Current Students

Celebrate Spirit! is the official kickoff to the new academic year and a University-wide celebration that welcomes our entire community of students, staff, faculty and administrators.

The celebration is set for Thursday, Sept. 17 in the Whitty Student Fitness Center. The 150th Jubilee Mass of the Holy Spirit begins at 11:30 a.m. 

The celebration includes a Catholic Mass, and individuals from all faith traditions are warmly invited to participate or observe in a manner that feels comfortable to them.

Celebrate Spirit! will be presided over by Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, STD, JCL, the Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican Ambassador) and Pope Leo XIV’s envoy to the United States. The event is hosted by University Ministry and Mission Integration. All are invited to wear red, orange or yellow as part of the event.

A lunch and reception will be provided in the Fountain Lounge & Terrace of the Student Union at 1 p.m.

Celebrate Spirit! is open to all members of the Detroit Mercy community no matter their religious affiliation.

Click here to volunteer at Celebrate Spirit!

Celebrate Spirit! 2026 invites the Detroit Mercy community to reflect on “Faith In Action” as this academic year’s theme as part of our 150th Celebration.

Faith is not stagnant—it is active. It is not an individual proclamation or checklist—it is something that exists in community and in relationship. Just as God animates our lives, we are called to actively respond to God in all things. This active faith moves us to imagine a prophetic future for our community. In our Ignatian and Mercy traditions, faith-in-action requires discernment and imagination—Where are we headed? Where does the world call us to be?

Thank A Donor Day takes place Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 12:30-2 p.m. in the Fountain Lounge of the Student Union on the McNichols Campus.

Several activities are planned to educate students about how alumni and friends of Detroit Mercy enrich all aspects of the University. Students can:

• Write a thank-you note to a donor and receive a free lunch.
• Create a photo or video message to thank donors and be entered into a drawing for a $25 Visa gift card!
• Participate in fun games to test skill and UDM philanthropic knowledge and earn Detroit Mercy swag!
• Hunt for one of four plushies wearing Titans swag belonging to Tommy Titan on the McNichols Campus and choose which Detroit Mercy fund will receive a gift from an anonymous donor — and keep the plushie!
• Wear Detroit Mercy or Titan apparel for an extra chance to win prizes!

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.

Fall Festival at Homecoming returns to UDM’s McNichols Campus Sept. 25-26. The weekend is packed with activities, and this year Detroit Mercy is partnering with Live 6’s Six Mile Street Fest, providing additional entertainment, local cuisine and family-friendly activities on the UDM Front Lawn (outside the McNichols gate).

This two-day event offers something for everyone—from exciting games and tours to informative sessions. Among the highlights are the annual bike tour of the historic areas surrounding the McNichols Campus, an open kickball game, a taping of Detroit Mercy’s long-running show “Ask the Professor” and an improv show as well as an evening of creative writing in the newly established Black Box Theatre in the Student Union.

Attendees can also cheer on the Titans men’s soccer team at Titan Field as they take on Purdue Fort Wayne at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The main event is the Fall Festival which is slated to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday. It features arts and crafts, bubble soccer, yard and casino games, an escape room, food trucks, skating, scavenger hunt and much more.

Attendees also have the opportunity to take historical tours throughout campus, even one of Calihan Hall, featuring the newly renovated Titan Club.

After dusk, a bonfire will be lit to celebrate all Titan Athletic teams, followed by the NPHC Yard show, where multicultural fraternities and sororities will showcase their chapter’s history and traditions through steps, strolls, chants or dancing.

Also included in the weekend’s events and numerous reunions are the College of Health Professions Research Symposium, a Golden Jubilee reunion for the Class of 1976 and the presentation of 2026’s Alumni Achievement Spirit Award honorees.

Join in Fall Festival activities as you reconnect with the University during two exciting days filled with food, fun and celebrations.

All are welcome to help Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) celebrate our community and bustling garden with an evening of food and harvesting on Friday, Sept. 18.

The garden party is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the TENN and Martin Park Community Garden, located at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 16100 Lawton St., in Detroit.

To RSVP and for more information, please contact tenn@udmercy.edu.

The Student Life Office is hosting a free afternoon tour of Detroit’s famous Belle Isle on Friday, Sept. 18.

Set in the Detroit River near downtown Detroit, the scenic island is home to a mix of historical and cultural attractions. During the tour, participants will visit the Belle Isle Aquarium, the oldest aquarium in the United States, and explore the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservancy, which houses plants from five unique biomes around the world. The outing will end with a picnic at the beach before returning to campus.

Transportation is available. Those planning to ride the Student Life bus should meet in the Student Union lobby at 2 p.m. Participants driving separately should meet at 2:30 p.m. in the parking lot outside the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle.

Detroit Mercy’s College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS) will offer an immersion trip to Brazil from May 17-27, providing participants with the opportunity to explore African continuities and contributions to contemporary society.

Those interested in this experience are encouraged to register for an upcoming virtual information session on Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. A confirmation email with meeting details will be sent upon registration.

This immersion program to northeast Brazil will examine several issues relevant to the Afro-Brazilian diaspora, including racial affirmation, discourses of harmony and confrontation, and voices of presence and memory. These topics will be approached from the perspectives of music, art, history, religion, dance and folklore.

Participants will learn about the hierarchal religion of Candomblé and rhythms of samba while exploring the intersection of Catholicism with Africanicity in historic and present-day manifestations. The experience will also trace the history of a land that speaks to, from and about the Afro-Brazilian experience.

This program is open to UDM students, faculty, staff, alumni and University guests 18 years of age or older.

Travel grants are available to offset up to half of travel expenses for full-time undergraduate students pursuing a CHASS major or minor.

For more information, contact Lara Wasner at wasnerle@udmercy.edu or Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Shardé Chapman at chapmasn@udmercy.edu.

Celebrate the publication of Senior Adjunct Instructor Michael Lauchlan‘s new collection of poetry, Running Lights, on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m., at 27th Letter Books, located at 3546 Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Enjoy a special evening of new work by Lauchlan, Detroit Mercy’s new poet-in-residence, along with special guest authors Cal Freeman, Stacy Gnall and Alise Alousi.

This event is free and open to all.

The Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive (CLASA) invites the UDM community to two free discussions on nonviolence on Wednesday, Sept. 23, featuring Ben Peters of University of St. Joseph. Both talks will take place in the Briggs Building, Room 317.

The first presentation begins at 4 p.m. Peters will be joined by Karen Donahue, RSM, a longtime member of the Mercy Justice Team. Donahue will discuss how the Sisters of Mercy gradually changed their focus from service to addressing the five Social Concerns that were at the root of many contemporary problems and how nonviolence intersects with the other four Social Concerns. Peters will then present “Artisans of Peace: A Counter-tradition of Nonviolence in US Catholicism.” The term “artisans of peace” came from a recent Vatican statement at the U.N. calling for peace in our war-torn world.

A second talk at 7:30 p.m. will spotlight Peters’ new book, Catholic Pacifist: The Long and Lonely Quest of Gordon Zahn. The discussion will explore the life of Zahn, a Catholic peace activist, who promoted the life story of Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian who was beheaded in 1942 for refusing to fight in Hitler’s army. Jägerstätter was beatified in 2007, just before the death of Zahn. UDM Senior Adjunct Instructor Michael Hovey, who worked with Zahn during his time with Pax Christi USA Center on Conscience and War, will also participate in the conversation.

Both events are cosponsored by CLASA, Gesu Peace & Justice Committee and the Office of Mission Integration.

For more information contact CLASA Director Gail Presbey at presbegm@udmercy.edu or 313-993-1124.

UDM students can experience the arts in New York City during spring break through the Performing Arts in New York City Immersion Trip.

Students will travel to New York City to see incredible shows, meet successful Detroit Mercy Theatre alumni and explore the creative and cultural offerings of the city.

To learn about trip activities, costs and other important details, students are invited to attend an information session on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 12:45-1:45 p.m., in the Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre, located in the Lower Level of the Student Union.

Please contact Sarah Rusk at hawkinsk@udmercy.edu or 313-993-3273 with any questions.