Student Fitness Center to be renamed for donors whose gift will spur new programming

For more than 40 years and in many ways, Mike Whitty ’64 and his wife Gail ’85 have supported University of Detroit Mercy.

“I don’t even know when we started,” Mike said. “We just always felt it was the right thing to do.”

Their gifts over the years have helped sustain programming like the annual Bioneers environmental conference and events sponsored by the Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive (CLASA), among others. Gail gave funds for a bike rack and repair tools at the Riverfront Campus, to encourage students to be active.

On Aug. 26, the University will recognize the couple for their most significant gift. That’s the day UDM will add their names to the Student Fitness Center in gratitude for a major gift that will enhance the center’s programming and offerings for a long time to come. It is the largest gift ever made specifically to the Student Fitness Center.

The renaming to the Michael & Gail Whitty Student Fitness Center will be part of RecFest, one of the most popular events at the start of the academic year. It brings together students to highlight the wide-ranging recreational activities available through University Recreation in a campuswide block party.

The Whittys, who met at Syracuse University, have been married for 56 years and for all of that time they have been part of the Detroit Mercy family.

Mike, who graduated from U of D in 1964, returned to join the faculty after earning master’s and doctoral degrees. He was a professor of Management and Labor Relations from 1967 until his retirement in 2007. In the middle her own career in governmental agencies, Gail entered the evening program at University of Detroit School of Law because, she said, “I wanted a challenge, and I felt it would enhance my character.” Beyond that, she says the J.D. she earned “helped me get every other job I had after that.”

Mike’s classes were very popular. His connections to Detroit’s labor community led to guest speakers in his classes that included several UAW presidents, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and former Chairman and CEO of General Motors Roger Smith, just to name a few. For years he and Gail oversaw trips to the Netherlands, Mexico and England for students in his international business classes.

Gail’s career included work for the City of Detroit, where she was also the spokesperson for the People Mover, the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (now called SMART) and as a legislative analyst at the San Francisco transportation agency. She has served as a volunteer on many community boards.

The two are still active in the community and with Detroit Mercy, and Mike can be found giving talks locally about business ethics and values, spirituality and responsible drug policy reform.

Not long ago, the Whittys decided it was time to make plans for their estate.

“We never had big salaries,” Gail said. “But we lived frugally in the early years of our marriage, and we had a really good financial planner. So we began to have discussions about what our legacy would be.”

Both of them knew University of Detroit Mercy would be part of that legacy. While attending an event at the Student Fitness Center, Gail said she noticed that the building was not named for anybody, which got her thinking.

“I thought, for all the years he spent there, that Mike’s name needed to be on a building,” she said. To her, the Student Fitness Center was a natural choice.

“My whole adult life I have really been into fitness,” said Gail Whitty. She works out every day and finds great value in her fitness regime physically, mentally and emotionally.

“I really see the benefit of the mind/body connection, so I’m a proponent of resistance training and aerobic exercise for everyone,” she said. “I want to encourage the students at UDM to use the resources of the building, and I definitely hope that our funds will enhance the offerings the fitness staff provides to students.”

Mike Wynn, director of University Recreation, says the gift will do that and more.

During the 2024-25 academic year, there were nearly 30,000 visits to the Fitness Center by nearly 1,400 unique participants. There were nearly 50 events and an additional 40-plus programs — from fitness classes to intramural to other group activities — held at the center for students, staff, faculty and the community.

“We are definitely excited about this generous gift,” Wynn said. “It will allow us to do some creative things.”

One will be to enhance the growing club sports program. The center wants to add and expand to the five sports — men’s and women’s volleyball, coed tennis, esports and badminton — currently offered.

“We want to be able to have the club teams travel more to tournaments,” he said. “Get our name out there.”

The gift is structured to include an immediate gift and additional funds in their estate plan, Wynn said. Part of the gift will be put in an endowment for updating the equipment and facility in the future.

The impact of the immediate gift is already being felt with new, upgraded fitness equipment and a planned expansion to the esports area in the lobby.

Wynn also plans to expand the popular URec Adventure Series, which gets students off campus to explore activities across metro Detroit.

“This funding will allow us to offer opportunities to more students and, hopefully, to places a bit farther away so we can maybe do some overnight trips,” Wynn said.

For the Whittys, the gift is all about helping students stay healthy during one of the most important times of their lives.

“I think this is good. This generation a very health-conscious generation,” Mike said. “Giving to the Fitness Center really spoke to me.”

The renaming event will take place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26, with the Whittys in attendance. RecFest runs from 3:30-5:30 p.m.