Community
UDM News for our Neighbors
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Midnight bike ride returns on Sept. 11, register to ride
Thursday August 27, 2026
Explore the city of Detroit after dark in Detroit Mercy’s 35th Annual Midnight Bike Ride. Join fellow students, staff, faculty and community members on Friday, Sept. 11, and travel by bicycle to discover all that Detroit has to offer.
Here’s the breakdown:- Students: If you have your own bike, this is a FREE event. If you need to rent a bike, indicate on the form below and follow the link to receive a rental bike for just $5.
- Staff, faculty and community members: Registration is $20. If you need to rent a bike, indicate on the form below and follow the link to receive a rental bike for just $10.
- Day-of check-in will begin at 7 p.m. in Kassab Mall on the McNichols Campus (the area between the Student Union and Holden Hall). There you’ll receive a free reflective Detroit Mercy lanyard and, if you registered for one, your rental bike. The Bike Ride will begin at 8 p.m. sharp.
After cutting south on Hamilton Avenue, we’ll wend our way through the Boston-Edison Historical District before heading down MLK Jr. Blvd. and stopping at the Corktown Campus in Southwest Detroit for a bathroom/water break. From there, we’ll head east down Michigan Avenue through Corktown and into downtown, where we’ll make a stop at American and Lafayette Coney Islands for a bite to eat. After that, we’ll cut down to ride briefly along the river, swing past the Riverfront Campus on Jefferson Avenue. From there, we’ll cut north and cruise back through Midtown/Cass Corridor, then take Hamilton Avenue north to Oakman Boulevard. Finally, we’ll roll west down Puritan Avenue, turn north onto Livernois and re-enter the McNichols Campus through the Livernois Gate at about 11:30-11:45 p.m.
Register here
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Community prayer service for healing and wellness set for Sept. 10
Thursday August 27, 2026
The Detroit Mercy community is invited to a special prayer service focused on the health and well‑being of local neighborhoods. This gathering offers an opportunity to come together to pause, share space and lift one another up through prayer and reflection.
The prayer service will take place on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m., at Good Shepard Lutheran Church, located at 16100 Lawton Street in Detroit.
Following the service, attendees are invited to remain for conversation and a shared meal. This is an opportunity to connect, meet new neighbors and build community in a welcoming, relaxed setting. Dinner will be provided through the generosity of the Catholic Foundation of Michigan.
All are welcome, whether familiar with prayer services or attending for the first time. The evening is sponsored by Good Shepard Lutheran Church, Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) and University Ministry.
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UDM to host NAMI Walk Michigan, Sept. 19; Join the Titans team
Thursday August 20, 2026
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 2026 walk in Michigan is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on University of Detroit Mercy’s McNichols Campus. All are welcome to join. It’s the third-straight year the University has hosted the NAMI walk.
Join the Detroit Mercy Titans team with your friends, family, colleagues or classmates and support mental health.
Get involved and make a difference in the lives of Americans living with mental health concerns. If you shake a hand, give a fist bump or cheer with your team, this NAMI Walk is one of the most powerful days of the year, and you can make a real difference.
Please save the date and consider signing up for the walk or donating to mental health programs. Further details will be provided soon.
For more information, please contact the Dean of Students at deanofstudents@udmercy.edu.
Sign up for the Titans team! -
Detroit Mercy joins statewide direct admission initiative
Wednesday August 19, 2026
UDM is one of 18 Michigan colleges and universities participating in MI College Match, a new statewide direct admission program designed to expand college access for high school students.
Launched by the Michigan College Access Network in partnership with education company EAB, MI College Match will connect students at more than 350 Michigan high schools with admission and scholarship opportunities.
This effort does not require these students to complete a traditional college application. Instead, students will create a brief profile highlighting their academic achievements, interests and college preferences. Participating institutions, including Detroit Mercy, can then extend admission offers and share scholarship opportunities based on anonymized student profiles.
The initiative supports Michigan’s Sixty by 30 goal, which seeks to increase the percentage of working-age adults with a college degree or credential to 60% by 2030. It also aligns with Detroit Mercy’s Jesuit and Mercy mission of expanding access to a transformative education and helping students from all backgrounds reach their full potential.
The MI College Match platform opens Aug. 26. Students who complete a profile by Sept. 21 will be eligible for the first round of admission offers Oct. 5.
Learn more about MI College Match.
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UDM to sponsor Arts Beats & Eats Festival, Sept. 4-7
Sunday August 16, 2026The 2026 Arts Beats & Eats (ABE) Festival is scheduled for Sept. 4-7 in downtown Royal Oak, and UDM is once again a sponsor.
Associate Vice President of University Marketing & Communications Gary J. Erwin helped announce the upcoming entertainment lineup at the July 29 festival press conference at Rock & Brews in Royal Oak. During his remarks, Erwin also announced that UDM would begin celebrating the institution’s 150th anniversary.
The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sept. 4-6, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. Among the featured bands are Lit, Fuel, Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, Audrey Ray, Brett Young, Chris Young, Genuwine and Kool & The Gang, among many others.
For more on the event, check out the news coverage below:
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Resources, Centers and Clinics
Center for Social Entrepreneurship
The Center provides business expertise and acumen as well as mentors to assist local entrepreneurs, beginning with the “Boost” workshop that aids entrepreneurs in developing business plans to achieve a greater social impact.
Counseling Clinic
The clinic provides no-cost counseling services to Detroit residents who otherwise may not have access to mental health services.
Dental Center
Detroit Mercy Dental offers dental services and education through two clinics, nine outreach clinics, a mobile dental clinic and a school-based dental sealant program.
Dental Mobile Clinic
The clinic travels to local participating schools in Detroit and Wayne County to provide comprehensive care for K-12 children.
Detroit Collaborative Design Center
The design center provides design services to non-profit community and civic organizations to engage communities and enhance neighborhoods.
Detroit Mercy Eye Institute
The Detroit Mercy Eye Institute includes the state-of-the-art equipment and technology needed to diagnose, monitor, and treat numerous eye conditions. The clinic will also provide affordable eyecare to the uninsured and vulnerable populations.
Law Clinics
Detroit Mercy Law provides legal assistance to Detroit area residents through six clinics: Immigration Law Clinic, SADO Criminal Appellate Clinic, Criminal Trial Clinic, Veterans Law Clinic, Juvenile Law Appellate Clinic and Intellectual Property Law Clinic.
Pre-College Programs
Detroit area students in grades 4-12 participate in more than 15 outreach programs annually through Saturday classes, summer camps, and innovative curricula in the sciences, technology engineering, mathematics, architecture and design.
Psychology Clinic
The Psychology Clinic provides assessment and counseling services for approximately 300 clients annually. Fees are based on ability to pay.
Rx for Reading Program
This program increases access to children’s books and supports families in reading to their children. The program has distributed more than 2,000 children’s books a month at a variety of locations, including low-income health, dental and WIC clinics; homeless shelters; and Head Start programs.
Summer Camps
A variety of summer activities available on UDM Campuses. Some are hosted by UDM; some are simply located on our campuses.
Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN)
TENN is a student-led and community-driven food justice program that delivers fresh produce to 60 families in New Martin Park Neighborhood and 80 seniors at Theresa Maxis Senior Apartments.
Alliances and Initiatives
Reimagining the Civic Commons
University of Detroit Mercy serves as one of the institutional anchors for the “Reimaging the Civic Commons” initiative, which is funded through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant. The initiative focuses on the City of Detroit’s neighborhood revitalization priority: the Livernois/McNichols area. The project’s goal is to revitalize the neighborhoods between its two anchor institutions, Detroit Mercy and Marygrove College, creating a denser and more diverse urban community.
Live6 Alliance
University of Detroit Mercy helped to launch the Live6 Alliance in August 2015 to strengthen the Livernois Avenue and McNichols Road commercial corridor in northwest Detroit.
Service Immersion Days / Trips
These experiences give students opportunities to serve in shelters, soup kitchens, after school projects, urban farms and many other important community based projects both locally and nationally.
Directories
Media Experts Guide
Detroit Mercy scholars are experts in their fields and many have agreed to be available to media. Note that experts' views are their own and may not reflect the views of their colleagues or University of Detroit Mercy.
Migration Research Directory
The AJCU Migration Research Directory is an open-access resource for high-quality research on migration, provided by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Faculty members from Jesuit universities around the world provide important migration and refugee research from a wide variety of perspectives.