(At the annual faculty/staff picnic, University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina celebrated the University of Dayton's 175th anniversary and thanked faculty and staff for carrying on UD's Marianist mission.)
Good afternoon, everyone, and Happy Quarto-sept-centennial anniversary! Or, rather, let me say, perhaps more clearly, Happy Demi-semi-sept-centennial anniversary. Actually, maybe it is just better to say: Happy 175th anniversary to the University of Dayton and to each and every one of you!
Today — Sept. 3 — is precisely 175 years to the day since the Marianist brothers held the first day of classes at St. Mary’s School for Boys on this very campus. Surely, we can agree that there is no better way to celebrate 175 years than with the three things that have always sustained this university: faith, fellowship…and food. (I note that today is also the 25th anniversary of the Beatification of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, so a very special day, indeed!)
I’m fairly sure that when the Marianists welcomed those 14 boys in 1850, they never imagined that one day their little school would be celebrating 175 years of existence having educated over its history about 170,000 students, guided and supported by the dedication of some 50,000 faculty and staff who made their success possible.
As always with the Marianists, we are not just recognizing sheer numbers, no matter how impressive, it is about respecting, honoring, and advancing a legacy for the common good. For 175 years, this Catholic and Marianist university has been committed to something larger than itself: forming students for lives of purpose, faith, and service. We’ve been about community — where every person matters, where learning is not just for knowledge’s sake but for the transformation of the world, where we strive to advance the common good.
That vision, carried forward from the Marianist brothers, is alive here because of you. You are the ones who teach, who advise, who research, who welcome, who care, who serve. You are the ones who stay late to help a student through a tough challenge, who bring creativity to the classroom or lab, who solve problems others didn’t even know existed.
We’ve survived and thrived for 175 years, because of ALL the people who have worked at UD over this time and the work they have done together. The work of the head, heart, and hands. The challenges that they have tackled. The opportunities that they have pursued. We all walk in their footsteps, pursuing the same mission — and that is a legacy of which we can all be proud!
Today is a moment to pause. To give thanks for those Marianist founders who planted the seeds of faith and education here in Dayton. To give thanks for the dedication of generations of faculty and staff who have carried forward that mission. And to give thanks for all of you, who make it real every single day.
So, as we enjoy this picnic, let’s celebrate our past with gratitude, our present with joy, and our future with hope. Here’s to 175 years of faith, community, and learning — and to the next chapter we will write together.
For a special treat, we have asked our two longest-serving faculty and staff members to cut the cake today. Please join me in welcoming Gloria Hardy from UDRI and Professor Carl Chen from the School of Business Administration. Thank you, Gloria and Carl, for your belief in UD and your loyalty to the University and its students.