Siena Heights University welcomes three new administrators

Brad Heineman, The Daily Telegram
·4 min read

ADRIAN — Three leadership positions at the Adrian campus of Siena Heights University have recently been filled.

Emily Barnes joins SHU as provost and vice president of academic affairs, Susan Shelangoskie has been named the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Joanne Yastik will serve as the university’s director of nursing. In a news release, SHU President Sister Peg Albert said the university is looking forward to working with its three new hires.

“Siena Heights University is so blessed to welcome these three competent, committed and innovative women to our university community,” she said.

Emily Barnes

Barnes begins her new role at Siena Heights July 5. Barnes served as the 11th president (interim) of Cleary University in Howell and was the university’s first woman provost and its first woman interim president. The release said she is known as the academic thought leader behind “The Cleary Mind,” which is described as a “new, unparalleled business arts educational approach.”

Emily Barnes joins Siena Heights University as provost and vice president of academic affairs beginning July 5. Barnes previously served as the 11th president (interim) of Cleary University in Howell and was the university’s first woman provost and its first woman interim president.
Emily Barnes joins Siena Heights University as provost and vice president of academic affairs beginning July 5. Barnes previously served as the 11th president (interim) of Cleary University in Howell and was the university’s first woman provost and its first woman interim president.

She acquired her doctorate in higher education leadership from Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her graduate studies were completed in library and information science at Indiana University’s School of Informatics and Computing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities and philosophy from Indiana University.

Her first faculty appointment, the release said, was in 2010, and Barnes continues to serve as the program chair at Clearly University for graduate leadership programs. Prior to joining Cleary, she was an academic entrepreneur for six years where she implemented digital education, learning management systems, technical infrastructure and online training programs for a variety of colleges and universities.

Barnes specializes in organizational strategy, data analytics, education technology, systems infrastructure, learning and curriculum design, and inclusive pedagogy, the release sa.

Susan Shelangoskie

Shelangoskie, currently the chair of the English department and director of the digital and media studies program at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio, will begin her new role at SHU July 11. In her more than 15 years at Lourdes, Shelangoskie served in a wide range of capacities, the release said.

“Her university service demonstrates her commitment to shared governance and faculty-driven initiatives,” the release said.

Susan Shelangoskie has been named the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Siena Heights University and will begin her new role July 11. She comes to SHU from Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio, where she served as the chair of the English department and director of the digital and media studies program.
Susan Shelangoskie has been named the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Siena Heights University and will begin her new role July 11. She comes to SHU from Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio, where she served as the chair of the English department and director of the digital and media studies program.

Shelangoskie served as the faculty e-learning coordinator, was elected Faculty Senate president three consecutive years, and served as the chair of the rank and promotion committee, the general education revision task force and the curriculum committee. She earned her Ph.D. in British and American literature from the University of Utah and her undergraduate degree in English and mathematics from Cleveland State University.

The development of the digital and media studies program at Lourdes was a “notable accomplishment that demonstrates her approach to curriculum development and student-centered education,” the release said.

“This interdisciplinary program was designed with core study in a liberal arts field contextualized by theory and practice in technology,” the release said.

Joanne Yastik

With a health care career spanning more than 30 years — including 25 years of nursing education experience in clinical, classroom and administrative roles — Joanne Yastik will begin her new role as director of nursing at Siena Heights May 2.

She completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1989 at Mercy College of Detroit and her Master of Science in nursing at Madonna University in Livonia in 1997. She also holds a post-master’s certificate in teaching in nursing education from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Her Ph.D. in nursing was completed at Wayne State University with her research being focused on online health information seeking.

Joanne Yastik will soon become the new director of nursing at Siena Heights University, taking over the leadership position Monday, May 2. Yastik has been part of the health care field for more than 30 years with 25 years of nursing education experience in clinical, classroom and administrative roles.
Joanne Yastik will soon become the new director of nursing at Siena Heights University, taking over the leadership position Monday, May 2. Yastik has been part of the health care field for more than 30 years with 25 years of nursing education experience in clinical, classroom and administrative roles.

"I am looking forward to becoming part of the community at Siena Heights University and making a positive impact on future nurses and the entire campus community,” Yastik said in the release.

After 16 years in clinical practice — mainly in emergency and post-anesthesia care — Yastik pursued a faculty role at her alma mater, the University of Detroit-Mercy. The release said she was an assistant professor there until 2012.

Yastik has taught various undergraduate nursing courses in both face-to-face and online formats, the release said. She has served in a director of nursing role over the past seven years and she obtained the National League of Nursing credential of certified nurse educator in 2019. She is a member of the American Association of Men in Nursing, the Organization for Associate Degree nursing research committee, and the Michigan Council of Nursing Education Administrators. Her research interests include nursing education and diversity in nursing.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Siena Heights University fills 3 leadership positions