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UnderstandingSiena’sFranciscanTradition

Siena’s Franciscan tradition guides Siena in creating a curriculum which stimulates individual intellectual growth and civic responsibility, con- necting knowledge and action.

The Franciscan tradition also focuses us on pedagogical strategies which are both critical and interactive. It is the reason we limit our class sizes, it is the reason we emphasize the relationship between faculty and students.

At Siena, education is understood as a transformative experience: personal interaction, introduction into the traditions of human social life, and assuming responsibility.

The Catholic, Franciscan tradition is Siena’s founding tradition, and it remains alive at Siena where it engages students, faculty, staff, and administrators of diverse backgrounds.

Franciscan education is affective learning. It occurs in the personal interactions of faculty, students, and student affairs staff; it prepares students to address real issues in our contemporary world, and to raise critical questions. Siena has adopted a multicultural plan to foster its Franciscan commitment to being a community which reflects and appreciates the ethnic and cultural richness of the college community.

The Franciscan tradition plays out in the two crucial areas of college life.

First, Siena’s Franciscan identity requires us to be a student-centered community. It requires faculty, staff, and administrators to respect each student, to work with students attentively, to communicate a sense of enjoyment at being part of this college. Students work together in programs which range from peer tutoring in the college to volunteering in the larger community. The emphasis on volun- teering means that not only does Campus Ministry run an exten- sive volunteer program, but student organizations carry out volunteer programs as part of being chartered by the College.

Many colleges say they are student-centered, but Siena’s Catholic, Franciscan vision of human life is essentially communal. It knows that life is lived in, with, and for, other human beings. At the same time, it respects the irreplaceable dignity of the individual and the individual’s freedom of conscience. This communal and respectful experience begins within the college community and is carried out into the larger society.

Second, the Franciscan tradition provides resources which contri- bute to our academic excellence. Saint Francis called himself simple and unlearned, but he had a profound and coherent under- standing of human identity, social life, and the physical world. This understanding began with careful attention to the real experience of being human, living in a community, being situated in a particular place, but then he put this experience in the context of a tradition. He could also listen to and learn frompeople formed by other traditions.

Siena College – The Facts

Enrollment: Approximately 3,000 undergraduates: 53% women, 47% men.

Student-Faculty Ratio: 14:1

Class Sizes: range from 15-35 (average 21)

Location: Suburban, 155-acre campus twomiles north of Albany, less than three hours fromNew York City and Boston.

Majors

• B.A.: American Studies, Classics, Creative Arts, Economics, English, Environmental Studies, French, History,Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, SocialWork, Sociology and Spanish

• B.S.: Biochemistry, Biology, Biology/Medical, Chemistry, Computational Science, Computer Science, Economics, Finance, Marketing & Management, and Physics

• B.B.A: Accounting

Computers

All Siena students have free Internet and e-mail access; students have 24-hour access to campus-wide computer system; Siena maintains specialized computer labs for Arts, Science, and Business students. Student-Computer Ratio: 12:1.

Student Life

• 76 percent of students live on campus in residence halls, suites or townhouses. More than 60 organizations, featuring intramural and club sports, volunteer activities, campus ministry, student government, academic and professional clubs and 88.3 FM-WVCR.

• Marcelle Athletic Complex (“The MAC”) features exercise equipment, swimming pool, racquet and squash courts, aero- bics, an elevated, banked running track and basketball courts.

• 18 NCAA Division I sports (7 for men, 11 for women); 20 intramural and club activities.

Costs

$35,280 (tuition, room and board and fees in 2009-10. Approximately 86% of students receive financial aid.)

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