Current Students

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program will host the annual Feminist Scholarship Colloquium on Tuesday, Oct. 21 from 3:30-5 p.m. in the William C. Young Boardroom, located on the second floor of the Student Union. All are welcome.

Presenters will share the diverse ways that sex, gender, sexuality and related issues inform their research and teaching.

Presenters from across the University will include:

• Ceara O’Leary, professor of practice of Architecture
• Julia Belian, associate professor, School of Law
• Lee Eshelman, associate professor of Psychology
• Maha Ahmad, associate professor, School of Dentistry

Refreshments will be provided.

The McElroy Lecture on Law and Religion provides a forum for prominent thinkers to address fundamental issues of law and religion. The 26th annual lecture is set for Thursday, Oct. 23, from 5-6 p.m. in Room 226 of the Riverfront Campus. A reception follows the lecture in the atrium.

This year’s lecture, titled “Next Steps for Church Autonomy,” will be presented by Stephanie Barclay, professor of law at Georgetown University Law School and faculty co-director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution. The annual McElroy Lecture is made possible through a bequest from Detroit Mercy Law alumnus Philip J. McElroy.

This lecture will examine emerging frontiers in church autonomy jurisprudence across several critical contexts:

• the doctrine’s application as a defense to defamation suits arising from religious discipline
• tensions between ministerial exception principles and employment protections
• the use of collateral appeals to prevent process as punishment in autonomy disputes
• proper judicial deference to internal religious governance.

The lecture explores potential doctrinal developments that would be important to both religious liberty and individual rights while avoiding the constitutional hazards of excessive entanglement with religious affairs.

Barclay’s research focuses on the role our different democratic institutions play in protecting minority rights, particularly at the intersection of free speech and religious exercise. Her work is published or is forthcoming in leading journals such as the Harvard Law Review, the Chicago Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and the Yale Law Journal Forum. Barclay is a faculty affiliate at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School and a Nootbaar Fellow at the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics at Pepperdine University.

Detroit Mercy Law Review will host a special Law Review symposium, titled “Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Exploring the Legal Issues Surrounding Deadly Shipwrecks and Honoring the 50th Anniversary of a Great Lakes Tragedy,” on Monday, Nov. 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The symposium will take place in Room 226 of Detroit Mercy’s Riverfront Campus, 651 E. Jefferson Avenue in Detroit.

Two panel discussions will be held, one on property law and the other on constitutional and state law. A Eucharistic service will follow the discussions at Mariners’ Church of Detroit with special prayers for the 29 souls lost and ringing of the bell 29 times, once again, in their memory. Dan Hall, a professional musician, will cover The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald at the end of the service. He will also perform an original song before the service about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Lunch and reception will be provided in Detroit Mercy Law Atrium.

Every time you shop at Kroger, you could help a student attend a service immersion trip.

Service immersion trips offer students profound opportunities to engage with and serve communities beyond Detroit. These trips integrate service, education and spiritual formation with regular reflections, inviting students to ask critical questions about pressing social issues. Each year, donations allow University Ministry to subsidize the cost, making trips more affordable for students.

This year, students will travel to three locations across the U.S. Over spring break, students will learn about the Civil Rights Movement while serving alongside local community leaders in Montgomery, Ala. Another group will head to Washburn, Tenn., to explore sustainability challenges in Appalachia and develop a deeper understanding of ecological ethics. In May, students will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to witness firsthand the complex challenges migrants face at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Kroger will make a donation to the service immersion fund every time you shop. To set up your Kroger shopper’s card:

• Sign into or create your digital account
• Search the organization “UDM – MINISTRY SERVICE TRIPS” and click “enroll”
• Buy your groceries as usual with your Kroger card!

The Wellness Center and CVS have partnered to bring a vaccine clinic to the McNichols Campus on Thursday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lower Level of the Student Union. All are welcome.

The pre-registration is full, but walk-in appointments are available.

Vaccines available include:

• COVID
• Flu
• High-dose Influenza
• Meningitis
• Pneumonia
• Shingles
• Tdap/Whooping Cough

If you have any questions, please contact the Wellness Center at 313-993-1185.

The International Services Office (ISO) will host Detroit Mercy’s annual International Night on Thursday, Nov. 20, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

All UDM students, faculty and staff are welcome to the night, which is being hosted in the Student Union Ballroom. Come and celebrate our cultural diversity through food, entertainment and community.

Help make this event a success by volunteering for any of the following:

• A performance (a dance, song, poem, etc.)
• Setting up the flag for your country
• Help with setup or cleanup

As UDM moves forward with branding work, please note that the previous brand—Build a Boundless Future—will no longer be used by the University. Until a new brand is created, the University will employ a bridge brand. These include the following:

• The World Needs Titans
• Titans are Boundless
• We Learn. We Serve. We Grow. We Lead. Titan Pride.

UDM’s new expression of a brand will be constructed upon Titan Faith, a unifying principal that touches upon what it means to be a Titan. Please note that Titan Faith is not a new brand. It is a concept that serves as an organizing principle to help frame the work that goes into defining a brand with the emotional resonance UDM and its stakeholders seek. This unifying principal gives the core elements and underpinnings of a brand its emotional power and builds connection with all stakeholders.

In some respects, Titan Faith comprises an array of underpinnings listed below:

• Titan bravery
• Titan innovation
• Titan boldness
• Titan pride
• Titan hope
• Titan joy
• Titan grit
• Titan truth
• Titan believe
• Titan compassion
• Titan love

These core underpinnings can help demonstrate that a new movement is taking shape and help people with all varieties of experiences and impressions of Detroit Mercy find their way into this rebranding effort in honest ways.

As UDM approaches its 150th anniversary in 2027, there is every hope that the University will unveil a new and more connective brand that everyone can take pride in while celebrating the institutional birthday at the same time.

Throughout October, University Ministry will host a coat rack outside their office on the ground floor of the Student Union, across from the bookstore.

The Detroit Mercy community is invited to donate or take a coat—jackets, coats and vests only. At the end of the month, all leftover items will be donated to the Pope Francis Center to support the homeless community.

The Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) has been selected to participate in The Office Coffee Shop’s charity checkout program. When you stop by for your favorite coffee or sweet treat, you can choose to donate to TENN at checkout and help support our work toward a more food-sovereign Detroit.

Every cup of coffee helps provide fresh produce, proteins and dairy to families in need — so next time you’re in downtown Royal Oak, grab a brew and choose TENN!

The Office Coffee Shop is located at 402 S. Lafayette Ave in Royal Oak.

The Emerging Leaders Program empowers students to discover and develop their leadership potential through involvement in events, activities and programs centered around learning, leadership, spirituality and service — both on campus and in the community.

Students can stop by Room 118 in the Commerce & Finance Building on Thursday, Oct. 16 and/or Thursday, Oct. 30 from 12:45-1:45 p.m. to learn more about the Emerging Leaders Program requirements directly from the program coordinators.

All Detroit Mercy students have the opportunity to experience and live the University Mission and to exhibit leadership on campus in both formal and informal ways for the common good.

For any questions, please email elp@udmercy.edu.