University Mission
University of Detroit Mercy is the only university in the world that combines the centuries-old commitment to education of the Society of Jesus and the Religious Sisters of Mercy. The two charisms, rooted in the Gospel, strengthen and support each other in their vision of building competent, compassionate leaders ready to serve in a vulnerable world.
Our students learn compassion and respect for all voices, especially those that are often muted. Moral and ethical issues are considered alongside academic and professional disciplines.
Our students understand that the Mercy and Jesuit charisms demand that they put their education to work in service of others. Collaboration across programs provides students a local and global vision, helping them understand the difference they can make in their field and the world.
Detroit Mercy Mission
University of Detroit Mercy, a Catholic university in the Jesuit and Mercy traditions, exists to provide excellent student-centered undergraduate and graduate education in an urban context. A Detroit Mercy education seeks to integrate the intellectual, spiritual, ethical and social development of our students.
Detroit Mercy Vision
University of Detroit Mercy will be recognized as a premier private university in the Great Lakes region, distinguished by graduates who lead and serve in their communities.
Educating the Whole Person
We integrate intellectual, spiritual, ethical, and social development by promoting academic excellence, transformative learning, and holistic well-being for everyone in our community.
Cultivating a Diverse Community
We cultivate a diverse and inclusive community by nurturing a welcoming environment where each individual belongs and thrives.
Embodying Mercy & Compassion
We embody mercy and compassion by acting on our commitments to radical hospitality, respect for the dignity of each person, and care of all creation.
Fostering Faith & Justice
We provide opportunities for all to discern transcendent truths through reflection, academic inquiry, and religious and spiritual practices, which compel us to build a more just world.
Serving & Leading in Detroit
We serve and lead in our surrounding communities, collaborating with diverse partners in pursuit of mutuality, the common good, and full flourishing for all.
Mission in Practice
The Office of Mission Integration (OMI) helps Detroit Mercy’s stakeholders better understand the rich Catholic, and especially the Jesuit and Mercy traditions that inform who we are and what we do at University of Detroit Mercy.
It empowers students, faculty, staff, administrators and trustees to lead and work from a commitment to mission.
UDM's Institute for Leadership and Service (The Institute) provides opportunities for all members of the Detroit Mercy community to engage in social change for the common good.
Whatever your religion, belief and identity, you are welcome at University Ministry. This is a place and a community for you to reflect on and connect with God's presence in this world and to notice how God is active in your life.
Living the Mission
Though hundreds of years old, the Mercy and Jesuit charisms are not only relevant to the way we teach and learn in Detroit in the 21st Century. Everything University of Detroit Mercy does is in service of our Core Values, which challenge us to be better and to do more for the good of all.
Service and Community Engagement
Service and Community Engagement are foundational Mercy and Jesuit commitments and can be seen in the many community-engaged learning opportunities offered across our curriculum, clinics, co-ops and immersion experiences. Faculty, staff and administrators also serve the city of Detroit in various roles by sharing their time and expertise.
Teaching
Teaching that is mission inspired invites students into an intellectual life of reflection and action. Faculty, staff and administrators commit themselves to delivering an education that is attentive to the intellectual, physical, social and spiritual aspects of all our students.
Research and Scholarship
Research and scholarship at Detroit Mercy unites faculty and students in working to understand important social questions. It examines social issues through Jesuit and Mercy values and explores diversity, equity, inclusion and justice to better understand the world we live in and how we arrived here.
Faith & Spiritual Practice
Detroit Mercy is unique in that it draws from the rich spiritual tradition of the Catholic Church as practiced by the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. These orders, though separate, share many tenets, including the belief that God dwells in all things. They each honor and meaningfully support the ways other faith traditions express their experience of God and transcendence, and by doing so enrich the ecumenical community on our campuses.
Radical Hospitality
Radical Hospitality is the intentional welcoming of those we know and don’t yet know in order to build a culture of inclusion and belonging. In this series, the Mission Effectiveness Team highlights individuals, places, programs, and events that embody radical hospitality and inspire all of us to live out this critical aspect of our mission.
Mission Leadership Awards
Detroit Mercy annually honors employees and students who live and work from the University's mission.
Celebrate Spirit!
Celebrate Spirit!, the official welcome to the new school year for Detroit Mercy faculty, staff and students, is part of a long tradition of celebrating the Mass of the Holy Spirit at the start of the academic year, dating from the founding of the great European universities in the Middle Ages.