President
8.3.2026
Cinderella may soon be casualty of college basketball's money
war
How can we save Cinderella? Presidents Eric F. Spina, University of Dayton, and Roger J. Thompson, Saint Mary’s College of California, discuss how changes in college basketball could exclude the very teams that make the NCAA tournament so exciting in this opinion column, originally appearing July 22, 2026, in The Columbus Dispatch.
President
7.29.2026
Leadership, the UD
Way
At the University of Dayton, leaders aren’t expected to be born, nor do they suddenly develop mad leadership skills when they are promoted to a supervisory position or when they read the latest leadership book.
President
7.23.2026
A Poet and His (Lasting)
Song
The University of Dayton community has lost one of our greatest treasures with the death of Herbert Woodward Martin, yet his voice will endure.
President
6.23.2026
Promise of
Opportunity
President Eric F. Spina shares the University of Dayton's commitment to make a Flyer education accessible for first-generation college students and those from under-resourced households.
President
6.3.2026
Higher Ed Should Answer the Pope's
Challenge
Every college president from public flagships to community colleges, private and public, should consider the challenges presented by Pope Leo XIV in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. It speaks to our shared stakes: whether our graduates can still think, judge and do work that machines cannot or should not.
President
5.10.2026
The world needs you — and you are
ready
Build community. Seek truth. Cultivate belonging. Model hope. "Together, these are powerful forces as we work toward peace, justice, and the common good," University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina told the Class of 2026 at spring undergraduate commencement.
President
5.8.2026
A Foot in Two
Campuses
I don’t have to look far on our campus to find students who began their journey at Sinclair Community College but quickly made the University of Dayton their home, too. They arrive with a foot in two campuses, and they’re everywhere.
President
5.6.2026
Giving
Hearts
An email recently landed in my inbox that made my day. Gayle Horton, director of Colin’s Lodge, a recreation and enrichment center for adults with cognitive differences, shared how UD students are bringing joy to their members through their MANY volunteer hours.
President
4.29.2026
Why We Do This
Work
The University of Dayton and other American Talent Initiative institutions have opened the doors of education for more than 75,000 high-achieving, lower-income students. That’s an entire football stadium filled with talented young people.
President
3.26.2026
Where Faith and Place Joyously
Unite
University of Dayton is a special place, from the chapel to the porches. This essay, by President Eric F. Spina, tells how the campus community is coming together to plan for the future — and ensure UD stays just as special for the next generations of students.