Siena Heights University will host two separate Commencement ceremonies on May 7 and 8 on the Adrian campus.
These are the official celebrations for students on the university’s residential campus in Adrian and for students with SHU Global, consisting of degree completion centers in Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Dearborn, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Monroe, Southfield, Online and the Graduate College. Three hundred-plus students are expected to participate in this year’s ceremonies. Tickets are free and required for all guests.
The following is the Commencement schedule:
- Commencement for SHU Global, which includes the College for Professional Studies and Graduate College, is Saturday, May 7 at 2 p.m. in the Fieldhouse. This ceremony will recognize degree candidates from SHU’s degree completion center locations and online.
- Commencement for the College of Arts and Sciences is Sunday, May 8 at 2 p.m. in the Fieldhouse. This ceremony will recognize all undergraduate degree candidates from the Adrian campus.
Siena Heights will also confer the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters to the following noteworthy individuals this year:
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his leadership, courage, sense of justice and willingness to put his life in harm’s way to defend Ukraine’s freedom. Siena Heights will bestow on Volodymyr Zelenskyy the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters during commencement ceremonies on May 7–8, 2022.
- Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council which include the following women:
- Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress
- Sister Mary Margaret Pachucki, OP, Vicaress, General Councilor
- Sister Frances Nadolny, OP, Administrator, General Councilor
- Sister Patricia Harvat, OP, General Councilor
- Sister Elise Garcia, OP, General Councilor
These women represent so well the spirit of the Adrian Dominican congregation–attention to the needs of those they serve and creative responses to those needs. This is the spirit that has influenced the growth and development of Siena Heights over its 103-year history.
Siena Heights will bestow on the members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters during its Honor Convocation on Friday, April 29 at 2 p.m. in the Spencer Performing Arts Center Theater on the campus of Siena Heights University.
Other Commencement highlights include:
- Honors Convocation: Annual ceremony to honor academic achievement during the 2021-2022 academic year on Friday, April 29 at 2 p.m. in the Spencer Performing Arts Center Theater.
- Torch Night: The Torch Night ceremony is a Siena Heights legacy tradition. This candle and rose ceremony is a symbolic exchange between a senior graduate and an underclassman who carries on the legacy of the graduating senior. The event is Friday, April 29 at 7 p.m. in the Centennial Plaza in front of Sacred Heart Hall.
- Nurse Pinning Ceremony: The Pinning is a ceremonial tradition in the profession of nursing in which graduates are formally welcomed into their newly achieved professional ranks. The ceremony is Friday, May 6 at 6 p.m. in St. Dominic Chapel.
- Kente Ceremony: African American alumni will present Kente stoles to degree candidates of color on Saturday, May 7 at 10:30 a.m. in O’Laughlin Stadium.
- Baccalaureate Mass: People of all faiths are welcome at this Catholic Mass on Sunday, May 8 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Dominic Chapel.
More details can also be found by visiting https://www.sienaheights.edu/commencement-2022/.
