Cleary University to Transition Nursing Programs to Livingston County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
July 23, 2026
 
CONTACT:
Brett Rogers
Director of Marketing
800-686-1883 x.1558
brogers@cleary.edu
 
Editor’s note: if you would like an interview with a representative from Cleary, please contact Brett Rogers at brogers@cleary.edu.
 
Cleary University to transition nursing programs to Livingston County
 
Siena Heights University’s accredited nursing programs are coming to Livingston County
in partnership with Trinity Health Livingston, pending approvals
 
(HOWELL, MI) Cleary University and Siena Heights University announced an agreement to transition three accredited nursing programs from Siena Heights University (SHU) in Adrian, to Livingston County. The initiative, which will transition to Cleary as soon as Spring 2027, will perpetuate SHU’s mission and legacy and will be named the “Siena Heights School of Nursing at Cleary University.”
 
The partnership with Siena Heights also includes the opportunity for a representative from the Adrian Dominican Sisters to join Cleary’s Board of Trustees to ensure the nursing program remains strong and sustainable, reports Alan Drimmer, PhD, president of Cleary.
 
SHU announced last year that it would be closing the university at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
 
Pending approvals from regulatory agencies, the following programs are planned for transition to Cleary:
 

• BSN Pre-Licensure
• RN to BSN degree
• MSN degree

 
Upon receiving approvals, the goal is to roll out the RN to BSN degree program first; the BSN pre-licensure and MSN programs would follow within the year.
“We are committed to preserving what Siena Heights built to ensure the programs continue to serve students with consistency,” says Dr. Drimmer. “With community growth, Livingston County deserves access to high-quality nursing education close to home.”
 
The county’s population has grown to nearly 200,000 people and the median age of its residents is 43.8 years, which exceeds the state average. “We anticipate an increased demand for health care in this area, yet, there are no local nursing programs,” Dr. Drimmer notes. Michigan hospitals alone report some 23,000 open health care positions. And the challenge extends beyond the state. Nationally, more than 80,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing programs in 2024 because of capacity constraints, including limited faculty and clinical placement availability.
Trinity Health Livingston is expected to serve as the anchor clinical partner, providing nursing students with hands-on training at one of the region’s leading hospital systems. This relationship addresses one of the greatest barriers in nursing education — access to clinical placements — while also creating a strong workforce pipeline for the region.
“The current gap in nursing education combined with a limited health care workforce requires universities like Cleary to invest in the future of students who will care for our community,” reports John O’Malley, president of Trinity Health Livingston. O’Malley recently launched a new $238 million hospital in Brighton. The four-story, 174,000-square-foot hospital features 56 acuity care beds, 18 short-stay beds, eight operating rooms, intensive cardiac rehab, imaging, a hospital-based medical and surgical specialty practice, a chapel and a cafeteria. The site also includes two future-build areas to support community needs in the future. The attached medical center also will undergo a full renovation.
According to O’Malley, “the opportunity in nursing education has real consequences for our patients, our hospital and for the health care workforce our community relies on. Trinity Health is excited about the prospects of serving as a clinical partner with Cleary.”
As part of the transition, Dr. Karen Howatt, assistant dean of the School of Nursing at Siena Heights University, has joined Cleary as Dean of the new school of nursing. She will oversee nursing faculty and the program’s curriculum, provide leadership continuity and steward the established academic excellence, faculty expertise, and student-centered approach that have defined the Siena Heights nursing programs.
“We are energized that Cleary has stepped forward to partner with Siena Heights to keep our nursing program alive,” announces Howatt. “Cleary’s philosophy matches what we instill in our students – strong and ethical leadership, dignity and respect for all people, cultural understanding, creativity and critical thinking. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with Cleary University to continue our nursing legacy and offer students a practical and relevant nursing degree that meets the needs of the health care community.”

The initiative also has implications for Livingston County students long before they reach a university campus. For many high school students interested in health care careers, the absence of a local nursing program has meant leaving the county entirely, which adds cost, transportation, and persistence barriers that often derail those plans. Jonathan Tobar, deputy superintendent of the Livingston Educational Service Agency, says the transition directly addresses that gap. “Local postsecondary pathways in high-demand fields matter,” Tobar notes, adding that “a locally accessible program at Cleary would strengthen the pipeline from secondary schools into health care careers for both traditional students and adult learners.”

The transition requires approval from these regulatory bodies: the Higher Learning Commission, the Michigan Board of Nursing, the State of Michigan, the Department of Education and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

About Cleary University

Founded in 1883, Cleary University is a four-year, private, nonprofit accredited university, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees from a unique Business Arts curriculum, and driven by a faculty of thought leaders with deep, practical experience in their industries. Providing on-campus and online education models, Cleary also offers a robust athletic program of 21 sports and a rich residence life with nearly 200 students living on the active, 50-acre campus.

 

About Siena Heights University

Founded in 1919, Siena Heights is a Catholic university sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. The coeducational institution enrolls a diverse community of traditional age and working adult students. The school is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission that was founded in the liberal arts tradition, offering associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. The school announced its closing in August 2025 and officially closed its doors in May.

 

About Trinity Health Livingston

The hospitals and physicians of Trinity Health Michigan have been caring for their communities for more than a century. As members of Trinity Health, Livingston County centers are connected to a national network of one of the largest health systems in the country. That means more access to experts, research, facilities, support, clinical trials and leading technology. The new Trinity Health Livingston opened in April on Grand River Avenue in Brighton. The four-story, 174,000 square-foot hospital has 56 acuity adaptable inpatient beds that allow the medical team to care for different levels of patients without having to move them from room to room. The new facility offers added improvements in comfort, safety and technology, and it will provide cardiac CT advanced imaging for heart attack assessment as well as upgrades in its radiology services for women.

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