Siena College will soon become Siena University.
Earlier this week, the New York State Board of Regents approved a name change for Siena College: The private Franciscan school in Loudonville will soon be rebranded as Siena University.
The Regents’ decision formalizes an announcement that College President Chuck Seifert made last month, when he said the Board of Trustees voted in favor of the renaming.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Seifert says the new label won’t change much day to day for the school of roughly 3,600 undergraduate and 200 graduate students. But it could help increase Siena’s profile and add emphasis on its master’s programs.
“So, it's really more recognition of our focus, not only on the undergraduate which is always our focus, but also to increase our focus on graduate programs,” Seifert said. “It doesn't mean that we have the opportunity to increase our graduate programs, because anybody does, but it's really more of a recognition of the emphasis that we're placing on those programs, and as they're an important part of our strategy moving forward.”
Siena currently offers 40 undergraduate programs and 8 graduate programs.
“Becoming a university provides us additional clarity and ability to emphasize what Siena is,” Seifert said.
Seifert, who became president in 2022, said the name change also allows for the college to gain eligibility to grants on both the state and federal level.
The college qualified for university status in December when the State Department of Education approved the institution’s master’s of social work program.
Seifert says the name change will require spending roughly $60,000 to pay for changing out the signage. But more significantly, he says the rebrand should have a positive economic impact for the college, although he did not provide a specific figure.
“We did look at economic factors associated with other schools that had converted [from] college to university, so there is probability, pretty high probability, that it will increase the overall demand for Siena education,” Seifert said. “Which means that that drives a potential increase in enrollment, but it's really also an opportunity for us to provide with greater clarity the message of Siena and the growth in our programs, our focus on the students, and making sure that we're able to increase the recognition of the value associated with a Siena education.”
Current undergraduate tuition at Siena is $46,690.
In making the decision to rebrand, Seifert says school leaders weighed input from the board, community, staff, administrators, students, and friars.
“If there were concerns, they were focused on Siena changing, because it's becoming a university, and as I like to say, we're not going to change because Siena is becoming a university, we're going to change what it means to be a university,” Seifert said.
Seifert, who has been with the college for more than 30 years, says he is reminded of the value of change when he looks at a divot worn over time in a stone sitting in front of Siena Hall.
“That is, like, incredibly impactful to me every day when I see that, because it means that we have to make sure that we honor the legacy of all the people that made that divot, and make sure that it continues to grow for generations to come,” Seifert said.
The transition will be celebrated with a community procession and ceremony on September 18.
