University of Dayton junior Zachary O’Connor sees a synergy between the humanities and his engineering major, demonstrating that learning is not compartmentalized but something that shapes the whole person. Through his research, he hopes to spark conversation on a current issue he said affects us all.
The McGrath Award and Catholic Intellectual Tradition Symposium gave him the platform to do just that.
O’Connor was one of five UD students who received 2026 Fr. Jack McGrath, S.M., Awards for Research in Catholic Intellectual Traditions. They presented their research at the annual symposium Feb. 2-3 in the Kennedy Union Torch Lounge.
Named in honor of Fr. McGrath (1935-2015), the award recognizes students whose research in a UD Common Academic Program course demonstrates rigorous, deep and creative engagement with thinkers, texts and/or themes associated with Catholic Intellectual Traditions. Students received a $1,000 scholarship along with the opportunity to present at the symposium.
“I feel like I am carrying the torch Father McGrath left for all of us,” said O’Connor, whose research connects Hannah Arendt's theory of totalitarianism to the rise of 21st-century authoritarianism. “A torch calling us to a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith in light of our current struggles.”
The award is sponsored by Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Intellectual Traditions and associate professor of theology in UD’s Department of Religious Studies. He said the McGrath Award continues to highlight the breadth of ways students engage with Catholic Intellectual Traditions across disciplines.
“Overall, it was interesting to see the different approaches to doing research,” Gabrielli said. “Several of this year’s winners employed more hands-on methods, such as examining artifacts.”
Gabrielli noted a record number of McGrath Award applications this year, reflecting growing student interest. He said this year’s projects stood out for their diversity, including sociological and ethnographic approaches, and for their engagement with contemporary social and ethical challenges.
For example, McGrath awardee Keion Daniels looked at the lingering impact of Jim Crow laws, which established "separate but equal" status for public facilities, education and transportation, on contemporary health care for Black women.
“I was able to make connections through the evident tangibility of the thoughts behind the principles, understanding what application really looked like in modern-day issues like racism or discrimination in health care,” Daniels said. “These traditions emphasize morality over what's deemed normal, and in health care for Black women, normal is a scary thing.”
This year, the award recognized three students in the first-year/sophomore and two in the junior/senior categories. Research projects from spring, summer or fall 2025 Common Academic Program courses in any academic discipline were eligible for consideration.
The 2026 awardees:
- Daniels, a psychology major from Newark, New Jersey, for Residual Jim Crow Ideals and Healthcare for Black Women.
- Ryan Howard, a first-year chemistry major from Dayton, for Silenced Minds: How Philosophy’s Mind Over Body Divide Became a Gender Divide.
- Noah Novotny, a junior religious studies and theology major from Batavia, Ohio, for Hopelessness: Nothing Left But Silence Forging Silent Peacemakers Who Endure.
- O’Connor, a junior mechanical engineering technology major from Pittsburgh, for Terror Then and Now: How Hannah Arendt’s Atomized Society Addresses Contemporary Immigration Politics.
- Brookelyn Rice, a sophomore communication major from Ross, Ohio, for Lourdes in the Modern Age: Faith, Science, Mass Media.
Presenting at the symposium offers students an opportunity to articulate how Catholic Intellectual Traditions shapes their thinking and research. Gabrielli said the experience encourages students to reflect more deeply on their work, make connections across disciplines and engage with a wider audience.
Novotny said his research, alongside his major, has allowed him to explore what aspects of theology and the world about which he is passionate.
“By researching and compiling fundamental aspects of prayer and how they intersect with worldly suffering, I find I have been given the opportunity to study CIT topics I really care about and can use in my own life,” he said. “Learning and discussing CIT as a student is very important to me while attending a Catholic school as it enhances my discernment of where my God-given desires and the world’s needs meet.”
Gabrielli hopes the McGrath Award and the symposium inspire people to find resources within Catholic Intellectual Tradition to address contemporary problems, given its extensive history.
“Those voices are not dead to us,” Gabrielli said. “They’re alive and they continue to speak. When we sit with their ideas, they can really help us imagine the kinds of things that we might need to say in our moment, which has its own particular challenges.”
While he never had the privilege of meeting Fr. McGrath, O’Connor said winning the award in his honor feels like he is connecting his intellectual and faith journey to Fr. McGrath’s Marianist mission.
“Without the CIT, I would not be aware of these serious questions, and my research, while a small drop in the ocean of Catholic thought, is an effort to act against these concerning realities,” O’Connor said.
Top photo: Timothy Gabrielli introduces Keion Daniels at the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Symposium.
Middle photo: Zachary O’Connor presents his research at the symposium.
