Rollan Mattson didn鈥檛 expect to make history when he lined up for Siena Heights University鈥檚 commencement on Saturday.
But about three hours in, the 22-year-old nursing major walked across the school鈥檚 fieldhouse stage with a rare distinction: He was the final graduate of the 107-year-old private Catholic university, which is .
Siena Heights, founded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1919, is the latest in a wave of smaller private and faith-based colleges to close in Michigan amid declining enrollment and financial strain.
When he learned of Siena Heights鈥� pending closure heading into his senior year, Mattson said his first thought was, 鈥淥h hell, am I going to graduate?鈥�
The June 2025 closure announcement led staffers to try to find other jobs in a scramble, Mattson said, telling Bridge Michigan the university鈥檚 nursing department was reduced to three faculty members by the end of the semester, down from at least seven.
But Mattson persevered. On Saturday, after 440 fellow graduates crossed the stage before him, Mattson heard his name called and received his diploma for a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
鈥淭he school is still technically there, even if it is closed,鈥� he said after the ceremony. 鈥淚 think it will take a month or two for it to set in.鈥�
Hundreds of family members and friends packed the Siena Heights Fieldhouse in Adrian for the graduation ceremony, which doubled as a farewell marking the end of an era for faculty, students and alumni.
In a moment of levity, actor and comedian Bill Murray delivered a surprise commencement speech, saying he鈥檇 be ready to 鈥渞umble鈥� with students in the parking lot as a new member of the 鈥渇amily鈥� 鈥� his sister is a member of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, and both received honorary degrees on Saturday.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need a building to be who you already have become or who you will become,鈥� Murray told the graduates.
鈥榊ou cannot recruit students who were never born鈥�
Siena Heights is the latest in a series of small, private and faith-based Michigan colleges to close their doors or significantly scale back operations, including Finlandia University in Hancock, Marygrove College in Detroit and Concordia University in Ann Arbor.
Officials have described a perfect storm of factors, including steep enrollment declines, increased operational costs, competition with trade schools and resulting financial strain that larger universities are better positioned to weather because of public funding and endowments.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate that it seems to be the small, private institutions that have a faith-based affiliation that have been impacted, whereas if you鈥檙e a state school or a state institution, you have different funding pools to pull from than a small, private institution,鈥� Cheri Betz, president of Siena Heights, told Bridge Michigan.
The university that it would close at the end of this academic year, following years of financial strain and declining enrollment.
In 2018, there were a total of for the fall semester. By the fall of 2021, there were 1,782 students enrolled at the university, down from of 2,707 in 2015.
The cost of up from $28,500 for the 2023-24 academic year. At Eastern Michigan University, about an hour northeast of Siena Heights, tuition . Tuition at Michigan Technological University, the state鈥檚 most expensive public college, was $22,084.
Betz also pointed to the lower birth rates in Michigan that have seeking a college education, a trend that heavily impacts small private institutions like Siena Heights.
鈥淭he common pressure in higher education today is the fact that there are fewer people 鈥� who are entering and going to postsecondary education,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou cannot recruit students who were never born.鈥�
As part of its 鈥渉onorable closing鈥� plan, Siena Heights added a 鈥淛-term,鈥� or an accelerated academic session, between the fall and spring semesters for students to take additional classes so they could graduate before closure.
The school also worked with younger students to help them line up transfers to other colleges.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say that it necessarily impacted my education, because I was a senior,鈥� said Mattson, the last graduate. 鈥淚 would say it impacted the younger groups because their education was pivoted to trying to transfer them out.鈥�
Fewer students, fewer options
The wave of small, private college closures is not limited to Michigan. As the continues to decline, multiple schools have closed in neighboring states like , , Ohio and Indiana.
Michigan鈥檚 population growth has lagged, and the state is graduating about than it did 15 years ago.
Finlandia University, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, shut down in 2023, arranging teach-out agreements so students could transfer. The 126-year-old university had experienced financial challenges for more than a decade, Timothy Pinnow, then-president of the university, previously told Bridge.
鈥淲hen you have those things that happen and you have increasing expenses, then you have to find the money to keep going somewhere and many times that involves increasing your debt load,鈥� he said.
Finlandia enrolled ; by 2020, that number had fallen to 478, a 24 percent decline.
Marygrove College, a private, Catholic institution, in 2017 and its graduate programs in 2019 after struggling financially since the mid-2000s.
鈥淭he educational landscape changed drastically in the state of Michigan as elsewhere in the nation,鈥� the college . 鈥淭he high school population dwindled such that all colleges and universities were competing for the same smaller number of students.鈥�
Concordia University in Ann Arbor, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, , leaving uncertainty about the long-term future of programs and facilities.
Only will be offered at its Ann Arbor campus: a Doctor of Occupational Therapy, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies.
The university will also offer eight education degree programs online, including a Bachelor of Arts in Lower and Upper Elementary Education, a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education 鈥� Mathematics and a Master of Science in Curriculum & Instruction with Teacher Certification in Secondary Education.
Siena Heights announced its closure last summer, with officials saying they had assessed the university鈥檚 finances, operational challenges and long-term sustainability and determined it was 鈥渘o longer feasible鈥� to stay open.
鈥淭he spirit of Siena Heights will continue long after the institution itself closes its doors because it lives in every graduate, faculty member and staff person who has been on campus 鈥� whether in-person or online,鈥� said then-President Douglas B. Palmer, who departed the school in September.
After he crossed the stage Saturday at Siena Heights, Mattson said it had not really hit him yet that his alma mater was closing.
Next fall, 鈥渨hen all of the kids are leaving to go to college again, and when you see the place still empty, it will set in more,鈥� he said.
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