Our UD

When you are a Flyer, the University of Dayton is the ZIP where you live, the place where you pray, the community where you learn and the city where you celebrate. It is also the spot where you plant the seed of yourself 

that continues to grow long after you have moved on from college. 

UD is the launchpad from which we soar. 

In our minds and hearts, it is the hometown to which Flyers will always return — and which we continue to build, together. 

UD is our city
We live. We thrive. We belong.

TAKE A STEP CLOSER — UNTIL YOUR toes touch the steps of the chapel and your eyes rise to its blue dome. You are at the core of a thriving city, whose heartbeat resonates the mantra of education, leadership and service. 

While it has long been a valued community partner and anchor institution of Dayton, the University itself can be viewed as a city. Just as any municipality, it has citizens, provides services, meets needs, builds community and encourages innovation. On any given day, it is home to more than 11,000 students, with a population that rises above 15,000 with the addition of faculty, staff and students at both the high school and early learning center on campus. 

Campus is a learning-living laboratory, a city as unique as its mission to educate the whole person by integrating learning and scholarship with leadership and service — in community. 

The University of Dayton is intentional and exceptional. It is also an expensive endeavor, requiring resources from many sectors to keep its classrooms buzzing and city humming. Tuition dollars alone can’t keep it thriving. There’s a legion of nearly 44,000 donors who, during the past seven years alone, have contributed to the University’s success today and beyond: providing faculty and staff with resources to innovate and excel in how they teach in their classrooms and laboratories; funding scholarships to ensure that every qualified student has access to a UD education regardless of their means to pay; and providing funds for experiential learning to expand education beyond the classroom and into our community and the world — not to mention all the other offerings that keep this city running. 

It is a city purposeful in its welcoming nature and conscious of intentions for the future. Today and forever, it builds community and cultivates lifelong learning. 

COME, TAKE A WALK WITH US. 

First, let’s wake up and get ready for class. The University offers 6,682 beds for its students to help ensure a good night’s sleep at a cost of $27.9 million annually. The lights switch on and hot water pours from the tap. Utilities are vital to keep the community operating, with a bill to UD of approximately $11.5 million this year. 

Next, we venture onto campus. Last night’s snow has already been shoveled off the walks and plowed out of the parking lots. Or maybe it’s spring, and the flowers and trees bloom in a riotous spectacle. In autumn, leaves that glow on the branches are gathered as soon as they touch down on tidy lawns. Campus has 388 acres cared for by a dedicated grounds staff. 

Now that we are in our classrooms and labs, 1,032 faculty members guide student exploration that illuminates intended profession, quenches the thirst for knowledge and shepherds the search for vocation. Instruction costs $143 million annually. In addition, upgrades in facilities and amenities help keep pace with changes in our world 

Between classes, there’s much to take in. Dining services restaurants abound, serving more than 8,600 patrons each day. Flyer Enterprises, a student-run experiential learning opportunity, offers five locations for coffee and quick snacks. 

And then there’s the richness of being a student. Another city would label such offerings as its quality of life. At UD, they are necessities of living fully in community. Friends urge you to join a game of flag football under the bright lights of Stuart Field, one of 50 intramural leagues offered each year. You offer your signature on sign-up tables for clubs during the fall Up the Orgs event, finding ways to unwind, connect, explore and serve. You watch your talented classmates perform on stage. Events from the Campus Activity Board give you even more options for weekend fun. 

You live. You thrive. You belong. It’s your city, and when you live here, your voice matters in its affairs, from the Student Government Association to the Academic Senate. 

What else does the city of UD offer? Health services and wellness activities, including $2.7 million spent last year to support the physical and mental health needs of students. Wi-fi, enhanced cell service and cybersecurity keep you connected. Transportation from the Flyer bus carries you along. Waste services include an expansive composting program. You find chapels in every residence hall, and prayer spaces for many faiths are available around campus. 

It’s about nurturing the whole person. And it’s been this way since the school was founded in 1850, growing to meet the signs of the times. 

No matter whether we’ve walked this path as a student or have been touched by the University’s mission as a parent or member of the faculty, staff or greater community, it’s an experience you recognize and a future in which you play a role — in how we learn, where we live and how we grow.

Illustrations by Zachary Ghaderi.