President's Blog: From the Heart

By Eric F. Spina

(I had the privilege of sharing my reflections about the late Paul Vanderburgh, retired associate provost for graduate academic affairs and professor emeritus, at a Celebration of Life on May 31.)

Good evening.  I thank Patty and the family for this opportunity to share some UD-centric thoughts about Paul, a truly beloved member of the University of Dayton community.

Let me start with some simple facts:

• Paul joined the UD faculty in 1995, served as chair of the Department of Health and Sport Science for seven years and as associate provost for graduate academic affairs for 10 years. He retired and was named Professor Emeritus in 2023.
• Among his accomplishments as department chair was the creation of a first-class Doctor of Physical Therapy program and the spade work for an equally outstanding Physician Assistant Program.
• As associate provost responsible for all University graduate programs, Paul ushered UD into the online era and oversaw the development of high-quality graduate programs.
• I do not have enough time to even scratch the surface of the service that Paul provided to the University, but I note that in 2018, Paul was honored with the University’s and the Marianist’s most prestigious and coveted honor, the Lackner Award, for the quality and impact of his work across UD.

For those of you who do not know the University of Dayton well, I note — as someone who spent 28 years elsewhere in higher ed — that there is a higher purpose at UD that is evident every single day – an identity, a mission, and a set of values that differentiate us. One of the reasons that Paul received the Lackner Award is because, along with President Emeritus Bro. Ray Fitz, S.M., he co-chaired a two-year effort to articulate how UD’s Catholic and Marianist mission influences what happens at UD. That report, delivered in 2013, was immediately seen as an eloquent articulation of who we are, what we do, and why we do it. It has been used frequently and at critical moments in the 12 years since it was issued, and it is as close to timeless as anything in higher ed. And Paul was one of the chief architects. The report is titled “Common Themes in the Mission & Identity of the University of Dayton,” and there are five specific themes identified and explicated:

1. Excelling in integrated learning and scholarship
2. Searching for truth grounded in faith and reason
3. Educating for practical wisdom
4. Building community across diversity
5. Partnering for the common good

These five themes define well what UD is all about.  But guess what? They also define Paul Vanderburgh as those of us at UD know him. Listen again, and think about Paul:

1. Excelling in integrated learning and scholarship – Paul was a well-published researcher who brought cutting-edge knowledge into the classroom for the benefit of his students.
2. Searching for truth grounded in faith and reason – Paul was a true scientist and a person of great faith, a combination too many people believe is not possible, but he understood and embraced the Catholic Intellectual Tradition that values and sees the role of both faith and reason.
3. Educating for practical wisdom – Paul was a get-it-done kind of guy who always thought about the application of knowledge to improve people’s lives.
4. Building community across diversity – Paul understood in his core the value that multi-dimensional diversity brings to an educational environment as well as the importance of working to ensure that everyone feels like they belong. Paul was a consummate community builder.
5. Partnering for the common good – The common good — or the wellbeing of each person no matter their circumstance — was immensely important to Paul. He understood well that our role in higher ed and at UD had to be to raise people up, to create opportunity, and to work toward human flourishing.

While Paul embraced our Catholic, Marianist charism, he didn’t graduate from UD, though his soulmate Patty did. In this light, I believe that Paul’s 25+ year presence at UD was providential. He was called to UD to make us better and to help us understand better our role as a University. I hope that you can see that Paul’s impact as a University leader is truly profound and long-lasting.

I’d like to close with more personal remarks from just a few other UD colleagues, as an indicator of the breadth of Paul’s impact on others and the truly special relationships many of us had with Paul — relationships that are valued to this day. 

Provost Emeritus Paul Benson worked very closely with Paul, and he shared this observation: "Anyone who worked closely with Paul Vanderburgh soon realized that they were in the presence of a distinctively pure-hearted, mission-driven, adaptive, and caring teacher-scholar and leader. During his service in the provost's office he eagerly took on projects that were especially challenging, pursuing them with genuine openness, collegiality, and humility. I learned much from Paul's whole-hearted, gracious, and gratitude-filled stance toward every aspect of his work and life and will miss him deeply."

Deb Bickford was an associate provost at the same time as Paul, and she shared with me her thoughts of her longtime colleague: “In a world in which we are constantly bombarded with ‘in your face’ leaders, Paul was True North, the reminder that true integrity, true grace, [and] true dignity call for leaders to be 100 percent about serving others. Paul fulfilled JFK's invitation to ‘ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' Paul did for his country, his discipline, his university, his colleagues, his friends, and his family...and selflessly, gracefully did, and did, and did again.” 

Our Executive Director of Campus Ministry, Crystal Sullivan, wrote: “The phrases that keep coming to mind for me (when I think about Paul) are ‘always kind,’ ‘always professional,’ and ‘humble.’  He is one of those people who always felt good to be around. He always appeared to be fully present. I never felt ‘less than’ around him. Rather, he made me feel ‘more than.’”

So, there you have it.  Those of us at UD have lost a dear friend and a colleague whose legacy at the University will persist well beyond our time there. 

We mourn with Patty, Ellen, Joe, and the larger family as well as Paul’s friends.  But we celebrate, truly celebrate, a life lived well and recognize that even in his illness and his death, Paul continued to teach us.  A year or two after he retired because of his illness, my wife and I chatted with Paul and Patty at the Chapel after Mass. Paul was clearly suffering, albeit silently. I feebly managed a few words of support, expressing regret that he was facing such a difficult battle. I will never forget that he whispered to me in a diminished but certain voice that there was no need for regret, as he felt incredibly blessed by the gifts he had been given in life, including his association with UD and his beautiful family. That was vintage Paul — not a lick of self-pity or sadness, just gratitude to God for all that he had received. 

UD and the world are poorer for Paul’s absence among us, but we are deeply and forever enriched by the time that he walked among us.