University of Dayton: 175 years

Founded in faith

Only five years into their Dayton venture, the brothers from the Society of Mary found themselves in trouble. 

It was a bad season for the farm on which the brothers worked and boys took classes. With the nation sliding into a depression, it was tough to afford  even flour, which had risen from $4 to $9 a barrel. Father Leo Meyer, S.M., considered the founder of the Marianists in America, could not pay the spring installment on his loan for the property they called Nazareth Farm. Yet, he held out hope that their fortunes were changing as more and more boys came to their boarding school for a Catholic education. 

And then, on Dec. 26, 1855, disaster struck. A shed used for a carpentry shop caught fire during the night. At 1 a.m. Brother Damian Lintz, S.M., not wanting to alarm the pupils who boarded in the Stuart mansion, gave the usual bell call for rising before dawn. When the boys were all awake, he instructed them to carry out bedding and furniture, clear items from the chapel, and save tables, chairs and books from the classrooms. The weather was so cold the water pumps froze, making firefighting impossible. By 4 a.m., the house was a smoldering ruin. 

School closed. The boarders went home or bunked with neighbors. The 12 staff members dispersed to a local rectory and into the homes of kind parishioners. 

The loss of the uninsured property was appraised at $10,000 — the same amount still due to the original owner of the land. Five years earlier, on March 19, 1850, landowner John Stuart had accepted from Meyer a medal of St. Joseph as a promise that the Marianists would pay off the debt within five years. 

It was a promise Meyer couldn’t keep. Instead, it would take him 12 years to pay off the loan and own outright the land which would become the University of Dayton.

Fire, destruction and hardship were constant themes during the early years of the school, but the brothers refused to sell their land or leave Dayton. Their responses to such adversity defined their moment and foretold how future challenges would shape the Marianist mission in the United States, said president emeritus Raymond L. Fitz, S.M. ’64.

“The founding three people had nothing but their faith, and the demonstration of that was the medal,” he said. “Risk has been pretty much the story of the Marianists. Everything we did was a risk."

“… The medal is indicative of the Marianists and the UD community being willing to take risks to improve education.”

Through the last 175 years, those risks have grown from establishing education for Catholic boys to diversifying the classroom, meeting the needs of community and society and raising the bar on excellent education — all culminating today in the University’s drive to be an institution for the common good. 

THEY ALL BECAME FLYERS 

Cholera had originally brought the Marianist brothers from France to Ohio, to help tend to the sick and dying, first in Cincinnati and then in Dayton. It was after the epidemic that Meyer — a tall, stout man who always wore slippers because he couldn’t reach his feet — sought to open a school. The bishop of Cincinnati gave his blessing, and to Meyer’s original advertisement he added these words: “and none but Catholic boys are admitted.” 

By 1860, the school had 100 pupils, and the following year the school offered college preparatory classes. Brother Maximin Zehler, S.M., as president, oversaw the growing class size and building of what is the historic core of today’s campus: Zehler Hall (1865), Liberty Hall (1866), Chapel of the Immaculate Conception (1869), St. Mary’s Hall (1870) and the Playhouse, now called Rike Center (1874).

St. Mary’s School, as it was then known, quickly grew into an institute and then a college. The school originally appealed to German immigrant families — as the founding brothers also spoke German — before drawing from Catholic families of many backgrounds. As the decades passed, yearbooks showed boys increasingly coming to Dayton for an advanced education from far-off places, including high schools run by the Marianists in Hawaii and Japan. 

But it was awhile before the University of Dayton, as the school became known in 1920, began admitting Black students into traditional classes. John Alexander received his bachelor’s in chemical engineering in 1925, and Jessie V. Hathcock completed her studies in education, receiving a bachelor’s — the first for a Black female UD student — June 9, 1930. There is little in the archives to illuminate the deliberation. 

But there’s at least one document that suggests the attitudes at the school during the time. In response to a query from W.E.B. Du Bois, the University on June 30, 1930, wrote that Black students took classes in the evening program and the College of Law but not the regular day classes. The reason? Because of the “considerable number of students from Southern States.” 

In 2020, University librarians researched and found that in the year Hathcock graduated, 4% of the student population was from Southern states. They write,

“It is unclear — and there is no known documentation to confirm — whether it was the Southern students themselves who raised the issue or if it was the administration that electively segregated African American students.”

The conversation over women in the classroom is somewhat better documented. Before 1935, women are only in evening and law classes. But on Sept. 18, 1935, 29 ladies walked in as the first members of the College of Women after discussions on the local and provincial levels showed few prospects for college education for Dayton’s Catholic women — unless they wanted to learn from the Protestants. The Marianists hired Sisters of Notre Dame to teach classes in the library for $2 an hour. 

But by May 1936, the sisters did not have enough teachers nor expertise in courses like science, premedicine and business. UD received a two-year waiver from the Marianist Province in Cincinnati on its “no coeducation” policy. Women could learn alongside men, but the University needed to come up with an approved solution. UD leadership petitioned for guidance, and in June 1938, the head of the worldwide Marianists, based in Europe, formally approved coeducation. The women’s college disbanded. 

Father James Fitz, S.M. ’68, University vice president for mission and rector, said that expanding the demographics represented in the classroom was neither fast nor easy. “It took some real change of thinking,” he said. People on both sides would have been unhappy. But not changing was not an option. 

Jim Fitz points to a much-quoted phrase from founder of the Society of Mary, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade:

“New times call for new methods.” 

Adaptation and change were early hallmarks of Chaminade and his Marianist family co-founders. He and Marie Thérèse Charlotte de Lamourous first brought together lay people of many denominations in an attempt to re-Christianize France after the French Revolution. He supported Blessed Adèle de Batz de Trenquelléon in founding the Daughters of Mary Immaculate. He then founded the brothers of the Society of Mary. These were new times, and new methods included cooperation and inclusiveness. 

“That’s the gift we have, and that’s what we’ve done,” Jim Fitz said. 

Some decisions made were forward-thinking, he said. He’d like to think of including Black and female students in the classrooms as among those. Other decisions have been in response to moments of survival. For example, in the 1960s, UD faced competition from a newly formed local university, Wright State, and an expanding community college, Sinclair. “Suddenly, we needed to be a regional and national school to continue to pull in the students,” he said. 

So the University reviewed its offerings and enrollment strategy and got bigger and better, including building Marycrest and Stuart residence halls, expanding facilities for engineering and science, and welcoming former service members through the
GI Bill. 

Changing times are again calling, and Jim Fitz sees the University’s current expansion of Pell-eligible students and a commitment to inclusiveness as part of the risks the school has always taken — with rewards that can be felt by all. 

BUILDING AND GROWING 

The destruction in Dayton — and other towns along the Great Miami River — took only three days in March 1913. Early spring rains rolled off saturated lands and combined into torrents that ripped apart buildings and swept away lives. 

From their hill, the Marianist brothers could see the destruction of the Great Dayton Flood. 

“From our dormitory windows we could see some of the havoc that was caused by the rising waters, particularly by the fires that occurred during the flood,” recalled Brother Andy Weber, S.M., Class of 1919, in an oral history recorded in 1958. 

Brothers took risks by going out in boats to assist with the rescue and braving waters to ensure the sisters running the local hospital received food. And the school opened its doors. Students were away on Easter break, which meant there were beds, blankets, food and even an infirmary to care for the flood’s victims. 

The flood was an early and extreme example of how the brothers have responded to Dayton community needs. 

Since that time, UD’s efforts have evolved into “community building,” a principle taught on campus and practiced in encounters in Dayton and beyond. Community building requires a partnership with, rather than a rescue of, those with challenges to be met. Students, faculty and staff contribute their gifts at the direction of those who request those gifts.

“This flows from the desire for the common good and reaching out to those most vulnerable in our communities,” said Father Jim Fitz.

Early examples included Christmas on Campus and the founding of the Dakota Center in West Dayton. 

Today, it is seen in the engineering school’s international and domestic Ethos immersions, in how the Lalanne program prepares teachers for urban Catholic school service and in the redevelopment of the neighborhood between UD and Miami Valley Hospital.  

The social justice focus that has become a hallmark of a Marianist education can be traced to Father William Ferree, S.M., Class of 1923, who taught at UD briefly and returned to campus while in leadership positions for the Marianists in the U.S. and Rome. Ray Fitz remembers attending lectures from the dark-haired, towering man with opinions that were often not open for discussion. 

“He was a hard man to get to know and was very strong about his ideas,” he said. “That didn’t stop me.”

Ferree’s interest in social and political justice came from Chaminade’s ideas about transforming social institutions with an invitation for participation to all. It led to Ferree’s scholarship in Catholic Social Thought, which transformed the trajectory of UD’s education, Ray Fitz said:

“It was a unifying factor in that we were, first of all, really inviting students to learn, be leaders and serve the common good, and that led us into a theory of education that had social justice wrapped up into it.”  

Ferree’s lessons had a strong influence on Ray Fitz during his UD presidency, from 1979 to 2002. They were foundational to the general education requirement enacted during his tenure and a driver for UD to buy homes in the neighborhoods and transform them into a learning village. 

Fitz knew that a UD education was found both in and out of the classroom. He tasked Ann Hudock ’90 with expanding international education by forging partnerships in Sierra Leone, Africa. And he expanded the good work of offices like Strategies for Responsible Development and programs like Community Leadership and Service, whose missions continue today in the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. 

Ferree’s teachings might be most noticeable as the foundation for “Learn. Lead. Serve.” — the often-invoked shorthand for UD’s educational philosophy for the last four-plus decades. 

Daniel J. Curran recognized the strength of that messaging and witnessed the powerful influence of the Marianists during his early conversations with Ray Fitz during UD’s search for its next president.

“It was clear that it would be an easy transition and I’d have support from Ray and the Marianists,” Curran said. 

Curran became UD’s first lay leader, serving from 2002 to 2016. Not everyone embraced the idea of having a Jesuit-educated lay person responsible for a Marianist university. But he had the support of the board of trustees, which asked him to make bold decisions to elevate the reputation and quality of a UD education. 

Curran calls his actions calculated decisions rather than risks, but a lot was at stake. During his tenure, UD opened an educational base in China. It hired dozens of faculty during a nationwide recession. It increased its recruitment from Catholic high schools. Curran led UD to purchase a huge industrial brownfield and former world headquarters, land so large naysayers speculated it would remain vacant for decades. Today, the land houses classrooms and labs, a center for the arts, athletics facilities and research centers for two corporate partners and the UD Research Institute. While he was president, the University grew its Campus Ministry while also being an attractive destination for students from different faiths, including female Muslim students. 

At the installation of UD’s 19th president in 2017, Eric F. Spina proclaimed UD a university for the common good. Since then, he’s led the school through the COVID-19 pandemic, a national decline in college-aged students and a public questioning of the value of higher education. UD has responded to the times by bolstering student support and prioritizing student success, including a recent resolution to make available meaningful experiential learning opportunities for every student. 

Much like the medal Meyer and the Marianists gave to John Stuart as a promise to pay for his property, at commencement each year UD hands its newest graduates a medal. It bears the University seal on one side and an image of Chaminade on the other.

“In Chaminade’s ever-inspiring example, we entrust you to go forth, living humbly, acting boldly, and working imaginatively and prayerfully to build community throughout the human family,” provost Darlene Weaver instructed graduates at the ceremony in May. 

How Flyers respond to the challenges of their times — including adversity and the call to build community — speaks as much to their individual pursuit of the common good as it does to the 175-year history of the institution that educated them. 

Special thanks to Lisa Matye Finnie, reference and research archivist at the National Archives Marianist Province of the United States, and Kristina Schulz, archivist at the University of Dayton Archives, for their assistance and access to source materials. Early historic events are recounted from The Centenary of The Society of Mary by Brother John E. Garvin, S.M.

More than a mission

While there are fewer Marianists in the classroom, UD's educational distinctiveness remains strong. Thanks to the Forever Marianist fund, their spiritual legacy is not only preserved – it’s thriving.

Aislynn McVicker, a sophomore health sciences major from Green, Ohio, wants to be just like her heroes: the Blessed Virgin Mary — and her mother. 

“They’re the women I look up to in my life,” she said. “I strive to be as fierce and dedicated.” 

McVicker is a part of the Marianist Leadership Scholars, a four-year faith, service and leadership initiative that includes an annual $4,000  scholarship and is open to graduates from Marianist high schools or students who attended the Marianist LIFE South, Central or Pacific programs. McVicker and her fellow scholars attend monthly meetings and retreats, engage in service opportunities and reflect on their academic and faith journeys.

Mortimer Lugo, a senior management major from Puerto Rico, said one of his favorite experiences as a scholar was visiting retired Marianist brothers at St. Leonard, a continuing care retirement community in Centerville, Ohio. 

“Just seeing their faces light up when we walk in, that’s the most fulfilling part,” he said. “It gives you community and meaning.”

UD’s call to “learn, lead, serve and pray” isn’t just a slogan — it’s a call to action. It’s one that the University community is answering, thanks to the ongoing support of the Forever Marianist fundraising initiative. 

Jeannie Glennon and her father, Dick Glennon ’50, launched the Forever Marianist fund in 2021 with a $100,000 foundational gift. With fewer than 200 vowed Marianists remaining in the U.S., the Glennons identified the urgency in ensuring Marianist values remain both present and visible in campus life.

“My dad instantly recognized it as a vision worth believing in,” explained Jeannie Glennon. “‘It’s the Marianists that make UD special,’ he emphatically said. ‘The University cannot lose its Marianist identity.’” 

Contributions to the fund bolster key areas that include the Office for Mission and Rector, the Marian Library, Marianist centers in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Center for Catholic Education. 

The Center recently received a $1.5 million gift from Peggy Sedlock Dubrowski ’84, a religious studies graduate, and her husband Victor. Inspired by her 25-year career in Catholic education and their shared dedication to faith-based education, the couple made the gift to, as Sedlock Dubrowski put it, “prepare the next generation of educators with a strong Catholic worldview.” 

The gift will endow the director’s position at the Center, helping to sustain initiatives like Empowering Children with Hope and Opportunity, which provides 7,600 students across 25 schools with counseling and social-emotional learning programming. 

“Catholic educators need the tools to integrate faith into every subject with bold clarity and confidence,” said Dubrowski.

“Our hope is that when people think about training Catholic educators, they think of [UD] first.”

For Bob Otis ’88 and his wife Sue, the call to support the University came at his 25th class reunion. When asked what had mattered most during his time at UD, he was surprised by his answer: it was his religion classes. 

“The nuns who taught [those classes] didn’t force you to believe what they did … They provided us the foundational Catholic teaching on critical issues, and challenged us to use that understanding to consider and support our views,” recalled Otis. “So much has changed since then but those lessons haven’t.” 

The couples’ multi-year gifts to Campus Ministry have supported Callings, a pre-orientation experience that invites incoming students to explore faith and vocation through Marianist values and community-based leadership opportunities. 

“Young people aren’t often told it’s OK to be Catholic and we wanted our gift to reinforce that is,” Sue added. “Our hope is that Callings becomes part of what it means to be a Dayton freshman, forming students and developing leaders through the Marianist way – because that’s who we are.”

And why should students get all the fun(ds)? Faculty and staff may engage in the Marianist mission through the Marianist Educational Associates program, established in 2005 in partnership with Chaminade University and St. Mary’s University. Participants — self-described ‘MEAs’ — attend retreats and engage in shared readings and formation experiences, culminating in a public commitment to uphold Marianist values in both their professional and personal lives.

Jessica Hoelting ’10, assistant dean of students and director of community standards and civility, earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from UD. Participating in last summer’s cohort, she said, was a “natural next step.”

“It’s something I was always interested in,” she said. “Committing to becoming an MEA was a commitment to myself and
others.”

In a role often tied to student discipline, Hoelting said the experience helped her approach her work through a Marianist lens centered on development, not punishment.

“You don’t need to be religious to appreciate and practice the values of this institution,” she said. “They’re ubiquitous. Everyone deserves respect, dignity and opportunity.”

Joe Duggan, an assistant professor of economics in Hoelting’s cohort, agreed. 

“As the number of vowed Marianists declines, MEAs are one way to keep that flame alive,” said Duggan.

“I tell others, ‘Just go for it. Take it from me: you absolutely will not regret it.’”

That same spirit of commitment and community reverberates across campus. As Lugo prepares to graduate, he reflected on the lasting impact of his experience within his cohort.

“We’re a tight group,” he said. “That doesn’t stop after graduation. I’ll be back for Reunion Weekend, for sure.”

For McVicker, the journey is still unfolding.

“It’s not just a scholarship,” she said. “It’s shaping who I am and who I’m becoming — and I can’t wait to figure more out about that person.” 

Marianists who made the University of Dayton

A few of the “Topps” from UD’s history

BROTHER MAXIMIN ZEHLER

One of the original Marianists sent to America. President 1860-1876 during St. Mary’s rapid expansion and building, including St. Mary’s Hall (1870), then the largest building in Dayton. Created UD’s first alumni association.

BROTHER PAUL OMLOR

Came to UD in 1926 and served for 64 years as a sacristan, cafeteria manager and chef. Kept students well-fed at Brother Paul’s lunch counter, Founders Hall snack bar and concessions at the Fieldhouse, which opened in 1950.

FATHER WALTER C. TREDTIN  

President 1932-38. Dayton native. Introduced a system of deans and grouped classes by discipline. Oversaw the formation of the Women’s College and, two years later, closed it so classes could become co-educational.

FATHER WILLIAM FERREE ’28  

Philosophy professor and scholar of social justice and the teachings of Marianist co-founder Willliam Joseph Chaminade. Created new board structure, predominantly lay, and launched a revision of UD’s identity and mission.

BROTHER LEONARD MANN ’36  

Physics professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1959-85). Elevated the sciences on campus; helped found the University’s first doctoral program, biology. Gave us Sherman Hall’s swinging pendulum. 

BROTHER STAN MATHEWS ’44  

Educator, listener, reader and teacher who was the Marian Library’s first librarian in 1952 and UD’s first rector in 1987. He transitioned the Marianists into active spreaders of the Marianist charism.                   

FATHER NORBERT BURNS ’45  

Religious studies professor, marriage counselor, radio host, and presider over weddings and Masses. Never missed a class in nearly 60 years of teaching Christian Marriage. Taught relationships are built on friendships.

BROTHER DONALD GEIGER ’55  

Integrated science and faith as biology professor. Founded the Marianist Environmental Education Center in 1992. Research influenced land management in West Africa, food production in China and restoration of natural areas.

SISTER MARY LOUISE FOLEY ’59  

Campus minister known for ministry to women, grieving students, those who were pregnant and students in the School of Law. Led retreats for faculty and staff. Helped make Marianist family known for both religious and lay.

FATHER JOSEPH LACKNER ’64  

Professor of English and religious studies who also taught in UD’s Bangalore, India, program. Led campus ministry (1980-88) and created current structure, including training students to be pastoral leaders.

Iillustrations by max erwin   //  Photographs courtesy University Archives

Space for the big questions

Qualities of a Marianist education are embedded in everything UD does — now, and through the next 175 years.

Among the things I love about my ministry as University chaplain are the daily interactions I have with students, especially those who explore the big questions in life. For example, I remember a student who came into my office, wanting to talk about what she would do “when she grows up” (those were her words). As a business major, she could work for one of the big financial firms, but she was also feeling nudged toward the nonprofit sector. Both could make her happy. 

We met several times during which she shared her thoughts and feelings. We prayed together. We soon realized that this wasn’t just about a future job but about who she was as a person and what God was calling her to embrace. It was a time of growth and understanding. It was a journey of discernment. It was a sacred moment. 

This reminds me of a fundamental truth that has always been at the heart of UD: We not only offer our students a fine academic education but also a supportive space and many opportunities to ask these bigger questions. Who am I? What should I do? How will I make an impact in the world? How can I live out my faith each day? 

At UD, we encourage such questions, taking students where they are and helping them discover their own passions and purposes. Through this process, we help them discover how they will have an impact on others and the wider society.  

Of course, I don’t have a corner on this market. It is accomplished through the gift of community that means so much to us here. 

Recently, another student asked if we could meet for coffee. He was going through a difficult time and was looking for perspective, but not just from me. In our conversation, he shared he was also receiving support from a staff mentor, a trusted faculty member and his circle of friends on campus. This is how we live out community at UD. This student is now thriving, and he is able to offer support to others as well.  

These are but two examples of how we are providing an education that touches not just the mind but also the spirit, the heart, the whole person. 

At UD, students come as they are and we help them move forward on the path they discern. It’s a uniquely Marianist approach built on the example of Society of Mary founder Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, who brought people together after the French Revolution to see how and where they would grow. This demonstrates a respect for the whole person and a belief that the growth will benefit the individual, who then is prepared to respond to the needs of the wider community. 

These qualities of a Marianist education are embedded in everything we do here. I felt it in 1994 as an undergrad when I walked onto campus and found a supportive community that helped me grow and find my purpose. I am confident these qualities will remain and continue to be developed for the next 175 years and beyond — because it’s what our world needs right now, and it’s what our communities will always be hungry for. 

It’s what it means to be a Flyer. It’s who we are as a Marianist community.