Siena Heights University, a 106-year-old Catholic institution in Adrian, Michigan, will close its doors at the end of the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year due to financial and operational challenges. The move comes months after the firing of its former CFO Debi Andrews.
Andrews joined Siena Heights in February 2024 and filed a whistleblower lawsuit in April 2025, claiming she was placed on unpaid leave in the summer of 2024 after opposing what she described as unsound accounting practices and internal misuse of funds. The complaint also details how her working relationship with university President Douglas Palmer deteriorated after she advised another administrator to file a sexual harassment claim against him.
The complaint says that had Andrews not opposed the defendants’ fraud and encouraged her coworkers to complain about Palmer’s behavior, she would not have been terminated. It also alleges that Fran Johnson, the university’s former human resources director, falsely accused Andrews of inappropriate conduct with staff taking place on campus. Andrews claims that this caused a retaliatory and unfounded investigation against her.
Founded in 1919 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters as a teacher training college for women pursuing a religious lifestyle, Siena Heights University evolved into a coeducational institution with multiple satellite campuses and online programs. However, since then, the Sisters have expanded their mission beyond Catholic education, managing tens of...
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