Siena Heights University, a Catholic university in Adrian, Michigan, founded by the Adrian Dominicans, will close for good after the upcoming academic year.
"Dear Siena Heights community: this message brings difficult news," said Douglas B. Palmer, Ph.D., president of Siena Heights University, in a video message shared on the school's Facebook page on June 30.
Palmer continued, "With the support of General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and our own Board of Trustees, we are announcing that we will close at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 academic year."
The school's leadership has been "hard at work" with financial advisors to determine the university's long-term future, said Palmer.
"The reality is: colleges and universities across America have been impacted by shifts in demographics, declining enrollment, and rising costs. It is just not possible to continue beyond this next year," he said.
Not the first, not the last
Siena Heights University, noted Palmer, is not the first and will not be the last college to close under these conditions, but "this is of little solace, of course, to our own community."
Looking ahead to the upcoming academic year, students will continue to have "all the activities that one would normally get," including athletics, residential life, graduation, and community events with the alumni and Adrian communities, he said.
Siena Heights University has already begun work on a list of "academic partners" where existing students can transfer to with no interruption to their degree, said Palmer.
"Your academic progress is our primary concern," he said.
Similar resources will be made available for faculty and staff, he said.
"We understand that this is going to be a painful time," said Palmer. “For 105 years, Siena Heights University has been a beacon of light in a world sometimes cast in darkness. Know that the spirit of Siena Heights will continue long after the institution itself shuts the doors."
Catherine of Siena's prayers
Palmer then requested that people pray for the intercession of St. Catherine of Siena, after whom the school is named, "and ask for her guidance that we may carry out the next year with a sense of grace, wisdom, and courage."
Siena Heights University was founded as St. Joseph's College for Women in 1919 by the Adrian Dominicans. In 1939, the name was changed to Siena Heights College, honoring St. Catherine of Siena.
Originally a women's college, Siena Heights enrolled men for the first time in 1969, and in the following decade, "took a pioneering role in providing opportunities for adult students by offering evening and weekend classes and opening degree completion centers in Southfield, Michigan, and in Toledo, Ohio," said the school's website.
Palmer, the school's president, took office in 2o23.
Siena Heights University is not the only Catholic university in recent years to close. In 2025, Fontbonne University in Clayton, Missouri, closed its doors due to "enrollment and financial problems," after having operated for more than a century.
In 2024, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, shut down due to low enrollment and financial woes; Cabrini University in Radnor, Pennsylvania, closed after "ongoing financial difficulties"; Notre Dame College of Ohio closed due to "significant financial challenges"; and the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, closed after a combination of financial issues and threats to its accreditation.
