News

Faculty and staff finished 2020 and rang in 2021 continuing to offer their expertise and thoughts on the issues of the day.

I write to you with great sadness regarding the shocking insurrection at the U.S. Capitol yesterday and the brazen attempt to undermine our democracy. There is simply no place for this kind of lawless behavior, and for those who incite it, in the United States of America and I condemn it, personally, in the strongest way possible. 

A pair of faculty contributed pieces for The Conversation while others shared their expertise with the Huffington Post and the Sinclair Broadcasting Group in a story picked up nationwide. Ohio cable news outlet Spectrum News 1 and Dayton TV station ABC22/Fox45 featured the W.S. McIntosh Memorial Leadership Award & Scholarship winner. The Dayton Business Journal also profiled the success of the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation in 2020.

Newsweek published an online story that focuses on the University community's collective success in coping with the early spike in cases to bring it down and keep it down through the rest of the semester. The article describes the trajectory of the campus and our efforts, including the importance of our partnerships, the broad-based internal planning efforts and especially the role of the students in coming together in community and as peers to encourage safe behavior.

Several prominent regional and national news outlets highlighted the University's culture, values and mission, including President Eric F. Spina talking to The Chronicle of Higher Education about how "campus values really can influence behavior." Catholic News Service, TV stations in Dayton and Columbus, the magazine of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the website, Diverse Military, are among the others that wrote about our Marianist student communities, Christmas on Campus, Marian Library nativities, and an advisory committee for military personnel and veterans.

In a Q&A with the Dayton Business Journal, UD President Eric F. Spina said 'flexibility is key' to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Prominent Catholic news outlets Commonweal and America interviewed religious studies faculty Neomi De Anda and Jana Bennett about Catholicism in America today and Election 2020, respectively.

DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education wrote about and The Chronicle of Higher Education noted the University's release of a historic letter demonstrating systemic racism. All three Dayton TV stations, the Dayton Business Journal and Dayton Daily News did stories about a reusable self-disinfecting N95 mask concept developed by a University of Dayton Research Institute scientist.

President Eric F. Spina contributed an op-ed about the 100th anniversary of the "University of Dayton" and our continuing connection to the Dayton community. Local and regional news media highlighted UD research, the Flyer Pitch competition, an award for a UD human rights champion, and UD sustainability and legal expertise.

The University of Dayton is one of 90 colleges and universities nationwide to receive the 2020 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. The HEED Award recognizes U.S. institutions of higher education that demonstrate a notable commitment to diversity and inclusion across campus. 

USA Today, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, The New Yorker and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among others, tapped UD faculty expertise to explain current events, including elections, airports, K-12 students and church music.