Siena Heights University President Sister Peg Albert announces retirement
ADRIAN — Siena Heights University President Sister Peg Albert announced her retirement Tuesday effective at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.
Albert's last day will be June 30, 2023, a news release from the university said. Albert has served as president of Siena Heights for 16 years and will complete her 17th year at the time of her retirement.
“My goals when I arrived on campus in 2006 were to develop the campus, develop trusting relationships with the people of Siena, and to grow enrollment. I have done my best to do so," Albert said in the release. "Now it is time for someone else to take Siena to the next level. I have all the faith in the world that Siena will continue to grow with its new strategic plan, the STEER process, and the new program starting this summer for retention, Moving the Needle. And I know that my leadership team and the faculty and staff are committed to see Siena Heights grow into its future.”
STEER stands for Siena Transformation Effectiveness and Efficiency Reviews.
“It is with mixed emotion that I learned of Sister Peg’s retirement," SHU board chairperson Dusty Steele said in the release. "As president, her accomplishments were many, but nothing more significant than the multitude of relationships she developed with students, faculty, staff and members of the greater community. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we greatly appreciate all she has given Siena Heights University and we are grateful to have her leadership for the next year.”
The SHU board will prepare for the presidential search to begin this summer, the release said
Albert was named the 10th president of Siena Heights University in 2006, succeeding Richard Artman, who left SHU to become president of Viterbo University in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Albert was the first Adrian Dominican Sister to be appointed president of Siena since 1969. The Adrian Dominican Sisters founded and sponsor SHU.
Highlights of Albert's tenure, the university's news release said, include:
In 2008, Siena Heights announced it was freezing tuition rates for its Adrian campus undergraduate students for the 2008-09 academic year, which coincided with the beginning of the Great Recession.
In 2009, SHU began its nursing program during the recession, when other colleges and universities were scaling back projects. The accredited program now has pre-licensure, registered nurse to Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in nursing degree paths.
In 2010, Siena Heights announced it was starting a football program and would build a multipurpose stadium and athletic complex to support it. Other new co-curricular programs followed such as bowling, lacrosse, cheer and dance, and marching band.
In 2011, Siena Heights dedicated its new O’Laughlin Stadium and Dawson Field and held its first home football game during homecoming weekend.
In 2012, The “On Higher Ground” campaign helped Siena Heights University raise more than $19 million in gifts and pledges, surpassing its original goal of $13 million. SHU also was named to the “Best College to Work For” honor roll by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
In 2013, the McLaughlin University Center was dedicated thanks to the generosity of several benefactors. This facility is the hub of campus.
In 2016, record enrollment on the Adrian campus surpassed more than 1,000 full-time undergraduate students.
In 2018, the Spencer Performing Arts Center opened to students and the community and modernized the Siena Heights performing arts program.
In 2019, Siena celebrated its 100th anniversary and created the Centennial Mall outside Sacred Heart Hall.
In 2020, SHU converted its former nursing building into the Patricia A. Erickson Enrollment and Welcome Center, and new majors such as exercise science, cybersecurity, and agroecology and sustainable agriculture began on the Adrian campus. Also, the university’s online program received national recognition from U.S. News and World Report magazine for the eighth consecutive year and was the top-ranked program in Michigan for the past seven years.
In 2021, the SHU Global brand was introduced to the community as the student experience of educating professional working students. This includes undergraduate and graduate students at one of Siena’s several Michigan locations as well as the nationally ranked online program.
In 2022, SHU's five-year strategic plan began. It includes initiatives in areas such as innovation, marketing/branding, and diversity and inclusion. This comprehensive plan also includes a university-wide, formal examination of the university’s curricular and co-curricular activities.
"These accomplishments were made possible with the help of her President’s Cabinet team and the Siena community, which is a testament to her collaborative leadership style and her focus on facilitating change rather than imposing it," the release said.
“We still have a great deal of work to do this coming year to assure Siena’s sustainability," Albert said in the release. "I will continue to work as hard as I ever have this coming academic year. The 2022-23 academic year will be a busy one for all of us as we continue to implement all the plans we have made for Siena’s future as we move into the next 100 years!”
Albert came to Siena from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, where she was a longtime administrator, including leading Barry's School of Law as it earned accreditation from the American Bar Association, according to Albert's biography on SHU's website. At the time, Barry's law school was one of only two law institutions in the nation founded and headed by women to earn that distinction.
Before moving into administration in 1988, Albert was an associate professor of social work and served as a counselor at Barry for 12 years.
Albert received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit and master’s and doctorate degrees in social work from Barry University. She did her post-doctoral work at the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and completed post-doctoral classes at Barry.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Siena Heights President Sister Peg Albert announces retirement
