The Fitz Center for Leadership in Community has been named a recipient of the 2026 Insight Into Academia Civic Engagement and Community Service Award, a national recognition honoring institutions that demonstrate a sustained commitment to community impact and public service.
“This recognition is meaningful validation at the national level,” said Nancy McHugh, Fitz Center executive director and professor in the UD Department of Philosophy. “For the University of Dayton, it reinforces our identity as a ‘University for the Common Good.’”
McHugh said this award reflects nearly 25 years of work building reciprocal relationships with community partners across Dayton, rather than transactional service or one-way volunteerism. Founded in 2002, the Fitz Center serves as the University’s primary hub for community engagement.
UD President Eric Spina said it is a “front porch for community collaboration, blurring the line between the University and the city.”
Several key programs contributed to the recognition. Dayton Civic Scholars, established in 2004, is the University’s flagship civic engagement program. Students commit to three years of service, completing ongoing community engagement, coursework and a capstone project developed with local partners. The Class of 2027 cohort is working with the Five Oaks neighborhood in northwest Dayton.
Educational Engagement Programs reflect more than two decades of collaboration with Dayton Public Schools and community organizations. The initiative focuses on tutoring, after-school programming and improving outcomes through family-centered support systems.
The Ethics and Leadership Initiative connects students with real-world challenges through internships and applied learning. Rather than treating ethics as theoretical, the program places students in hands-on roles with organizations such as the Dayton Mayor’s Office, where they navigate complex decisions across fields like public service and technology.
These programs are part of a broader list that includes additional initiatives and partnerships across the region. McHugh said economics shouldn’t be a barrier for student participation in experiential learning, which is why many opportunities offer scholarships or paid internships.
In the 2023-24 academic year, more than 500 students were trained in reciprocal community engagement through a module co-created by the Fitz Center, UD’s Center for Social Concern and Center for Student Involvement, preparing them for careers across public service, education and other sectors.
McHugh said the importance of civic engagement in higher education continues to grow amid national challenges, including civic participation gaps and persistent inequities in healthcare, housing and education, especially in Dayton.
“The award's sponsors note that institutions committed to civic engagement understand their responsibility extends beyond the campus walls,” she said. “The Fitz Center's own work embeds this conviction deeply. There are problems that require institutional resources and community trust together, not one or the other alone.”
The priorities of community partners continue to drive strategy within the Fitz Center. They include: increased cultural competency and humility training for students, health equity work with measurable outcomes, community-engaged arts and humanities and many more.
McHugh said the infrastructure of the Fitz Center is built, the partnerships are strong and the focus going forward is deepening — not just expanding.
As the Fitz Center approaches its 25th anniversary, McHugh said national recognition such as this award creates momentum.
“It strengthens the case for grant funding and philanthropic investment,” she said. “It attracts faculty and staff who want to do community-engaged scholarship and signals to prospective students that this is a place where civic leadership is a real part of the educational experience — not an afterthought.”