What's Happening

July 13, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Julie Barst became the Director of Weber Retreat and Conference Center on June 29, 2026, succeeding Sister Janet Doyle, OP, who served in that role since 2016. 

Julie served as Provost and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs during the last academic year of Siena Heights University. She sees her new role at Weber Center as an extension of her involvement with the Adrian Dominican Sisters for the past 14 years at Siena Heights University. During those years, Julie worked with many Sisters, both at the University and at the Motherhouse. 

“My first semester here at Siena, I joined the anti-human trafficking task force that Sisters Thérèse Haggerty and Jean Tobin started,” she said. “I have developed over 14 years such a deep respect for the Sisters and the Dominican Charism, and the opportunity to keep contributing to that mission was very exciting to me. It felt like a natural extension of a lot of the work that I’ve been doing at Siena.” 

A native of St. Charles, Michigan, in Saginaw County, Julie grew up one block from M-52, which leads circuitously to Adrian. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting major at Central Michigan University. She also holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in literary studies, both from Purdue University. 

Julie began her career in accounting but realized that field was not fulfilling, so she reconnected with an earlier desire to be a teacher. “One of my passions has always been reading and talking to other people about fantastic books,” she said. “I love what you can learn about what it means to be human from reading other people’s stories, and you can step into someone else’s shoes.” 

After earning a PhD in 2009, she began her career in higher education at South Dakota State University as Assistant Professor of English. In her third year, she read about an opening at Siena Heights University, researched the school, and saw it as a good fit. She began her career at Siena Heights in 2012 as Assistant Professor of English, then moved up to Associate Professor, Professor, and Chair of the English Department. Later, she was named Chair of the Humanities Division and Assistant Dean of Academics before stepping into the Provost position in August. 

This past year – the last academic year of Siena Heights University – has been “very challenging but also very rewarding,” Julie said. As Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, she worked with students to figure out their next steps. “One of the key priorities for my office was collaborating with other institutions on teach-out agreements for students unable to graduate this year,” she said. A teach-out is a legal document between Siena Heights University and another college or university, guaranteeing that the other institution will accept Siena Heights students’ credits, keep the same timeline for graduation, and waive application fees and residency requirements, she explained.  

“Because the Sisters gave us the gift of honorable closure that included a full academic year of operations, we were able to graduate our seniors and secure 20 teach-out agreements and 53 transfer pathways for our remaining students,” Julie said. 

Julie is looking forward to her new role at Weber Center. She brings much of what she learned at Siena Heights to this new role. As founder of Siena Heights’ Ethnic and Gender Studies Institute, she organized speakers, film screenings, and special events. Julie hopes to function as a teacher at Weber Center. 

“I’m excited to think of the programming I could bring in, and the audiences it might serve,” she said. She also hopes to add a course on current events in race or gender studies and to fulfill the role of hospitality, welcoming Sisters and the broader community to Weber Center. 

“I feel honored to have been chosen to continue the mission of the Weber Center,” Julie said, “and my hope is to build on the amazing foundation that Sister Janet and the others before her have created.”