Dear Siena Community,
Hello and welcome to the first day of the 2026-27 academic year! We are grateful to hear today the voices of our new and returning students filling the campus buildings and the academic quad, and to see classes, clubs and sports resume their full schedules.
Siena was founded by the Franciscan order, and the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi infuse everything we do here on campus. Welcoming the stranger. Protecting all of creation. Bringing peace to oneself and to others. This year we observe the 800th anniversary of the end of Francis’s earthly journey, and we will celebrate this Jubilee year with an academic convocation on September 24. The entire campus will gather that afternoon for an academic procession and summer research symposium. As we honor Saint Francis, we also recommit ourselves to making the world more just, peaceful and humane.
Last September when I shared my opening day message, we had not yet formally transitioned to our new status as Siena University. That was far more than just a name change. It signaled an opportunity to amplify our mission. Our growth as an institution includes robustly expanded academic offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate level and an enhanced emphasis on experiential learning. We are also reimagining the entire student experience. At the helm of this effort is Darren Conine, who recently joined the Siena leadership team as our chief experience officer. I know many of you had the chance to meet him over the summer. Siena is one of the first institutions in the country to create this position, which administers the job every person on this campus does to some extent: welcoming people and making them feel an important part of our community.
We are also seizing upon the possibilities created by artificial intelligence, which is developing at an exponential rate. Siena is meeting this challenge proactively with confidence and intent.
Our faculty have been taking part in a series of hands-on workshops to design and update their curricula to ethically incorporate AI into research and instruction. Siena students will graduate with a strong grasp of AI technology, but more importantly the moral grounding needed to be leaders in a changing workforce. Meanwhile, our administrative teams are exploring best practices for using AI in daily operations, empowering our valued staff and increasing time spent on mission critical work.
We are at a defining inflection point in human existence. As educators and students we are among those most directly impacted by AI. We know that a strong foundation in the liberal arts, the ability to think critically, ask tough questions, and stand up for what we believe will be more crucial than ever. We also know that our Franciscan mission will inspire us to make ethical choices, to communicate with respect, and to value human connection.
I wish all of you the very best as we begin another academic year. Together as Saints, we will continue to dream big, to rise, and to go forth inspired by a man who more than eight centuries ago defined the values on which our University was founded.
Peace and all good,
Chuck