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University of Dayton: Educating the Whole Self
Marianist Tradition has guided institution for nearly 160 years
By Tim Puet
Catholic Times
The president of the University of Dayton says its students are transforming the world and themselves every day.
“You can’t help but be impressed by what they do on a regular basis,” Dr. Daniel Curran said. “To give you one example, six civil engineering students in our ETHOS service learning program spent much of the last year raising funds and designing a pipeline and filtration system for people in a village in Cameroon. They turned on the taps in July, and clean water is flowing there for the first time.
“In eastern Kentucky, another group of our students was instrumental in getting a family back together by repairing their house.
“Here in Dayton, we’ve just graduated our third class of at-risk high school students from the Dayton Early College Academy, the university’s charter partnership with the Dayton public schools. Everyone in those three classes has been admitted to college, and some already have an associate degree from Sinclair Community College.
“We’re founded on the Marianist tradition of educating the whole person, and we feel we’re remaining faithful to the mission the Marianist Fathers (the Society of Mary) had when they began that work here nearly 160 years ago,” said Curran, who became UD president in 2002 and is the first layman in that post.
Dayton has about 7,500 students, including more than 1,700 freshmen, who began classes on Aug. 26. It’s Ohio’s largest Catholic university, but has a substantial enrollment from across the nation. About 45 percent of this year’s freshmen are from outside Ohio, representing a 6 percent increase in out-of-state enrollment in the last two years.
The class is one of the most diverse in the university’s history, with increased enrollment from Hispanic, Asian and international students. More than 10 percent of the class comes from an ethnically diverse background.
“It’s our strongest academic class ever,” with an increase in college entrance test scores, high school GPAs, and high school rankings, Curran said. “We’re feeling very good about this, especially in this difficult economy.” Curran said more than 12,000 students, the largest number ever, applied to the university during the 2008-09 academic year.
UD ranks among the 10 best Catholic universities in the U.S. News and World Report overall rankings. It is tied for 110th among 262 universities nationally offering a wide range of undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees. Among national Catholic universities, it tied for seventh, up one spot from last year. Among national private universities, it tied for 56th place.
Curriculum changes at the university this year includes new foreign language requirements for students in the Global Management Systems Engineering Technology program, designed to prepare them for work in international settings. Those students must have a study abroad experience, an international service learning experience, or an internship or co-op with an international company or division of a company.
“We need to make sure our students are exposed to the world,” Curran said. “”When I see what the future needs of businesses and of students will be, I realize that it will truly be a global world, and that it will make a tremendous impact on students for as many of them as possible to be able to have international experience. We can’t stand still in a global economy. We need to show students what the world can bring to them and they can bring to the world.”
The university has partnerships with nearly 30 universities and colleges worldwide, in nations including China, France, Lebanon, Morocco, South Korea, Spain, and Thailand. Students from those nations who come to Dayton say they’re pleased with their experience at the university – so pleased that UD for the third year in a row ranks first in international student satisfaction in an International Student Barometer survey, the largest study of international students in the world.
In the midst of its global outreach, the university also is thinking about initiatives closer to home. Since 2006, its Rivers Institute has played a key role in bringing partners in Dayton and surrounding communities together in efforts to protect and preserve water resources along the Great Miami River.
Just before classes started, a group of students known as river stewards spent two days kayaking, camping and studying the environment along a part of the river. They studied the diversity of its fish species through fish shocking, or electrofishing, which involves passing an electric current through the water to stun fish and bring them to the surface for counting and studying. The method does not harm the fish, which return to their original state within minutes.
Senior river stewards took a 65-mile trip along the river, meeting city officials in Sidney, Piqua, and Troy, and documenting the trip using video, photos and audio recordings to examine the biology and health of the river and assess development opportunities.
“The rivers program is a great collaborative among students, faculty, community groups, businesses and individuals interested in the river,” Curran said. “It gives the students a chance to do community service with an academic counterpart and provides a way to unite many partners who have a common goal.”
He said a new sustainability program featuring plant-based packaging and diligent waste sorting will position the university to be a national leader in food composting. The dining services department has begun using compostable varieties of packaging made of corn and sugar cane in residence hall dining rooms. A plant in South Charleston will process the compost.
Students who choose to eat from disposable containers will pay an extra 25 cents for the packaging, while those who dine in will use china and dishwasher-safe plastic. Facilities without dish rooms will continue to offer carry-out packaging only and won’t charge the extra fee for packaging.
The dining services department says it ho
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