November 1, 2023 at 10:22 a.m.
CATHOLIC VOICES
Dr. Charles F. “Chuck” Seifert is bringing his servant leadership to his new role at Siena College.
This September, Seifert was inaugurated as the 13th president of Siena, after officially taking office on June 1 and succeeding Dr. Christopher P. Gibson ’86. Qualified and excited for his new role, Seifert brings with him a unique ability to lead Siena through the eyes of a former professor who has grown to care for the college like a second home.
A faculty member for almost 30 years, Seifert’s love for Siena is palpable in his stories. One of his favorite moments since taking office was getting to declare the incoming Siena class official “Siena Saints.” He also moved his presidential parking space — normally reserved in the front of the main parking lot — to the back of the lot where the rest of his faculty parks. It’s little mentions like these, ones he says without boasting or bragging, that make Seifert appear like a proud father figure, just genuinely excited to show off his Siena family. Emily Benson from The Evangelist sat down with Seifert at his new office to discuss his career and upbringing, his faith as Siena’s first non-Catholic president, and his hopes for the college he cares so much for as the interview series Catholic Voices returns.
TE: How have the first few weeks been going?
CS: I’ve been at Siena for 27 years, and I’ve been here so long that I’ve really learned how much I need to learn. (Seifert served as dean of the School of Business (2014-19, 2020-23), and interim vice president for academic affairs from 2019-20; founder and executive director of Siena’s Institute for Leadership Development (2009-14); department chair of Marketing and Management (2004-07); and assistant dean of the School of Business from 1997-98). It’s really the community that’s so strong and so supportive, and every time I’ve assumed a new position, it’s really learning more and understanding how the different pieces come together. It’s really wonderful; it’s a great institution.
TE: Are you from the area?
CS: I was born in Ohio and I lived in Elyria outside of Cleveland, but only until I was 5. That was where my grandparents lived so we would go back and visit. Then we moved to Illinois and I lived in Rockville from 5 to 12 years old and then we moved to New Hartford outside of Utica. I graduated from New Hartford High School, then I went to the University of Buffalo for undergrad and came to Albany after I graduated college in 1984, and I’ve been here since.
Dr. Charles Seifert says of the school: “We’re a true community and we really care for each other, and we work for everyone and we work collaboratively and we work for everyone to be successful.” (Emily Benson photo)
TE: Tell me about your education.
CS: My undergrad is in economics, and my master’s is in finance (from Sage Graduate School) and my Ph.D. is in organizational studies (from the University at Albany).
TE: Did you know you wanted to go into that?
CS: No way. I went to University of Buffalo and I took some courses and I thought that was really cool. And so I try to do the same thing for students here. Take some courses, find things that click for you, and then focus on that. But again, going from economics to here is a long and winding road.
TE: Did you ever imagine you would be here in this office?
CS: No, not at all. In fact, after I had been dean for years, I had resigned and my plan was to be starting back up as faculty this fall. Chris Gibson decided it was going to be his last year and the potential of the opportunity was discussed with me. I went through a lot of thinking and said, “Maybe this is the right place.” It’s funny, when you’re on the path it’s hard to see some of those turning points, but when you look back you can see it.
TE: What was it like to transition into this role from a teaching position?
CS: When I did my spreadsheet of pros and cons for pursuing this opportunity, the absolute top of the con list was not being in the classroom. Just a brief history: I was VP of (Evergreen Bank and a manager at First American Bank) and CFO (of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce), received my MBA at night, and taught classes as an adjunct because it was a fun thing to do, and I absolutely fell in love with teaching. It was a calling to really pursue that. I took a one-year visiting position at Siena College … and that was 27 years ago. I was like the visiting uncle who never left. So that calling for me to be in the classroom and positively influencing other people’s lives — hopefully — was fantastic. What I do is try to find other opportunities to have that impact, and this role is not the same impact, but there’s the same opportunity to impact those students’ lives.
TE: I noticed at your inauguration when you got a standing ovation, it was the students who stood up and initiated it. I felt like that meant something.
CS: It did. It was very emotional, it was absolutely wonderful. Because I know there’s a lot of pomp and circumstance, and everybody said such nice things. That’s a moment I will never forget, it was really special.
TE: Your inauguration focused a lot on being a servant leader. What does that mean to you?
CS: There are many different elements but I’ll give the general summary of it. The servant model is really dedicated to making sure that you do what you can for the people that you work with to be successful, and it means what you need to do is put their needs ahead of yours. You’re working with them, you understand them, you treat them with respect and courtesy and being selfless, those types of things in order for that person to be successful. A big part of that is trying to build a culture where we’re all servants and we’re all serving each other. That’s always going to take time and it’s an effort, and one of the things I try to talk about in my presentation is excellence in every interaction. Just making sure every time you interact with someone, you’re paying attention to what that person is saying. You’re paying attention, you’re listening to understand instead of refute.
TE: How does Siena feel special to you?
CS: I can’t tell you how many times I did open house presentations as dean or faculty, and I would always say there’s something special, there’s something in the water. We can’t fake it this good! And literally, a few years ago it became apparent to me that that was our Catholic and Franciscan tradition and that really is what makes us different. We’re a true community and we really care for each other, and we work for everyone and we work collaboratively and we work for everyone to be successful. Even as dean I learned the best hires I can make are individuals who fit the culture of Siena, and so through all our practices we try and reinforce that, hopefully from the top all the way through the organization. The Wall Street Journal just came out with their rankings (for 2024 “Best Colleges in the U.S.”) and we were ranked 91 in the country. That’s the top 3 percent of colleges in the country. And we’re the No. 1 school for getting a job after graduation (according to Zippia) three years in a row, and that’s just incredible if you think about it.
TE: You yourself are not Catholic, correct?
CS: I’m not. I’m the first non-Catholic president of Siena College, and that was something that obviously was discussed along the way. Part of it was that I am very much a man of faith. I grew up in my church (First Presbyterian Church in Ballston Spa) and I’m active in my church (Seifert served as an elder of First Presbyterian, clerk of session, taught Sunday school, and served as the church’s treasurer and chair of the finance committee.) I’ve worked with Bishop Edward (Scharfenberger) first on his task force for sexual abuse and chaired it, and I’m on the board for Reigniting our Faith. But most impactfully to my faith tradition, I served on the men’s spirituality group at Siena College for eight years. We have a cohort of freshmen, and there’s a friar and a non-friar, and we meet with them every other week for the whole time they’re in college. It’s highly impactful and wonderful.
TE: How has faith been a compass of sorts in your life?
CS: I have a very rich prayer regime that I follow. I have (prayer) conversations frequently and I spend a lot of time in prayer. My wife and I have been married for 33 years, and we spend a lot of time talking through the different elements, but without a doubt, I am very involved and very attuned to making sure what’s best for me and for the institution.
TE: What is a day like in the life of Siena’s president?
CS: Luckily, I am a morning person. I live on campus, but once 8:30-9 a.m. comes, the day is rarely mine. But that’s ok. There’s a lot of time spent listening, figuring out the best way to go forward, how to support the college and support the students. A good percentage of my time is meeting with people. I also spend a significant amount of time at events, talking and presenting and being the face of Siena. I think that’s important. I spend a bit of my time working with alumni, development and fundraising, too. It’s a real balance between a lot of different priorities. One of the things I’m really lucky with is I have fantastic people I work with. Some people are gifted by association, I try to be brilliant by association and surround myself with really smart people. And so I have a really good support network, and they work really well together.
TE: What are your goals for Siena going forward?
CS: Those accolades I was talking about, we need to make sure everybody understands what it is that we do, and how they can benefit from an education at Siena College and becoming part of this community. I’ll talk about these (accomplishments) at open houses and people will say, “I had no idea!” And it’s like a cold knife. I want everybody to know, I really do. So we’re doing what we can to really increase that recognition of everything that Siena does.
TE: Do you have a life motto?
CS: I have tons of them. First, “The greatest thing I ever learned is how little I know.” And that’s really important because that helps center me in every interaction with someone. The “Excellence in every interaction,” is a good one. But the most influential is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind.” And “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And that love is a verb, not a feeling. That’s treating people with care, respect and kindness, selflessly. That’s really important.
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