Taking flight

David Barth’s Dayton roots run deep. But even as a Dayton native, the 1970 UD grad was at first reluctant to become a Flyer. 

That changed once he arrived on campus.  

“I hated school,” he said. “But  UD completely changed my mind.  As a student, I couldn’t walk across campus without meeting a friend. UD is such a special place for that reason.” He declared a history major and started to thrive in his academics and on campus.

Barth joined the Air Force and became a pilot, taking him far from his hometown roots. He flew missions around the world transporting troops, supplies and even helped bring wounded soldiers back home. 

As Barth traveled the globe, his UD experience always kept him grounded in Dayton — something he said he remembered wherever he landed. So, after retiring from the Air Force, he wanted to honor what kept him focused and determined all those years — being a Flyer. 

Together with his sister, Marilyn, he started a scholarship recognizing their parents, Robert and Mary, two longtime Dayton community volunteers. And a few years later, he wanted to help even more current students with another charitable gift — so they, too, “can receive an impactful UD experience rooted in Marianist and Catholic education,” he said.

Barth named UD as a beneficiary of his estate and, through this gift, he will support scholarships in each of Dayton’s five academic units.  

“I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel with my gift, I wanted to take what’s great about UD and make certain it continues to succeed,” he said.

From a teenager who hated school to a dedicated University benefactor, Barth found the meaning of the phrase “pay it forward.”