Faculty, Staff and Administrators

Faculty/Staff Announcements from Campus Connection

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• February 23: SACD Dichotomy lecture series explores ‘Who is the decolonial urban designer?’ on March 2

  Monday February 23, 2026
  

  Detroit Mercy’s School of Architecture & Community Development (SACD) 2026 Dichotomy Lecture Series will host Shreya Vadrevu, who was featured in Dichotomy 28:RED, for a lecture titled “Who is the decolonial urban designer?”

  The lecture will take place on Monday March 2, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Warren Loranger Architecture Building Exhibition Space. All are welcome to attend this free event.

  This presentation explores the complexities of post-colonial perspectives within urban design. Focusing on mixed methods of photography, counter-mapping and participatory documentation of public markets, the presentation asks an important question: What is the evolution of a decolonial urban designer?

  Vadrevu is an urbanist and architectural designer, who holds a Master of Urban Design from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Architecture from PES University, Bengaluru. She currently works as an architectural designer in the K-12 education space and continues to work with Dystopia, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about speciesism.

  Dichotomy, a student-published journal of SACD, strives to be the critical link to the discourse on design, architecture, urbanism and community development.

• February 23: Celebrate National Reading Month with Rx for Reading Detroit at Batch Brewing Co.

  Monday February 23, 2026
  

  

  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.

  Thursday Events in March

  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.

   

  

• February 23: Theatre program receives ‘transformational’ estate gift

  Monday February 23, 2026
  

  

  A major gift from the late mother of an alumna will have a dramatic effect on the University’s Theatre Department.

  “This gift means a great deal to the program,” said Andrew Papa, chair of the Theatre Department and an associate professor of Theatre. “While we hope this will lead to increased visibility of our program, the department is especially excited about the increased opportunity it will provide for our prospective students.”

  Every year, the Theatre Department engages with hundreds of students at recruiting events and in workshops and at high school nights for Detroit Mercy Theatre Company productions, Papa says, but one of the biggest inhibitors for students to attend Detroit Mercy is the cost.

  “This gift will allow us to support more students for many years to come, and we are immensely grateful,” Papa said.

  It comes at a propitious time as Detroit Mercy Theatre Company is celebrating its first season in the University’s new Black Box Theatre, bringing live theatre back to the McNichols Campus.

  The gift from the estate of Christine Leonard revives and endows a long-dormant scholarship for theatre students created in 1995 and named for her daughter, Geraldine Regal. The scholarship was set up shortly after Geraldine ’94 died when the car she was in was hit by a driver who had been drinking. She was 23.

  Geraldine’s father, David Regal, was the founder of University of Detroit’s Theatre Company and was on the faculty at the University for 44 years. When she was young, he put her in small parts in The Theatre Company productions, but “as soon as she got old enough to know what she wanted to do, it was no dice.” Geraldine graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

  “She knew everybody in The Theatre Company very well and was always volunteering to help, but she didn’t want to be on stage,” he said.

  Christine Regal became Christine Leonard in 1993 when she married acclaimed crime novelist Elmore Leonard ’50. She was known for her cooking and her deep and varied knowledge of politics, travel, flowers, music, theatre, movies and art. She died in 2022 after a short illness.

  Regal described his former wife Leonard as a “superfan” of Detroit Mercy’s theatre program. “She really dug The Theatre Company, and I think she’s shown that by the donation.”

  The scholarship, which could begin disbursements as early as this fall, will be awarded to full-time students majoring or minoring in Theatre, with good academic standing with a preference for students who demonstrate financial need.

  “This gift is truly transformational, and will make a difference long into the future,” Papa said.

• February 23: UDM features Detroit poets Brittany Rogers and Tommye Blount for reading and conversation, Feb. 24

  Monday February 23, 2026
  

  

  Detroit Mercy’s Department of English will host a special night of poetry and conversation with poets Brittany Rogers and Tommye Blount on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m., in Room 114 of the Chemistry Building.

  A reception and book signing will precede the event at 5:30 p.m., where copies of Rogers’ Good Dress and Blount’s Fantasia for the Man in Blue will be available for sale. All are invited to attend this free event.

  Blount, a native of Detroit, is the author of the chapbook What Are We Not For and the full-length collection of poetry Fantasia for the Man in Blue, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry. A graduate from Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers, Blount is the recipient of many commendations, fellowships and grants including from the Desert Rat Residency, Cave Canem and Kresge Arts.

  Rogers is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and lifelong Detroiter. Her work has been published widely, including the Academy of American Poets, Lit Hub and Oprah Daily. Her poetry collection Good Dress was a Michigan Notable Book for 2025 and finalist for both the NAACP Image Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry. Rogers was awarded the Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award and a Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship.

  This event is co-sponsored by the African American Studies Program and Student Life.

  Reserve tickets here.

  

• February 22: ISO to host Lunar New Year lunch, Feb. 24

  Sunday February 22, 2026
  

  

  The International Services Office (ISO) will host a Lunar New Year lunch on Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 12-2 p.m., in the Student Union Fountain Lounge.

  All Detroit Mercy students, faculty and staff are invited.

• February 22: Cook live with Savoy Detroit chef, TENN on Feb. 25

  Sunday February 22, 2026
  

  

  For those looking for healthy, flavorful meals that won’t break the budget, Detroit Mercy alumna Melba Dearing, executive chef and co-owner of SAVOY Detroit, will hold a special live cooking demonstration on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 4:30 p.m., in Room 124 of the Health Professions Facility.

  In partnership with the Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN), Chef Melba will share practical, budget-friendly cooking tips designed especially for college students. Participants will learn how to transform simple, affordable ingredients into a delicious one-pot meal while picking up real-world kitchen skills they can use every day.

  This is a free demonstration, and all are welcome.

  Chef Melba’s work bridges food, business and community impact. From leading Detroit’s celebrated SAVOY Detroit to supporting student-led food access initiatives through TENN, her approach to cooking is rooted in creativity, intention and equity. This demonstration shows how nutritious meals can be accessible and flavorful.

  RSVP here.

  

• February 21: Black Student Union, TENN to hold Jazz Night during BHM, Feb. 25

  Saturday February 21, 2026
  

  

  Detroit Mercy’s Black Student Union (BSU) and Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) will host an evening of music and community at Jazz Night on Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., in the Fountain Lounge of the Student Union.

  Enjoy great food, fun games and a live jazz band in celebration of Black History Month. All are invited to this event.

  Please email Chelsea Manning at mannincp@udmercy.edu with any questions.