President's Blog: From the Heart

By Eric F. Spina

During the former Montgomery County Fairgrounds’ heyday, boisterous fans gathered in the grandstand to cheer on their favorite horses during harness racing.

We’re off to the races again, but this time it’s a heated competition to be the frontrunner in the global digital transformation race.

To applause before a standing-room-only crowd on Monday, Aug. 19, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced a $35 million investment to help construct the onMain Innovation Hub on the site of the one-time fairgrounds at the important intersection of Main & Stewart.

In 2017, UD teamed with Premier Health to purchase this 38-acre parcel — arguably Dayton’s most developable tract of land — with the intent of transforming it into a vibrant pedestrian-friendly mixed-use development on the doorstep of our campuses and downtown Dayton. With the construction of this signature building, we’re leaning into Dayton’s storied history of ingenuity and inventiveness as we accelerate the development and use of digital technologies, including those that will help the Air Force gain a competitive advantage.

“This region has always been a place where big ideas take flight,” the governor told jubilant community leaders, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base officials, researchers and educators at the news conference. “Days like this just don’t happen. A community coming together creates days like these.”

We’re a city of dreamers and doers — a place where collaboration and a can-do, optimistic spirit flourish. That mindset is behind every innovative idea — from the revitalization of the Dayton Arcade to the transformation of NCR’s former manufacturing land that runs from Brown Street to the Great Miami River into a home for academics, research, innovation, and the arts.

This is another point of inflection for Dayton and UD. Another chance to boldly transform the future. And that future is digital — whether it’s advancements in artificial intelligence, development of new detection tools for diagnosing diseases, or the creation of cutting-edge capabilities to make our military more agile and responsive.

In the days of harness racing at the former fairgrounds, the University of Dayton Research Institute became the only place in the world that tested and certified sulkies to race in U.S. Trotting Association-sanctioned harness racing. Today, our researchers are poised to lead the digital revolution on this land in a new race.

Time is of the essence. Together, with the Air Force and community leaders, UD and Premier Health will work to fast-track the construction of the onMain Innovation Hub’s Digital Transformation Center, educate the next generation of STEM professionals, and advance critical technologies.

The stakes are high, but I’m betting on the Dayton region. We’re not living on past glory. We’re racing to reimagine the future. And that future is digital.