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February 6, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Siena Heights University students and Adrian Dominican Sisters celebrated the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, January 28, 2026, in part by gathering at the school’s cafeteria for “legacy lunch,” the first in a monthly series of legacy events during the spring semester.

This second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year is the final semester for Siena Heights University, founded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1919 as St. Joseph College. In July 2025, the University announced its closure at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

“The idea is to connect our current students with the legacy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters so they can take a piece of the Sisters with them,” explained Nathan Rankins, Campus Minister. “Nothing ever ends. So [we are giving] the legacy of Siena Heights and the legacy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters to our students.”

Even as they discussed their plans for what’s next for them, the students spoke of the legacy they have received from their experience at Siena Heights University. Katie Stewart, a sophomore, transferred to Siena Heights this year but already has been affected. “Everyone is so friendly and kind, and I feel the positivity,” she said. “The instructors are understanding and will work around schedules if you’re having problems.”

Katie is majoring in psychology but hopes to change her major to physical education next year at Eastern Michigan University or Grand Valley State University. She said she appreciates the personal feel at Siena Heights University and the opportunity to attend weekday Mass.

Iris Millies, a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science, has already learned much in that field from her participation in the 2025 Environmental Leadership Experience (ELE), a weeklong, hands-on experience for Siena Heights and Barry University students at the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ permaculture garden. She said she appreciates the “focus on the environment and the opportunities I’ve had here – the mixture of the Sisters and the school.” She said she will probably attend Grand Valley State University. 

Caden Rogers, a senior, said he is “blessed” to be able to graduate from Siena Heights University this year with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He hopes to become an electrician and is applying for an apprenticeship. His study of business, he said, will benefit him in his work as an electrician, giving him skills he might need to manage his own electrical business or advance as an electrician. 

Caden benefited from his years at Siena Heights University in other ways. The faculty and staff “leave an impact on you,” he said.  He was also surprised by the diversity that he found in such a small university. “There are people I met from Brazil and the Dominican Republic,” he said. “I got to meet people from all walks of life.”

Gabriel Iott, who has been studying science and will begin his major in physical therapy at Grand Valley State University, has been especially moved by the sense of community that he found at Siena Heights University. Its smaller size helps the students to be more connected, he said. “I’m very involved in campus,” he said. “You get to know a lot of people and it’s a very tight group.”

Gabriel said that the faculty, staff, and administration at Siena Heights University are involved in campus life in many ways, including the Late Night Breakfast program, in which they serve night-time breakfast to students before the start of final exams week. “I’m in a research program and we have to have a faculty mentor,” Gabriel explained. He was never in a class with his mentor, who still dedicates a lot of time to Gabriel. Many other faculty members also show this dedication to the students. “I think that’s very impactful.”

Sister Eunice Drazba, OP, said she attended Siena Heights College when it was much smaller. She is impressed by the current students. “Somehow our legacy has affected them,” she said. In addition, the university has been very inviting to the Sisters on the Motherhouse Campus. “They let us know what’s happening,” she said. “We feel very welcome by the students.”

Nate said that the Legacy Lunch was the first in a series of planned monthly events to help students connect with Sisters and to experience the Sisters’ legacy. The next event is a Legacy Mass, to be held in February during the regularly scheduled 7:00 p.m. Sunday Mass and followed by a reception. The legacy events for March and April are still in the planning stages.

“I see the legacy of the Sisters as the signs of the times,” Nate said. “The Adrian Dominican Sisters, in my opinion, have always been able to discern the signs of the times and how to respond. It would be our hope that our students will be able to go out into the world and discern what they need to do.”

 

Caption for above feature photo: Enjoying lunch together during Siena Heights University’s Legacy Lunch are, from left, Gabriel Iott, Sisters Corinne Florek, OP, and Barbara Quincey, OP, and Caden Rogers.

Adrian, Michigan, May 30, 2025 – Seven students from Siena Heights University in Adrian and eight students from Barry University in Miami, Florida, extended their learning beyond the spring semester, but not in classrooms or lecture halls. They were participating in the 2025 Environmental Leadership Experience (ELE) at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse Campus. Both universities were founded and are sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Students in the ELE program learn about environmental sustainability practices and offer a significant service to the Adrian Dominican Sisters and the Congregation’s permaculture area.

During the week, May 12-17, 2025, the students planted 170 trees, cleared areas of the permaculture site of invasive plants, and took samples of pondwater to analyzed. The students also had time to study the vernal pool at nearby Heritage Park, tour the Motherhouse grounds and the nearby ProMedica Gardens, meet and speak with the Sisters formally and informally, experience the new Canopy Walk at Hidden Lake Gardens, and generally come to know one another through meals and other shared time.

The students came to the ELE with multiple levels of knowledge and experience in working the land, and with diverse majors: from environmental sciences and biology to child psychology, art, and nursing.
  
During the week, several students took time to discuss the highlights of their experience, what they had learned, and their hopes for applying what they learned to their future work or everyday lives.

“I’m becoming more environmentally conscious about how everything I do has an impact,” said Kaiden Moss-Moultrie, a Barry University student majoring in clinical laboratory science. “I hope to take this information back home to my friends and family so they can learn how they can affect the environment.” Kaiden also enjoyed the opportunity to get to know some of the Sisters and hopes to start a garden at home, using the techniques she learned at the ELE.

Many students were emotionally affected by their work in planting trees. “My highlight has been planting the trees, knowing that such a small plant can grow to be something bigger and that each of us are contributing to something greater for the Earth,” said Neissa Rousseau, a biology major at Barry University.

Zoe Ornelas, an art and biology major at Siena Heights University, was also struck by the impact of planting trees. “I feel like every time I plant a tree, a piece of me is with it,” she said. She was surprised to learn that tree roots slow down the erosion of the land around them.

As with past ELE participants, this year’s students met during the week with their university group to discuss the sustainability project they would bring back to their campus in the fall. 

The 2025 ELE program was organized and facilitated by Brad Frank, Director of the Office of Sustainability and Mike Walters and Brandon Howard from Permaculture. Sister Corinne Sanders, OP, General Council liaison to the Office of Sustainability, also facilitated the program and participated in every aspect during the week.  

Sister Corinne said the Environmental Leadership Experience began in 2017 when, during a sponsorship meeting, faculty members from Siena Heights University and Barry University brainstormed the idea of bringing students from their universities to the permaculture area of the Motherhouse for service and learning. This is the third year since the pause in the program during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. “It’s both a learning experience and, to be honest, a great service project to us.” 

 

Caption for above feature photo: As part of the 2025 Environmental Leadership Experience, students from Barry University in Miami and Siena Heights University in Adrian clear the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ permaculture site of invasive plants and weeds.