Reflections Magazine Issue #70 - Fall 2009 | Page 14

Anniversary Feature

28

31

34

Deb Carter

Mother Camilla Madden

Sister Eileen Rice

Deb Carter joined Siena Heights in 1982 as director
of the new degree-completion center in Benton
Harbor. Fondly known as “Mother Carter” by early
alumni of SHU’s Lake Michigan College Center,
Deb taught and advised students while administering
Siena’s first on-site partnership with a community
college, establishing the model used later in Monroe,
Battle Creek, Lansing and Jackson. Now, as Dean
of the College for Professional Studies, she is “on
the road” constantly, crisscrossing the state overseeing a vibrant and expanding network of off-campus
undergraduate academic programs.

Born in Ireland in 1854, Mother Camilla Madden
came to Adrian in 1892 when she was asked to take
over as head of the St. Joseph Province. Originally
charged with opening a hospital for railroad workers,
her vision expanded to one day to beginning a school.
St. Joseph College opened its doors to 29 students
in 1919, with Mother Camilla serving as its first president. During Mother Camilla’s presidency the college
expanded its facilities, building Sacred Heart Hall
in 1922. She served as president until 1924.

Sister Eileen Rice, OP ’68 was professor of Education and director of the Education program at Siena
Heights from 1975-94. One of the most popular
faculty members in the institution’s history, Sister
Eileen was known as “a woman of boundless energy”
who loved to teach. She had an equal love of cats.
The original multi-tasker, she was known to cheer
the Saints energetically from the bleachers while
simultaneously grading papers and reading a book.
The Sister Eileen Rice Award for Outstanding
Teaching is named in her honor.

29

Sister Benedicta Marie Ledwidge
Sister Benedicta Marie Ledwidge, OP, who served as
Siena Heights president from 1957-65, was known
as being very close to her students. So close, in fact,
that she and other early faculty members slept in the
student dormitories in the early years of St. Joseph
College. She was the academic dean from 1934-51,
and then was vice president until being named 4th
President of the college. During Sister Benedicta’s
tenure new facilities were constructed such as Ledwidge Hall and the Science Building.

30

Martha Hans Palmer

Martha Hans Palmer ’88 is in a class by herself in the
history of women’s athletics at Siena Heights. The
former hurdler is the only female athlete in Saints
history to win an NAIA national championship,
doing so as a senior in the 60-yard hurdles in 1988.
Martha was a four-time NAIA All-American hurdler
from 1986-88 and was a four-time NAIA AllAmerican Scholar-Athlete. She holds every school
record (indoor and outdoor) in the hurdle events
for the Saints, as well as two fieldhouse records in
the 55-meter and 200-meter intermediate hurdles.
14

Reflections Fall ’09

32

Lucas Wells

Lucas Wells went from an impromptu video tape
audition to a spot in the cast on the first national tour
of Broadway’s No. 1 musical, “Spring Awakening.”
While still a sophomore at Siena, the theater/speech
and communications major from Lambertville,
Mich., earned a spot as an ensemble member and
understudy to two leads in the national tour of the
Tony Award-winning musical. Wells continues to
take classes at Siena while still performing, and has
built a national following for his work on tour.

33

Renato Gonzalez

Renato Gonzalez was a longtime professor of
Spanish who developed Siena’s successful Mexico
Experience study abroad program. He was the first
state director of Bilingual Education in Michigan and
the first president of the Michigan Association of
Bilingual Education. He taught Spanish since 1963,
and his life’s mission was to promote global understanding and peace through language learning and
an appreciation of cultural diversity. He encouraged
everyone to consider studying a second language.
He also helped create the Middle East Studies minor.
He passed away Nov. 27, 2007.

35

Carl Brown

The only two-time NAIA national champion in the
history of Siena Heights athletics, Carl Brown ’95
earned back-to-back national titles in the discus in
1994 and 1995 at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field
Championships. His winning distance of 174 feet in
1995 set a school record. During his Siena career, Carl
earned NAIA All-American honors five times, also a
school record. He was a runner-up in the shot put at
the 1995 NAIA nationals and competed in two U.S.
Olympic Track & Field Trials in 1996 and 2000.

36

Jack Bologna

Jack Bologna was a faculty member at Siena Heights
for more than a decade. He was a strategic planner
and the SHU Business Department’s “go-to” person
for international business and business ethics fundamentals. He also was a recognized expert in forensic
accounting and computer-based fraud. However,
those who worked and learned with him remember
him first and foremost as a dedicated and innovative
teacher. In 2004, Siena Heights University established
an award in his name honoring his innovative teaching style. He passed away in 2006 at age 77.