Siena Heights University (SHU) welcomed over 300 incoming first-year students to their residential campus during the month of August. Classes began on August 27, and SHU kicked off the 2023-2024 school year with a week full of fun and festivities for the students during Welcome Week. This fall marked the highest new student enrollment within the last four years, just under the biggest incoming class in school history in 2019.

SHU brought in 379 new students onto their residential campus in Adrian, Michigan. Of the incoming class, 300 are first-year students and 79 are transferring from other institutions.

Many of the new students are coming to Siena Heights as student-athletes, with 287 of the incoming students participating in one of SHU’s 25 athletic programs. Additionally, there are 34 new band members and 46 new choir members. SHU also welcomed 16 new students into the Design and Art program.

The Siena Heights class of 2027 are primarily Michigan residents (266), but there are also students joining from Ohio (55), Indiana (seven), Illinois (two), Kansas (two), Kentucky (one), and Wisconsin (one). In addition, SHU has students joining from the east coast (Maryland (two); New York (four); North Carolina (one); New Jersey (one); and Virginia (two)), as well as from southern states like Texas (one), Alabama (one), Florida (six), and Georgia (one). Siena Heights also welcomed students from California (seven), Washington (one), and Colorado (one).

82 of the new students joined from Lenawee County and 48 of the students are legacy students, who have had relatives attend and graduate from SHU in the past.

SHU also welcomed 17 international students from Germany, Brazil, Denmark, Peru, Scotland, Guatemala, the Philippines, Colombia, Spain, India, and Canada.

Siena Heights’ Welcome Week was filled with activities such as on-campus job fairs, student club and organization fairs, cornhole competitions, and food-related visitors such as the Spotted Cow and Mr. Cappuccino Man. Siena Heights also participated in the Downtown Adrian Welcome Back Bash. Various events also presented students with information about campus resources and the Adrian Community, such as ZZ’s Bowling and MJR theaters. SHU also welcomed campus speakers to learn more about the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and discussed topics such as consent and mental health.

In addition, Siena Heights University’s newest president, Douglas B. Palmer, Ph.D., participated as a driver for SHU’s “First Week of Classes Taxi,” where he helped transport students around campus and connect with them in the process.

Siena Heights University will host their 2023 Fall Convocation at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 7, to serve as the official matriculation ceremony for the academic year.