Current Students

March Madness is here! After downing Oakland in its regular-season finale Saturday, the Detroit Mercy men’s basketball team hosts a first-round playoff game at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 inside of Calihan Hall on the McNichols Campus.

The Titans, the No. 3 seed in the Barbasol Horizon League Championship, will host eighth-seeded Milwaukee in Detroit. Tickets start at $10 and may be purchased here. Detroit Mercy students can gain FREE entry with their student ID. Doors of Calihan Hall open at 6 p.m.

The red, white and blue finished the regular-season winners in five of their last six contests and are 15-14 and 12-8 in the Horizon League entering postseason play. Detroit Mercy won both regular-season meetings with Milwaukee (12-19) in 2025-26.

The 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championships will culminate with second round, semifinal and championship games March 8-10 at the Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Detroit Mercy student organization “She’s the First” has recently concluded a product drive benefiting I Support the Girls Detroit and would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone whose generosity, time and continued support made the drive a success.

Due to the incredible team effort of the campus community, a total of 4,346 essential items were collected, including:

• 498 liners
• 677 tampons
• 1,126 wipes
• 46 bras
• 152 socks
• 182 underwear
• 1,665 pads

These contributions will make a meaningful impact for those in need within the surrounding community of Detroit.

Detroit Mercy students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends are invited to join the final installment of UDM’s Creative Writing Collective (CWC) on Tuesday, March 3, from 5:15-6:30 p.m.

Poet-in-Residence Stacy Gnall and Senior Adjunct Instructor Michael Lauchlan will lead the conversation for this final meeting of the winter semester. The gathering will take place in the Briggs Building, Room 205.

No writing experience is necessary to join the CWC. You are welcome if you have an interest in exploring or developing your creative inclinations.

Please contact english@udmercy.edu with questions or to join the CWC mailing list. Keep up with the Detroit Mercy English Department on Instagram and Facebook @detroitmercyenglish.

Celebration of Scholarly Achievement & Community Engagement (CSACE) is a University-wide event featuring research posters, artistic displays, performances, lightning talks and much more. This year’s CSACE symposium is set for Thursday, April 9.

CSACE is an opportunity to recognize the exemplary work across all campuses throughout the academic year and to learn about and support the research achievements of fellow colleagues and students.

All students, staff and faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to register for an opportunity to display or present their academic achievements, scholarly research and publications, community service, artistic creations and talents.

Presenter registration is required to secure a position at the event.

The deadline to register to be a presenter is Monday, March 9, by 6 p.m.

Do you know a student who went above and beyond this year? Nominations are now open for the 2025-26 Student Leadership and Service Awards and will be accepted until Thursday, March 26!

An unbiased committee will review all nominations, so please be detailed in your submissions!

The Student Leadership and Service Awards reception will be held on Thursday, April 16, at 5 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. More details will be provided to nominees/winners. In conjunction with the awards ceremony, our National Society of Leadership & Success inductees will be honored.

Awards categories for Student Leadership and Service Awards include:

• Rising Star Student Leader (First-Year Student or Sophomore): This award is given to a first-year student or sophomore-level student who demonstrates leadership qualities in multiple areas of campus. They consider their community in their everyday decisions and are working for positive change around them. This person may not have a title, but their actions and commitment to the process of leadership are noticeable to their peers and constituents.
• Student Leader of the Year (Junior or Senior): This award is given to a junior or senior-level student who demonstrates leadership qualities in multiple areas of campus. They consider their community in their everyday decisions and are working for positive change around them. This person may not have a title, but their actions and commitment to the process of leadership are noticeable to their peers and constituents.
• Titan Spirit Award: This award is given to a student who demonstrates Titan Spirit every day. They love their school, and they are not afraid to show it. Their pride for their school is demonstrated in their involvement, decisions, actions and even the color scheme of their clothes. This person never waivers when choosing to root for the home team!
• Student Employee of the Year: This award is given to a diligent student who is employed somewhere on campus. This student adds value to the office or department they work in and is dedicated to their role. Without dedicated student employees this campus would not be able to run efficiently. This student is a true model of what it looks like to help keep a workplace moving in a positive direction.
• Student Organization of the Year: This award is given to the registered student organization that has contributed positively to campus all year. They achieve their organization mission while contributing to the University’s overall mission. They are committed to their members and provide opportunities, initiatives and/or events for campus to see their efforts clearly. This group is driven, excited and displays their positive values.
• Program/Event of the Year: This award is given to a student or group of students who has hosted a phenomenal program on campus. This program has given students at Detroit Mercy an opportunity to enjoy each other, learn something new or come together for a common purpose. This event adds value to campus and is a positive addition to the campus culture.

Awards categories for Fraternity and Sorority Leadership and Service Awards include:

• Fraternity Member of the Year: This award is for a member of a fraternity who has demonstrated continued contribution to his chapter, the Greek community and the Detroit Mercy campus. This person understands and models their values daily and is a positive force. This person stands out from the community for how they demonstrate leadership, loyalty and commitment to making the world around them better for all.
• Sorority Member of the Year: This award is for a member of a sorority who has demonstrated continued contribution to her chapter, the Greek community and the Detroit Mercy campus. This person understands and models their values daily and is a positive force. This person stands out from the community for how they demonstrate leadership, loyalty and commitment to making the world around them better for all.
• Chapter President of the Year: This award is given to a person who upheld the values of their own organization and the University. They communicate throughout the community, promote a positive Greek Life experience and uplift their members. This person supports their executive board (if applicable) and completes all duties in a timely and accurate manner. They exemplify what it means to lead by example!
• Outstanding Philanthropic Event or Community Service Project: This award is given to the Greek chapter that conducted an outstanding philanthropic event and/or an outstanding community service project that served to benefit the local/national community. The program should have been in the 2025-2026 academic year.
• Chapter of Excellence Award: This award is given to the Greek Letter organization that has demonstrated excellence in multiple categories, including but not limited to academics, campus programming and highlighting their values. This chapter contributes positively to the Greek Life community, campus community and each other. Even if this group is not wearing their letters, they are consistently demonstrating their values.

The College of Business Administration‘s Charlton Center for Responsible Investing will host The Honorable Philip Jefferson, vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as guest speaker at its fourth annual Speaker Series.

The presentation will take place on Tuesday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m., in the Student Union Ballroom.

As the second highest ranking official in the U.S. central banking system and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Jefferson plays an important role in the Federal Reserve’s progress toward its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices. He has held prominent academic leadership roles, including serving as the dean of faculty and the Paul B. Freeland professor of economics at Davidson College. Jefferson also served as chair of the Department of Economics at Swarthmore College, where he was the centennial professor of economics.

All are welcome to attend this free event, and advance registration is required.

All Titans are invited to Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, March 25, for Detroit Mercy Night, where the Detroit Pistons will host the Atlanta Hawks. The game starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets start at just $35. All-you-can-eat seats in the North End Club are also available.

When purchased through the link below, tickets also include a co-branded Pistons and UDM sweater.

Thomas Nail, distinguished scholar and professor of Philosophy at the University of Denver, will be the guest speaker at a pair of Philosophy Department events on Wednesday, March 18, and Thursday, March 19.

• March 18, at 4 p.m., The Figure of the Migrant, in Room 317 of the Briggs Building: The talk introduces the main ideas of Nail’s books, The Figure of the Migrant and Theory of the Border, rethinking the nature of political philosophy and history from the perspective of migration. Nail has expanded his analysis to incorporate the advent of climate change and migration in deep Earth history. The conversation will step back and look at the longest and widest frame for which to illuminate the current events of unprecedented global migration and climate change.
• March 19, at 10 a.m., The Birth of Order from Chaos: Perspectives from Comparative World Mythology, in Loranger Architecture Building Exhibition Space: The conversation explores the meaning of the word ‘chaos,’ from an immanent worldview where the oldest native language cosmogonic texts say the cosmos was born from chaos. During this lecture, Nail will present a summary of his research from his latest two unpublished books, The Birth of Chaos and The Birth of Order. His presentation will outline the common features of the world’s oldest recorded cosmogonies and argue that they offer a compelling movement-oriented alternative to post Axial-Age worldviews.

In addition to the works mentioned above, Nail is the author of numerous books, including Theory of the Earth, Marx in Motion, The Philosophy of Movement, Lucretius I, II, III, and Being and Motion. His research focuses on the philosophy of movement.

The March 18 event is co-sponsored by Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive (CLASA).

All are welcome to attend to these free events. Please contact Gail Presbey at presbegm@udmercy.edu with any questions or for more information.

National Reading Month brings a community book drive and series of events to Batch Brewing Co. throughout March in support of Rx for Reading Detroit.

Since 2014, Detroit Mercy’s Rx for Reading Detroit has distributed more than 275,000 books to low-income children and families in metro Detroit. That’s more than two books for every young child in the city of Detroit!

Batch Brewing Co. will accept donations of new or gently used books all month long. Those who donate will be entered into drawings to win an Rx for Reading Swag Bag or a Little Free Library for a Detroit-based school or organization.

March 5 — Teacher and Staff Appreciation Night
4-6:30 p.m.: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Hour
School employees can enjoy specials with a valid school ID.

March 12 — Teacher and Staff Appreciation Night
4-6:30 p.m.: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Hour
School employees can enjoy specials with a valid school ID.

March 19 — Family Read-Along Event
4-6:30 p.m.: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Hour: School employees can enjoy specials with a valid school ID.
6:30-7:30 p.m.: Story Reading Time with Rx for Reading

March 26 — Reading Month Celebration Finale
4-6:30 p.m.: Teacher and Staff Appreciation Hour: School employees can enjoy specials with a valid school ID.
6:30-7 p.m.: Reading with Brynne Barnes, local award-winning author and NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work for Children
7-7:30 p.m.: Little Free Library and Swag Bag drawings and donation totals announced

It is also easy to give a gift to Rx for Reading Detroit through the Detroit Mercy Giving Page.

Take a moment to celebrate literacy and help raise the next generation of readers this month by ensuring every child has access to books.

The 43rd annual Pax Christi Michigan State Conference will be held at Detroit Mercy, Saturday, April 18, in the Student Union Ballroom on the McNichols Campus. The theme of this year’s event is “Be Not Afraid: Living in Hope and Resistance,” and features keynote speaker Charlene Howard, national director for Pax Christi USA.

Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., and the event will run until approximately 4 p.m. 

Through humor, storytelling, music and innate wisdom, Howard will advise conference participants in the courage and resiliency needed to confront racism, violence and greed with Gospel-based nonviolence and effective activism.

A discussion will follow Howard’s call to action in which a panel of experts will offer insights and specific ways to effectively resist today’s culture of violence.

Panel experts include:

• Elly Jordan: Advocacy for immigrants
• Andrea Pierce: Advocacy for the environment and Indigenous cultures
• Saeed Khan: Advocacy for Gaza, the West Bank and Middle Eastern cultures.

Howard received her master’s in Religious Education and Catechesis from the Catholic University of America and has been a teacher, school principal and a religious department chair. In July 2024, she became the executive director of Pax Christi USA.

Pax Christi Michigan promotes peace locally, nationally and globally through prayer, study and action. Rooted in spirituality, the organization is dedicated to examining issues of justice from the perspectives of all involved and promotes peace with justice through nonviolent conflict resolution.

A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Cost for attendance:

• Early registration: $65 (includes breakfast and lunch). Registration after April 10 is $70.
• Student rate: $25
• Conference scholarships are available.