By: John C. Church
Loudonville, NY. New Siena President Charles “Chuck” Seifert isn’t necessarily the average College President. While being no Chuck Norris or Chuck Berry, he may just be the most famous Chuck among the Siena community. In fact, in the short time that Siena students have had to know Seifert while in office, he’s already made a lasting impression on them.
A man known as an avid flyfisherman, snowmobiling enthusiast, and rock and roll fan rolled into the UHY Center Thursday afternoon to thunderous applause from Siena students, faculty, and friends alike.
Just a day shy before Siena’s 86th birthday, students and faculty ushered into the UHY Center on the Siena campus to take the afternoon away from the classroom and to celebrate the inauguration of the 13th President, Charles F. “Chuck” Seifert. However, despite being a Presidential inauguration, the ceremony highlighted the community at large through the theme of “Leading the way together,” calling attention away from Seifert and to the campus.
President Seifert endorsed his love for rock and roll throughout the recessional as an assemblage of brass instruments bellowed out classics like “Kashmir,” from Led Zeppelin for the audience to bob their heads along to.
Before dawning the Presidential Medallion, Lecturer of Creative Arts at Siena College, Gene Marie Callahan regarded a fellow faculty member who once referred to President Seifert as “just a nice guy.” Other students, faculty, and staff reimbursed that same attitude throughout the ceremony.
Luke Keith ’24, the Student Senate President, expressed the same sentiment with his appreciation for the warm reception he and other student leaders have received from Seifert.
“Empathy, listening, and vision are characteristics that we attribute to servant leadership,” Keith said. “At Siena, we learn a lot about servant leadership and how it can impact the community. It is a blessing for our institution to have a true servant leader as its president. As a student leader myself, Dr. Seifert is a role model on how to live out our Franciscan values.”
Similarly, former Siena student and current Chair for the Board of Advisors Kathleen Digan ’10, recalls how Seifert went out of his way to meet over 40,000 Siena students, parents, and alumni over the summer.
“Dr. Seifert has truly come to embody Franciscan values and what it means to be a saint,” she said.
The Siena Board of Advisors presented Seifert with a gift mapping a route of everywhere he has gone to introduce himself to the Siena community nationwide, marking everywhere from Newport Beach, CA, to Jupiter, FL, and everywhere between.
After bouts of uninterrupted applause and standing ovations, Seifert would officially be installed as the 13th President of Siena College.
“Now I’m supposed to talk,” President Seifert joked to the audience once he took over the stage.
President Seifert cited Siena’s rich history and tradition throughout the speech. He emphasized the significant impact the school had on him. In his 27 years of teaching at Siena, he attributes most of his success to where he is today to the Siena community.
“I am truly blessed to serve an organization I love so much,” Seifert said. “We are the best organization I have ever had the chance to work for or with. I know that I’m a better person and leader because this community accepted me 27 years ago.”
After thanking family, friends, and colleagues, Seifert enthusiastically boasted some of those impressive achievements of Siena College, including their recent recognition in the Wall Street Journal’s top 100 colleges, their reputation as the number one college in New York for post-graduation job placement, and their place in the College Consensus national ranking of the top 10 Catholic colleges.
To reiterate the keynotes of the inauguration, Seifert preached the focus on the student experience that the Siena community has cultivated over the decades. Additionally, he expressed that the overall experience and outcome for the students matter, not the numbers.
“These rankings didn’t just happen,” Seifert said. “Every community member worked incredibly hard to make sure we are meeting our mission and enhancing the student experience both inside and outside the classroom. Also, we didn’t focus on outcomes and rankings; we focused on the student experience that resulted in our exceptional outcomes and rankings.”
Building on this statement, Seifert noted as a community, Siena should always strive to be humble. But President Seifert doesn’t think that means Saints should stop being proud to bleed green and gold.
“We all need to be bowed and proud,” he said. “As the new father Mike Utzig said, ‘We need to bring the loud to Loudonville.’ We also need to develop a little swagger.”
President Seifert proudly exclaims that he wants every community of Loudonville to know how special Siena is and the impact it leaves on its students. Seifert described to the arena full of Saints the need to cement a world of excellence and the urgency to create a more open discussion for public discourse.
“We have to focus on being excellent in every interaction,” he said. “A high-trust environment is developed where everyone is focused on the success of all community members, and all community members are accountable for delivering excellence.”
Looking to the future, Seifert expects Siena College to keep on its trajectory of high demand, accountability, and community orientation. To truly progress and maintain an upward trajectory, Siena must embrace the power of listening over refuting.
In the waning moments of his speech, Seifert ended the inauguration before reminding the community of the theme, of “leading the way together”. Ultimately to Seifert, Saints are to listen and learn from one another to harness richness and drive positive change on the Siena campus and beyond.
“There is a need to listen, to understand instead of refute,” he said. “We need to break down silos and work as a community. We need to love our neighbors as ourselves.”