Siena College

Siena College is a private Franciscan liberal arts college in Loudonville, New York.[5][6] Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher.[7] St. Bernardine of Siena Friary is located on campus. It has 3,000 full-time students and offers undergraduate degrees in business, liberal arts, and sciences.[3]

This article is about the college in Loudonville, New York. For other schools with a similar name, see Siena College (disambiguation).
Siena College
Former names
St. Bernardine of Siena College
MottoThe Education for a Lifetime
TypePrivate liberal arts college
Established1937
Religious affiliation
Roman Catholic Church (Franciscan)
Endowment$139 million (2010).[1]
PresidentChris Gibson
Academic staff
317
Administrative staff
150
Undergraduates3,214[2]
Postgraduates33
Location
Loudonville
,
New York
,
United States

42°43′06″N 73°45′13″W
CampusSuburban, 174 acres [3]
Fight song"When the Saints Go Marching In"
ColorsGreen and Gold[4]
   
AthleticsNCAA Division I – MAAC
NicknameSaints
AffiliationsAFCU
CIC
MSA
ACCU
MascotBernie "Saint" Bernard (St. Bernard Dog)

History
Front view of Siena Hall, one of the primary academic buildings

Beginnings of Siena College

In the late 1930s, Thomas Plassmann, president of St. Bonaventure University in Western New York, sent seven Franciscan friars to New York's Capital Region to found another college.[8]

Development of campus

Like most colleges, Siena College has renovated some of its facilities recently. A new rugby pitch was opened in fall 2016 and a new bookstore opened in fall 2014. The Siena College Grotto opened in October 2014.[9] The college was listed as a census-designated place in 2020.[10]

Academics

Schools of College

Siena College students attend three schools within the college:

  • School of Business
  • School of Liberal Arts
  • School of Science

School of Business

AACSB International Accredited [11]

Departments
  • Accounting and Business Law
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • M.S. in Accounting
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Quantitative Business Analysis

Departments
  • American Studies
  • Creative Arts
  • Education
  • English
  • History
  • Health Studies
  • Modern Languages and Classics
  • Philosophy
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Religious Studies
  • Social Work
  • Sociology

Departments
  • Biology
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Computer Science
  • Environmental Studies and Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Nursing
  • Physics and Astronomy

Campus

The college is a suburban campus taking up 174 acres (70 ha) at the northern edge of Loudonville. The campus includes:

  • Siena Hall
The main college building, housing classrooms and administrator and faculty offices. The cupola at the top is used as the symbol of the college, appearing on the college logo and most printed and web material.
  • J. Spencer and Patricia Standish Library
Built in 1999, it has space for 400,000 volumes, seating for 700 readers, networking for 500 computer connections, 100 computer work stations, an audio-visual center, an archive and special collections suite, 11 group study rooms, 16 faculty carrels, and training laboratory and demonstration classrooms.
  • Roger Bacon Hall
Houses the School of Science offices and classrooms as well as the Computer Science, Psychology, Mathematics, and Physics Departments.
  • Morrell Science Center
Attached to Roger Bacon Hall and built in 2001, it houses the chemistry, biochemistry and biology departments.
  • Rossetti Hall
Classrooms and faculty offices. Notable for the solar panels on the roof
  • Kiernan Hall
Classrooms and faculty offices. Notable for the design: the first floor consist of two sections separated by an outdoor walkway, with the second floor bridging the two sections.
  • Foy Hall (former athletic center)
Home to the creative arts department, campus theatre and studio of Siena College Television.
  • Marcelle Athletic Complex
Athletic offices and facilities.
  • Sarazen Student Union
Houses the post office, campus radio station, Student Affairs office, student government offices, and campus hangout Casey's
  • There are eight residential living areas on campus: Cushing Village (4 or 6 person townhouses), Hennepin Hall (6 story traditional dorm building), Hines Hall (5 story traditional dorm building), MacClosky Square (6 or 8 person townhouses), Padua Hall (traditional dorm building, second newest hall on campus), Plassmann Hall, Ryan Hall, (exclusively for Freshmen), and Snyder Hall (recently renamed), Hines hall (Houses freshman, Public Safety, administrative offices). which was just built in 2010. The residence halls tend to be concentrated in the middle of campus and at the southern end while the townhouse residences are concentrated along the northern edge of campus off Fiddlers Lane and were at first controversial with the Newtonville community. When the first townhouses were proposed the Newtonville Homeowners Association unsuccessfully sued to block construction.[12] Subsequent construction has not been controversial thanks to the town board including the Newtonville Homeowners Association in the decision making process.
  • A Friary provides housing for the Franciscan friars that are involved with the campus.

Student life

Student organizations

Students are involved in a number of wide, specific, academic related, recreational, leadership building, and diverse organizations and clubs or campus. There are currently 85 organizations on campus, each with their own campus, local, or national impact. Each organization has Executive Board positions which allows students to lead, develop, and set a plan of direction for their impact.

The Student Senate

The Siena College Student Senate serves as a liaison between student and both faculty and administration. It works to present and to interpret students’ attitudes, opinions, and rights to the teaching faculty and administration. The Senate is charged with the oversight of clubs and the distribution of the student activities fees. While Senate does not directly control college academic or social policies, it continues to work with a group of cooperative administrators to shape them in ways that will benefit the community.

Both the Senate and the administration keep what is best for the students as their top priority. The Student Senate has an executive board including president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The rest of the Senate is representatives, hall and town house representatives, and commuter representatives. Student Senate is the governing body for all clubs and organizations on campus.

Student Events Board

The Student Events Board (SEB) sponsors traditional types of entertainment in the form of bands, comedians, and speakers, but also presents other non-traditional events designed for Siena such as coffeehouse acts, open mic nights, Winter Weekend, Siblings Weekend, Charity Week, big concerts, as well as SienaFest. SEB also oversees and regulates the sale and distribution of goods and services of campus clubs and organizations. The board encourages the development of new areas of entertainment based upon student interest.

Residence Hall Association

The mission of the Residence Hall Association (RHA) is to act as a governing student body; to serve as the official liaison between the residential students at Siena College with Siena College staff and administration; to strive to make Siena's residence halls and townhouses a desirable community; to be the official voice of Siena's residential students; and to serve as a programming organization within residential communities.

Athletics
Main article: Siena Saints
See also: Siena Saints men's basketball and Siena Saints women's basketball
Siena guard Ronald Moore dribbles toward the basket in a game against Loyola in January 2010.[13][14]

Siena offers 21 NCAA Division I sports, all of which participate in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).[15][16]

The college generally only competed against local schools in athletics until being elevated to the Division I level in 1976. At this time, Siena became a member of the ECAC, and later the North Atlantic Conference, a forerunner to the present day America East Conference. In 1990, the college moved to the MAAC where it has remained since. Siena has not always been known by its present moniker. Athletic teams were first known as the Golden Hurricanes and later as the Indians. In March 1989, the school adopted its current nickname, the Saints.

Many of Siena's athletic teams have experienced success at the Division I level. The college's most well known squad is the men's basketball team. The Saints have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Round of 32 in 1989, 2008 and 2009. Siena has also played in the postseason NIT five times, capturing third place in 1994. In 2014, Siena competed in their first College Basketball Invitational tournament and won the championship defeating Stony Brook, Penn State, Illinois State and Fresno State two games to one in the best-of-three championship series. The women's basketball teams has also had a recent run of success, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2001, and appearances in the 1999, 2002 and 2003 WNIT. They finished second in the 2015 WBI.

Another team with recent high achievement is men's baseball. The Saints advanced to the 1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament and in 2005 saw pitcher John Lannan drafted by the Washington Nationals.[17] Lannan has since become a regular starter in Washington's rotation.[18] They also participated in the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.

Finally, the men's lacrosse team has also improved significantly in recent years. The Saints qualified for their first MAAC tournament in 2007 and their first NCAA tournament in 2009. That season, the Saints secured an automatic berth in the tournament after winning their first MAAC championship during a ten-game winning streak.[19][20]

Siena College Research Institute

Siena College Research Institute, an affiliate of Siena College, conducts expert and public opinion polls, focusing on New York State and the United States, on issues of public policy interest.

Notable alumni

Siena College has approximately 28,000 living alumni worldwide, including former college president Kevin J. Mullen.

  • In the fields of journalism and literature, notable Siena graduates include: William J. Kennedy, 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner; Erich Hartmann, international award-winning photojournalist and former president of Magnum Photos; David Hepp, award-winning journalist and creator of Inside Albany and Ed Henry, senior White House correspondent for FoxNews.
  • In the fields of law and government, notable Siena graduates include: Francis Bergan, former presiding justice of the New York Court of Appeals; Michael Botticelli, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Constantine George Cholakis, former judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York; George Deukmejian, 35th governor of California; United States Representative Christopher P. "Chris" Gibson ; former United States Representatives from New York Jack Quinn and Gerald B. H. Solomon; and Henry F. Zwack, justice of the New York Supreme Court, Third Judicial District. Mae D'Agostino is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. Davis Etkin, class of 1952, was the founder and president of Capital Off Track Betting. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice-president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), majored in political science and graduated from Siena College in 1972. Bettina M. Lawton (Class of 1976), appointed to the Fairfax County (Virginia) Electoral Board (735,000 voters).

Notable Faculty

References
  1. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/loudonville-ny/siena-college-2816
  2. "Siena College". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  3. "FAQs: The Facts About Siena : Siena College". Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. 'About Siena', Siena College website Archived 2009-03-23 at the Wayback Machine; "Siena is...located in Loudonville, New York, a suburban community just outside the state's capital."
  6. "Colonie town, New York." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on December 4, 2010.
  7. Siena College Mission and History Archived 2010-03-06 at the Wayback Machine - Siena College website.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. https://www.siena.edu/news-events/article/the-grotto-at-siena-college-opens-with-beautiful-blessing
  10. "State of New York Census Designated Places - Current/BAS20 - Data as of January 1, 2019". tigerweb.geo.census.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. Marc Carey (1992-04-02). "Additional Dormitories for Siena". Times Union. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  13. "2009–2010 Siena Saints Yearbook". Siena College. 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  14. McGuire, Mark (2010-01-22). "Streaking Siena". Times Union (Albany). Hearst Newspapers. p. B1. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  15. "FAQs for Athletics". Siena College. Archived from the original on 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  16. "Siena Field Hockey Selected Ninth in NEC Preseason Poll". Siena College. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  17. "Mission Statement". Siena College. Archived from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  18. "John Lannan". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  19. Saints Face-Off with Syracuse in NCAA Tournament, Siena College, May 8, 2009.
  20. Siena College Men's Lacrosse 2009 Quick Facts (PDF), Siena College, 2009.
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