Faculty, Staff and Administrators

Faculty/Staff Announcements from Campus Connection

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• October 13: Join the daily Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises

  Monday October 13, 2025
  

  Director of the Catholic Studies Program Si Hendry, S.J., will lead a group of faculty, staff and administrators through Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises integrated into everyday life.

  This is an excellent opportunity to deepen your prayer life and relationship with God and to get to know — on an experiential level — the spirituality behind the Jesuit sponsorship of UDM. It will involve praying every day guided by Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, reflecting on your prayer and other experiences, meeting with a group once a week and meeting with a spiritual director every week or two.

  This opportunity will run from late October through the middle of May. It is a serious commitment, but well worth it.

  If you are interested or want more information, please contact Fr. Hendry at hendrysi@udmercy.edu to arrange an interview to see if this would be appropriate for you.

• October 13: Feminist Scholarship Colloquium set for Oct. 21

  Monday October 13, 2025
  

  

  The Women’s and Gender Studies Program will host the annual Feminist Scholarship Colloquium on Tuesday, Oct. 21 from 3:30-5 p.m. in the William C. Young Boardroom, located on the second floor of the Student Union. All are welcome.

  Presenters will share the diverse ways that sex, gender, sexuality and related issues inform their research and teaching.

  Presenters from across the University will include:

  • Ceara O’Leary, professor of practice of Architecture
  • Julia Belian, associate professor, School of Law
  • Lee Eshelman, associate professor of Psychology
  • Maha Ahmad, associate professor, School of Dentistry

  Refreshments will be provided.

  

• October 13: 26th annual McElroy Lecture on Law and Religion set for Oct. 23

  Monday October 13, 2025
  

  

  The McElroy Lecture on Law and Religion provides a forum for prominent thinkers to address fundamental issues of law and religion. The 26th annual lecture is set for Thursday, Oct. 23, from 5-6 p.m. in Room 226 of the Riverfront Campus. A reception follows the lecture in the atrium.

  This year’s lecture, titled “Next Steps for Church Autonomy,” will be presented by Stephanie Barclay, professor of law at Georgetown University Law School and faculty co-director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution. The annual McElroy Lecture is made possible through a bequest from Detroit Mercy Law alumnus Philip J. McElroy.

  This lecture will examine emerging frontiers in church autonomy jurisprudence across several critical contexts:

  • the doctrine’s application as a defense to defamation suits arising from religious discipline
  • tensions between ministerial exception principles and employment protections
  • the use of collateral appeals to prevent process as punishment in autonomy disputes
  • proper judicial deference to internal religious governance.

  The lecture explores potential doctrinal developments that would be important to both religious liberty and individual rights while avoiding the constitutional hazards of excessive entanglement with religious affairs.

  Barclay’s research focuses on the role our different democratic institutions play in protecting minority rights, particularly at the intersection of free speech and religious exercise. Her work is published or is forthcoming in leading journals such as the Harvard Law Review, the Chicago Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and the Yale Law Journal Forum. Barclay is a faculty affiliate at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School and a Nootbaar Fellow at the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics at Pepperdine University.

  Register here.

  

• October 13: Detroit Mercy Law to hold special Law Review Symposium, Nov. 10

  Monday October 13, 2025
  

  

  Detroit Mercy Law Review will host a special Law Review symposium, titled “Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Exploring the Legal Issues Surrounding Deadly Shipwrecks and Honoring the 50th Anniversary of a Great Lakes Tragedy,” on Monday, Nov. 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  The symposium will take place in Room 226 of Detroit Mercy’s Riverfront Campus, 651 E. Jefferson Avenue in Detroit.

  Two panel discussions will be held, one on property law and the other on constitutional and state law. A Eucharistic service will follow the discussions at Mariners’ Church of Detroit with special prayers for the 29 souls lost and ringing of the bell 29 times, once again, in their memory. Dan Hall, a professional musician, will cover The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald at the end of the service. He will also perform an original song before the service about the Edmund Fitzgerald.

  Lunch and reception will be provided in Detroit Mercy Law Atrium.

  Register here.

  

• October 13: Shop at Kroger and support students on service immersion trips

  Monday October 13, 2025
  

  

  Every time you shop at Kroger, you could help a student attend a service immersion trip.

  Service immersion trips offer students profound opportunities to engage with and serve communities beyond Detroit. These trips integrate service, education and spiritual formation with regular reflections, inviting students to ask critical questions about pressing social issues. Each year, donations allow University Ministry to subsidize the cost, making trips more affordable for students.

  This year, students will travel to three locations across the U.S. Over spring break, students will learn about the Civil Rights Movement while serving alongside local community leaders in Montgomery, Ala. Another group will head to Washburn, Tenn., to explore sustainability challenges in Appalachia and develop a deeper understanding of ecological ethics. In May, students will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to witness firsthand the complex challenges migrants face at the U.S.-Mexico border.

  Kroger will make a donation to the service immersion fund every time you shop. To set up your Kroger shopper’s card:

  • Sign into or create your digital account
  • Search the organization “UDM – MINISTRY SERVICE TRIPS” and click “enroll”
  • Buy your groceries as usual with your Kroger card!

  Or support students with a traditional donation here.

• October 12: Flu and COVID vaccine clinic set for Oct. 16 on McNichols Campus

  Sunday October 12, 2025
  

  

  

  The Wellness Center and CVS have partnered to bring a vaccine clinic to the McNichols Campus on Thursday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lower Level of the Student Union. All are welcome.

  The pre-registration is full, but walk-in appointments are available.

  Vaccines available include:

  • COVID
  • Flu
  • High-dose Influenza
  • Meningitis
  • Pneumonia
  • Shingles
  • Tdap/Whooping Cough

  If you have any questions, please contact the Wellness Center at 313-993-1185.

• October 12: Save the date: International Night, featuring food, entertainment and community, Nov. 20

  Sunday October 12, 2025
  

  

  The International Services Office (ISO) will host Detroit Mercy’s annual International Night on Thursday, Nov. 20, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

  All UDM students, faculty and staff are welcome to the night, which is being hosted in the Student Union Ballroom. Come and celebrate our cultural diversity through food, entertainment and community.

  Help make this event a success by volunteering for any of the following:

  • A performance (a dance, song, poem, etc.)
  • Setting up the flag for your country
  • Help with setup or cleanup

  Sign up here.