Campus News
Upward Bound Program
Receives Grant
The United States Department
of Education recently awarded
Siena Heights University with
a $339,722 grant to fund the
Upward Bound program.
Annita Aranda, director of Siena’s Upward
Bound program since 1987, said individual
programs are usually funded for four years.
However, Siena Heights was awarded a fiveyear grant, a first since the Upward Bound
program was started at Siena Heights in 1973.
“We’ve never had five years,” said Aranda, who
has been with Siena’s program since its inception. “It’s exciting news. For it to be funded for
five years is just incredible.”
Upward Bound serves high school students
from low-income families, high school students
from families in which neither parent holds
a bachelor’s degree and low-income, firstgeneration military veterans preparing to enter
post-secondary education. Besides providing
support to participants for their college preparation, the program’s goal is to increase the
rate at which participants complete secondary
education and enroll in—and graduate from
—institutions of post-secondary education.
“This grant will provide Siena Heights with
more resources to help students from lowincome families learn mathematics, laboratory
sciences and composition,” U.S. Representative
Timothy Walberg (R-Tipton, Mich.) said in
a release.
Upward Bound projects provide academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences,
composition, literature and foreign languages.
Tutoring, counseling, mentoring, cultural
enrichment and work-study programs also
are supported.
“We were just waiting to hear,” Aranda said.
Upward Bound is part of the federal TRIO programs at Siena Heights, which include Student
Support Services and the Ronald McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.
Idczak Hired As Director to Build
Nursing Program at Siena Heights
Following an extensive nationwide search, Dr.
Sue Idczak assumed the role of Director of the
Nursing Program at Siena Heights University
August 1.
Bologna Innovative
Teaching Award
Mike Winstrom, assistant professor of Philosophy at Siena Heights University, was named this
year’s recipient of the Jack Bologna Innovative
Teaching Award.
SHU Vice President for Academic Affairs Sister
Sharon Weber, OP, PhD ’69, said Dr. Idczak’s
hiring will allow the formation of a new nursing
program to move forward. “We are delighted
to have Dr. Idczak join the Siena Heights community and undertake the challenge of building
a nursing program to serve the needs of our
region, the state of Michigan and the future of
health care,” said Weber.
In 2004, Siena Heights University received an
anonymous donation to establish an award for
five years honoring the late Jack Bologna, an
innovative professor of business.
Winstrom has taught for
Siena Heights University
since 1995, and is a founding member of the Distance
Learning Core Committee,
which developed and oversees distance learning at
Siena. He teaches a variety of philosophy
courses in both a face-to-face as well as an
online format. However, it is his “Technology
and the Human Condition” course that
particularly touches the minds and hearts
of his students as they explore the impact of
technology on their lives.
Career Center Sponsors
“Mocktail” Event
The third event in the Siena Heights Career
Center Extreme Makeover series was March 13
in the Adrian Room of the Adrian Dominican
Sisters Motherhouse (photo below). Titled,
“Part III: Etiquette and Mocktail Reception,”
SHU students were invited to learn and practice
the fine art of mixing and mingling.
Business professionals were on hand, and a
The application process is competitive and dereception followed the presentation. Topics
tailed, Aranda said. More than 1,000 colleges
discussed included: ma