Dear Siena Community,
As I was drafting this monthly message over the weekend with an invitation for all of you to attend our October Community Town Hall, I was saddened to learn that Fr. Hugh Hines, OFM, passed away last evening at the age of 94 on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. Fr. Hugh served as Siena’s seventh and longest-serving president from 1976 to 1989, leaving a legacy rooted in humility, student-centered leadership, and our Franciscan mission. A fuller tribute to his life will be in Tuesday’s Daily Digests, with service details coming from the Chaplain’s Office.
Reflecting on the life and legacy of Fr. Hugh I first thought of the enduring strength of our mission. It is that very foundation, along with the vibrant community built upon it, that makes serving as Siena’s president such a privilege. It allows me to witness and champion the extraordinary work happening across our campus every day.
And lately, there has been a lot to celebrate.
Recently, U.S. News & World Report ranked Siena No. 11 among Regional Universities in the North, a five-place rise from last year. That recognition is especially meaningful because more than half of the ranking methodology is now based on student outcomes, including graduation, retention, earnings, and social mobility. These are measures that speak directly to how well we serve our students and prepare them to lead successful and fulfilling lives.
The ranking joins a growing list of external recognitions affirming Siena’s momentum. But rankings do not define us. What matters is what they reflect. Siena is innovating, building on its strengths, and delivering an education that changes lives.
That progress matters especially now. Students and families are rightly asking more direct questions about the value of a university education. They are thinking carefully about career preparation, affordability, debt, and what their investment will make possible after graduation. At the same time, technology, artificial intelligence, changing demographics, and new forms of competition are reshaping our environment at extraordinary speed.
These changes require us to think differently, and boldly, about Siena’s future.
For the past several months, Siena’s Strategic Planning Committee has been doing important work to understand where Higher Education is heading and what it means for us. The committee has studied the external environment and listened to faculty, staff, administrators, students, alumni, trustees, and other stakeholders. Together we have explored what our community believes Siena must do not simply to respond to change, but to thrive in the years ahead.
This work has crystallized an important truth. Our North Star will always be a steadfast commitment to our liberal arts foundation, our mission and our Franciscan values. That will never change. But remaining true to who we are does not mean remaining the same.
Our future cannot simply be about doing more of what we already do. We must focus our resources on what matters most to students and families today, preparing our graduates for a rapidly changing world. In doing so, we make the exceptional value of a Siena education unmistakable and reinforce our progress as an evolving leader in higher education.
That means moving beyond traditional strategic planning and making bold, deliberate choices about where Siena can create the greatest value and distinction.
On Monday, October 26 during free period, I invite you to a special Community Town Hall where I will share the strategic thinking emerging from this work, including the bold elements of differentiation that have grown from your input. Then, on October 29 and 30, the Strategic Planning Committee will share the emerging drivers it has drafted to define how we will move from vision to action. During these workshops, you will have the opportunity to engage with the drafts, challenge and refine them, and help shape the path forward.
This is a pivotal time in the life of Siena University. We have spent months listening, studying, and asking what the future demands of us. Now we begin the work of turning that insight into action.
And we are not starting from scratch. Over the past several years, Siena has repeatedly demonstrated how we can adapt, innovate, and work differently when the moment demands it. We have expanded our academic portfolio, strengthened experiential learning, grown our graduate offerings, invested in the student experience, and proudly transitioned to Siena University. Through change and new challenges, we have continued to evolve while remaining grounded in who we are.
That foundation matters. Siena’s advantage has never been a single program, building, ranking, or initiative. It is the way our liberal arts foundation, Franciscan tradition, and deeply personal approach to education come together in the lives of our students.
At Siena, students are known. They are challenged. They are supported. They learn by doing. And faculty, staff, friars, alumni, employers, and friends open doors for them along the way.
That is our Education for a Lifetime.
We develop graduates who think critically, communicate effectively, adapt to change, and lead by putting others first. We prepare them not simply to succeed, but to use their talents to build a more just, peaceful, and humane world. At a moment when students and families are asking harder questions about the value of higher education, I believe Siena is exceptionally well positioned to answer them.
The next chapter of Siena will require all of us. I look forward to shaping it together.
Peace and all good,
Chuck