humility”, Sister Peg said, is to know who you are! This past summer SHU was honored (2nd year in a row) as one of The Best Colleges to Work For! Out of 300 colleges, 97 were so recognized and SHU particularly because of the respect and appreciation people on campus show to one another as well as for the supervisor/department chair relationships and the work/life balance at SHU.
SHU also recently ranked as one of the Most Affordable Catholic Institutions. They were ranked #24 in the top 36. SHU’s focus is to always rank below the median cost among private colleges and universities in Michigan. No one student pays the full ride due to the scholarships and financial aid available to them. On a $33M budget, she said, SHU gives back $8M to its students to support them and their education. Tuition is $20,000 per year.
SHU also ranked 19 out of the top 30 colleges and universities in Michigan in the category of Highest Return on Investment due to the fact that students who graduate earn more over their lifetime than those graduating from the other schools. SHU students do very well after they graduate, Sister Peg said, since they are “very well grounded and have an ethical component in what they do, they are very confident in what they do, etc.”
SHU is also a military- friendly institution and even have a Veterans Club on campus. Enrollment during the time Sister Peg have been there has grown more than one third. No more bed space is available. There were more Freshmen this year than ever before in the university’s history! They want students who are “competent, purposeful and ethical in a teaching/learning environment that respects the dignity of all”, she said.
Sister Peg mentioned the dedication of their new McLaughlin University Center – a $9.1M project – replete with a dining hall (open to the public), Starbuck’s coffee outlet, boardroom and book store. SHU is making arrangements to purchase the old St. Joseph Middle School from the Adrian Dominican Sisters. SHU has renewed their Master Plan for the campus and within the next 3-5 years Francouer Theater will be renovated and a marching band room will be added on to it. Also planned is a new 300-seat theater built between Francouer Theater and Studio Angelica (visual arts center). Phase II of the ball diamond project is also in the works (press box, restrooms, lights and concession stand) thanks to an estate gift from Bud and Hazel Leonard. To help the institution grow strategically and help students grow, committees are currently looking at offering and making recommendations to possibly offer classes in Engineering and Creative Writing.
Sister Peg concluded by saying that while many exciting things are happening at SHU, nothing is more important that the students who are their “pride and joy”.