Faculty, Staff and Administrators

Faculty/Staff Announcements from Campus Connection

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• September 22: Homecoming 2026 Fall Festival with Street Fest set for Sept. 25-26

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  

  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.

  Register or learn more about Fall Festival/Homecoming.

• September 22: Creative Writing Collective to hold first session of school year, Oct. 6

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  

  The Detroit Mercy English Department will host the first Creative Writing Collective (CWC) of the fall semester on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 5:15-6:30 p.m., in the Briggs Building, Room 202. The gathering will be led by Senior Adjunct Instructor and Poet-in-Residence Michael Lauchlan.

  The CWC provides a relaxed, supportive environment for all students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the community to read, write and chat together.

  All are welcome, and no creative writing experience is necessary.

  For questions or if you would like to be added to the CWC mailing list, please email english@udmercy.edu.

  

• September 22: Discussion sessions on ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ to begin Sept. 30

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  The Department of Religious Studies is hosting a series of small group discussions on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas led by Fr. Greg Banazak. The encyclical deals with AI and its implications for our shared humanity.

  Given the urgency of this issue, the sessions will offer a timely opportunity for students, faculty and staff to think through this important document. The series is planned as part of the 2026 Bruttell Series in Religion and Social Ethics. All are invited.

  All sessions will be held in Briggs Building, Room 305, and refreshments will be available.

  Three sessions are planned:

  • Wednesday, Sept. 30, 12:45-1:45 p.m.: “Dialoguing with Magnifica Humanitas: AI and Ethics”
  • Thursday, Oct. 15, 12:45-1:45 p.m.: “Dialoguing with Magnifica Humanitas: AI and Religion”
  • Monday, Oct. 26, 12:45 – 1:45 p.m.: “Dialoguing with Magnifica Humanitas: AI and Everyday Life”

• September 22: Applications for Mission Micro-Grant Program due Oct. 9

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  Rx for Reading Detroit and United Children and Family Head Start of Detroit end-of-the-year literacy celebration

  Now in its 19th year, the Mission Micro-Grant Program awards annual grants of up to $200 to any full or part-time Detroit Mercy faculty or staff member in support of a wide range of activities that promote Detroit Mercy’s mission of being a Catholic, Mercy, Jesuit, urban and student-centered university.

  There are only four criteria a project or activity must meet to be considered for a Mission Micro Grant:

  • The project or activity must promote one or more elements of Detroit Mercy’s mission.
  • You must personally be involved in the project or activity.
  • You must be employed by the University during the time the project or activity takes place.
  • The grant monies must be spent in the same fiscal year in which they are received.

  Please visit the Mission Micro-Grant website to learn more about what type of projects are eligible for funding and project deadlines. You can also browse previously funded projects and activities.

  The application process is very simple. One-page online applications are due Friday, Oct. 9. PLEASE NOTE: Only one grant application may be submitted per project.

  Questions can be sent to Rosemary Weatherston at weatherr@udmercy.edu.

  Submit application here.

• September 22: Plant clippings needed for Mercy Day student project

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  

  In recognition of Mercy Day on Sept. 24 and this year’s Mercy concern of “Care for the Earth,” University Ministry is collecting plant clippings for a special student craft project.

  Faculty and staff are encouraged to donate plant clippings suitable for propagation. Clippings can be dropped off at the University Ministry Office in the Lower Level of the Student Union between 9:30 and 11 a.m. on Sept. 24.

   

• September 22: Learn about El Salvador spring break journey with upcoming info sessions

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  The 2027 CHASS El Salvador spring break journey provides an opportunity to learn from the Salvadoran people about their lives, histories and hopes for the future. This journey highlights the importance of working for justice, understanding how we can be better stewards of the earth and humanizing the various issues present in our societies.

  This transformative experience is open to the entire UDM community.

  Those interested can learn more about the experience and how to participate at one of two upcoming information sessions:

  • Online: Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. Register here for Zoom link.
  • In-person: Friday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m., in the Briggs Building, Room 301.

  Trip participants can reflect on their faith and its role in promoting justice and compassion while exploring different realities through an understanding of diverse perspectives. These include the impact of war, economics, foreign policy, migration, the environment and faith.

  Sponsored by CRISPAZ, the program aims to build relationships and deepen your understanding of the people of El Salvador and has been leading delegations since 1985.

• September 22: Philosophy Department to host scholar Guido Parietti for Hannah Arendt anniversary lecture, Sept. 29

  Tuesday September 22, 2026
  

  

  The first speaker in the UDM Philosophy Department’s 2026-27 Public Lecture Series will be Guido Parietti, assistant professor of Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy at Michigan State University.

  In commemoration of the 120th anniversary of German thinker Hannah Arendt’s birth, Parietti’s lecture, “Why Politics? Why Arendt?” will explore her infamous answer to a fundamental question of our age: what is politics for?

  The event will take place Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Warren Loranger Architecture Building Exhibition Space and is free and open to the public.

  Parietti is the author of On the Concept of Power: Possibility, Necessity, Politics (Oxford, 2022) and has published numerous works on deliberative democracy, political theology and the philosophy of Hannah Arendt and Thomas Hobbes.

  For more information, please contact Kieran Aarons at aaronska@udmercy.edu.