Siena's new leader has St. Francis as model

Helping students develop into responsible community members is important to Rev. Kevin Mackin, OFM, the new president of Siena College in Loudonville.

"When I think of Siena, I think of a commitment to character and learning," he said. "We enhance the values parents are trying to nurture."

Father Mackin, a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, received a master's in history from Siena in 1964. He was a faculty member and administrator there from 1970-82, where he was involved in campus life. Now that he is back at the college he's looking forward to being involved with students again.

Worthy work

"The students have great potential," he said. "It's wonderful to be a part of their dreams. It's challenging and rewarding.

"This is worthwhile work," he continued. "Colleges and universities are worthwhile places because they're serving people as they search for meaning. We're helping them better integrate their lives and face the challenges of the future."

The challenges facing the president are threefold, he said: enrollment management, strategic planning and institutional advancement.

Other goals include further developing the cultural activities available on campus, reaching out to the business community with internships, enhancing the continuing education program which will assist people who are beginning their second career, and developing agreements with graduate schools that will allow Siena students to enroll in graduate school while still doing their undergraduate work.

Academics

Father Mackin would like the college to continue to attract and keep quality students, and provide these students with challenges that will engage them. One way Siena will do that is through a new core curriculum that is mandatory for this year's freshman class. The interdisciplinary program will link the traditional liberal arts subjects with various life issues.

The goals of the program are to prepare students for responsible participation in an increasingly diverse and complex world, and to prepare them for further learning, both in the sense of continuing to learn after they leave college, and in being prepared to do more advanced work in an area of specialization, he said.

"Learning is ongoing," he said. "It doesn't stop after school. At Siena, we provide young people with an education that allows them to develop themselves so that they can give back to the larger community. Siena is focused on building up a community of young people who contribute to society."

Catholicism

Siena, with its emphasis on its Franciscan tradition, is "very Catholic," he said. "Catholic and Franciscan go together. The Catholic tradition is reflected in the Franciscan movement."

He explained that St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans, was the quintessential Catholic. St. Francis saw traces of God all around him in nature and in others, and recognized the spark of the Divine in every human being.

"Francis was committed to building the community of believers," Father Mackin said. "The essence of Franciscan spirituality is reaching out compassionately to every human being. Catholic identity is important to Siena. Being Catholic and Franciscan is very important. It is what makes us uniquely Siena."

Broad appeal

While Siena is Catholic, he said the Franciscan tradition appeals to people of many faiths.

"Francis has an attraction to many people," he said. "He has captured the imagination of people throughout the centuries" because of his simple lifestyle, his love of animals and nature, and his quest for God.

With more people being concerned about the ecology, St. Francis's teachings on nature are being reviewed by non-Catholics, Father Mackin said, noting that St. Francis taught that humans have to respect nature as its stewards.

Searching students

Hanging in Father Mackin's office is a painting of a young St. Francis titled, "Francis In Search of Meaning." He said college students are like St. Francis as he is depicted in the painting.

"Young people are searching for something greater than themselves that will energize them," he said.

For his students, Father Mackin hopes that their experience at Siena will tune them in to the presence of God all around them, and help them find ultimate meaning and purpose in life.

"The whole Catholic and Franciscan tradition teaches that there is ultimate meaning in life," he said. "We're all unique with gifts for others. Our gifts are not just for ourselves; they're for others as well."

Road to Siena

Father Mackin never thought that he would be a college president.

"I never thought I'd be here," he said. "If you told me in high school what I would do with my life, I wouldn't have believed you."

He is looking forward to his new position at Siena. "I enjoy challenges," he said. "It creates excitement. It can psyche you up. I'm happy to be able to do something I enjoy. I'm looking forward the most to meeting students in different venues and getting to know them."

He would like residents of the Capital District to know that Siena is ready to serve them as well as students.

"Siena has a first-rate academic program, and we'd like to reach out to the community," Father Mackin said. "We want to be a contributor to the Capital Region and respond to the needs of local communities." [[In-content Ad]]