Siena College welcomes new president with prank
COLONIE — Siena College staff and students welcomed new President Charles Seifert with a prank on his first day.
He was told that a few reporters were waiting Thursday to interview him on the steps of Siena Hall. He came out to find more than 150 people lining the steps, waving flags and cheering for him.
“Oh, this is wonderful!” a surprised Seifert said. “So, um, thank you — this is unbelievable. Great support. I really appreciate it.”
He gave a brief, extemporaneous speech about how he started working at the college 27 years ago as a visiting assistant professor of finance.
Later he became a full professor and the dean of the School of Business.
“And now this. Who knew, all those years ago?” he said with a laugh.
Seifert, 61, succeeds Chris Gibson, a former congressman, who was president for three years.
The college is in a strong position financially, Seifert told the assembled crowd. The college posted an 11 percent increase in enrollment, adding 400 students, from 2019 to 2022.
“We have record enrollment. I think we have a record number of people on the steps,” he added.
Siena was founded in 1937 by seven Franciscan friars as a Catholic college for men. It went co-ed the next year. Siena is still using the land where the college first held classes in a farmhouse in Colonie.
The college has the highest enrollment in its 85-year history — so high it ran out of room for all of its students. Now it offers dormitory space for 175 students in Troy, busing them back and forth to campus.
But Seifert warned that the college could not rest on its laurels amid the “strong headwinds” facing higher education, and must keep adapting.
More than 30 percent of the incoming class has declared majors that did not exist eight years ago, he said. Among the popular new programs are nursing and data and business analytics.
Provost Margaret Madden, who also spoke, said the enrollment growth was probably due to new programs. The college has added 25 programs since 2017.
Seifert said he believed students were also drawn to the college’s Franciscan and Catholic roots, which create a service-oriented community. One of the college’s taglines is that it educates “leaders eager to create a more just, peaceful and humane world.”
That draws in a wide variety of students who value community and ser
vice, including those who are not Catholic, he said.
“When you come on Siena’s campus, you feel the care, the nurturing, the overall atmosphere. I think that’s really impactful.”
Students who attended the surprise event said they agreed with Seifert’s assessment.
“Community is the reason I came to Siena,” said Simon Meisel, class of ’24.
Freshman Karina Greco added, “I’m really service-oriented. That’s part of what drew me to this school.”