Community
UDM News for our Neighbors
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CLASA to hold annual UCA Jesuit Martyrs fundraiser dinner, March 30
Thursday February 26, 2026
All are invited to enjoy an evening of Salvadoran pupusas, cultural expression and fellowship at the 15th annual Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) Jesuit Martyrs fundraiser dinner on Monday, March 30, at 6:45 p.m., in the Student Union Ballroom on the McNichols Campus.Learn about contemporary Central America and help raise funds for an important scholarship. This scholarship — named after the six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter, who were killed at UCA in November 1989 — funds university scholarships for students from underprivileged families in El Salvador.
This year, the event will feature two keynote speakers:
- Fr. Steve Privett on “Dean Brackley, S.J., Being awakened by the poor of Jayaque and Las Palmas”
- Fr. Rick Cassidy on “St. Paul, Dean, Jesus and Downward Mobility”
Both speakers will share memories of Dean Brackley, S.J., and discuss the relevance of his message for today.
A traditional Salvadoran dinner featuring pupusas will be served. Music will be provided by classically trained pianist and vocalist Hans Barbe, who will perform Spanish justice movement songs by Victor Jara and Mercedes Sosa, along with other CLASA-themed selections and classical pieces during the meal.
Fr. Privett (who will join virtually) teaches theology at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. He is the previous president of Verbum Dei Christo Rey High School and served as president of University of San Francisco from 2000-14. His doctorate in Catechetics is from Catholic University of America and focused on the Hispanic Community of the Catholic Church.
Fr. Cassidy is professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Seminary. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit and holds degrees from the Gregorian, University of Michigan and the Graduate Theological Union.
The event is free for Detroit Mercy students. For all others, a donation of $10 or more is requested. All funds raised will benefit the UCA Jesuit Martyrs Scholarship, which was founded by Dean Brackley, S.J.
The event is sponsored by The Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive (CLASA) and co-sponsored by the UDM Jesuit Community, the Office of Mission Integration, the Latinx Student Union and the Language and Cultural Training Program.
Advance registration and 6:30 p.m. arrival time is encouraged.
For more information or any questions, please contact Gail Presbey at presbegm@udmercy.edu.
Register for CLASA dinner here. -
SACD Dichotomy lecture series explores ‘Who is the decolonial urban designer?’ on March 2
Thursday February 26, 2026Detroit 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.
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Black Student Union, TENN to hold Jazz Night during BHM, Feb. 25
Tuesday February 24, 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.
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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.
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Black Excellence Tailgate & Greek Night set for Feb. 20
Tuesday February 17, 2026
Kick off a Titans men’s basketball game while celebrating Black History Month at the Black Excellence Tailgate & Greek Night pregame event on Friday, February 20. All are invited.
The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Whitty Student Fitness Center on the McNichols Campus with camaraderie and food trucks, and just before the 7 p.m. tip, attendees will join a Cass Tech High School Marching Band drumline-led march from the Student Fitness Center into Calihan Hall.
The Titans men’s basketball squad hosts the Milwaukee Panthers, with a special Black History Month celebration featuring a Divine Nine performance at halftime. This event is co‑hosted by the Black Student Union and University Athletics.
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Resources, Centers and Clinics
Center for Social Entrepreneurship
The Center provides business expertise and acumen as well as mentors to assist local entrepreneurs, beginning with the “Boost” workshop that aids entrepreneurs in developing business plans to achieve a greater social impact.
Counseling Clinic
The clinic provides no-cost counseling services to Detroit residents who otherwise may not have access to mental health services.
Dental Center
Detroit Mercy Dental offers dental services and education through two clinics, nine outreach clinics, a mobile dental clinic and a school-based dental sealant program.
Dental Mobile Clinic
The clinic travels to local participating schools in Detroit and Wayne County to provide comprehensive care for K-12 children.
Detroit Collaborative Design Center
The design center provides design services to non-profit community and civic organizations to engage communities and enhance neighborhoods.
Detroit Mercy Eye Institute
The Detroit Mercy Eye Institute includes the state-of-the-art equipment and technology needed to diagnose, monitor, and treat numerous eye conditions. The clinic will also provide affordable eyecare to the uninsured and vulnerable populations.
Law Clinics
Detroit Mercy Law provides legal assistance to Detroit area residents through six clinics: Immigration Law Clinic, SADO Criminal Appellate Clinic, Criminal Trial Clinic, Veterans Law Clinic, Juvenile Law Appellate Clinic and Intellectual Property Law Clinic.
Pre-College Programs
Detroit area students in grades 4-12 participate in more than 15 outreach programs annually through Saturday classes, summer camps, and innovative curricula in the sciences, technology engineering, mathematics, architecture and design.
Psychology Clinic
The Psychology Clinic provides assessment and counseling services for approximately 300 clients annually. Fees are based on ability to pay.
Rx for Reading Program
This program increases access to children’s books and supports families in reading to their children. The program has distributed more than 2,000 children’s books a month at a variety of locations, including low-income health, dental and WIC clinics; homeless shelters; and Head Start programs.
Summer Camps
A variety of summer activities available on UDM Campuses. Some are hosted by UDM; some are simply located on our campuses.
Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN)
TENN is a student-led and community-driven food justice program that delivers fresh produce to 60 families in New Martin Park Neighborhood and 80 seniors at Theresa Maxis Senior Apartments.
Alliances and Initiatives
Reimagining the Civic Commons
University of Detroit Mercy serves as one of the institutional anchors for the “Reimaging the Civic Commons” initiative, which is funded through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant. The initiative focuses on the City of Detroit’s neighborhood revitalization priority: the Livernois/McNichols area. The project’s goal is to revitalize the neighborhoods between its two anchor institutions, Detroit Mercy and Marygrove College, creating a denser and more diverse urban community.
Live6 Alliance
University of Detroit Mercy helped to launch the Live6 Alliance in August 2015 to strengthen the Livernois Avenue and McNichols Road commercial corridor in northwest Detroit.
Service Immersion Days / Trips
These experiences give students opportunities to serve in shelters, soup kitchens, after school projects, urban farms and many other important community based projects both locally and nationally.
Directories
Media Experts Guide
Detroit Mercy scholars are experts in their fields and many have agreed to be available to media. Note that experts' views are their own and may not reflect the views of their colleagues or University of Detroit Mercy.
Migration Research Directory
The AJCU Migration Research Directory is an open-access resource for high-quality research on migration, provided by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Faculty members from Jesuit universities around the world provide important migration and refugee research from a wide variety of perspectives.