The story
Founding
In 1849, on a mission to establish a presence for the Society of Mary in America, Leo Meyer journeyed from Alsace in France to Cincinnati. But with a cholera epidemic raging to the north, Bishop John Baptist Purcell of the Cincinnati diocese sent Meyer to Emmanuel parish in Dayton to tend to the sick. In Dayton, Meyer met local farmer John Stuart, who had lost his infant daughter Mary Louisa to cholera the year before. Heartbroken, Stuart and his wife wanted to sell their Dewberry Farm property and return to Europe.
On March 19, 1850, Meyer, joined by three Marianist brothers—teacher Maximin Zehler, cook Charles Schultz, and gardener Andrew Edel—purchased the 125-acre (51 ha) hilltop farm from Stuart and renamed it Nazareth. Stuart accepted a St. Joseph medal and a promise of $12,000 at 6 percent interest. The property included vineyards, an orchard, a mansion, various farm buildings, and the grave of Stuart's daughter, which Meyer promised to maintain.
Just a few months later, the University of Dayton had its beginning on July 1, 1850, when St. Mary's School for Boys opened its doors to 14 primary students from Dayton. In September the first boarding students arrived and classes moved to the mansion. Five years later, the school burned to the ground, but classes resumed within months. By 1860, when Zehler became president, the enrollment was nearly 100 students. The Civil War had little direct effect on the school because most of the students were too young to serve. College preparatory classes started in 1861 along with a novitiate and school for Marianist candidates. The school became Chaminade High School, named after the order's founder William Joseph Chaminade, which has since merged with the all-girls Julienne High school run by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to form the coeducational Chaminade-Julienne High School.
The core of the Historic Campus was built during this time, starting in 1865 with Zehler Hall, the iconic Immaculate Conception Chapel in 1869, and St. Mary's Hall, then the tallest building in Dayton in 1870. In 1882 the university was incorporated and empowered to confer collegiate degrees by the State of Ohio.
Key events
When floodwaters struck the community during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913, refugees fled to St. Mary's College high on a hill south of downtown Dayton. St. Mary's College was uniquely situated and equipped to provide relief to flood victims. Because students had not returned to campus from Easter break, the college was amply stocked with food and other provisions. Due to its location on the hill, electric light and heating plants were not affected, a plentiful clean water supply was available and the college had other essential facilities such as laundry and infirmary. The college's kitchen provided meals to Miami Valley Hospital and provided 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) of provisions to St. Elizabeth Hospital. The first night, 400 refugees took shelter at St. Mary's College; by the end of the week, the number had grown to 600. In all, the college assisted 800 refugees.
Known at various times as St. Mary's School, St. Mary's Institute and St. Mary's College, the school was incorporated as the University of Dayton in 1920 to reflect its close connection with the city of Dayton as well as to claim an American identity for its Catholic students.
In 1923, the university adopted the "Dayton Flyers" nickname for its athletic teams and adopted a university seal with the motto, "Pro Deo et Patria", Latin for "For God and Country." In the 1930s, women were admitted on an equal basis with men—40 years before most Catholic universities allowed women. The school expanded its science and engineering programs and continued to attract the children and grandchildren of Catholic immigrants.
The growing Catholic presence in Dayton during the 1920s drew the hostility of the Ku Klux Klan, which focused on the university. On December 19, 1923, 12 bombs exploded throughout the campus and an 8-foot (2.4 m) cross was set on fire. Several hundred Klansmen were routed by hundreds of neighborhood residents who joined students in chasing them off.
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In June 2014, the University of Dayton announced it would begin divesting coal and fossil fuels from its $670 million investment pool. It is believed to have been the first Catholic university in the nation to take this step.
Growth and expansion
Starting in the 1960s, the university began acquiring hundreds of single-family homes and duplexes in the neighborhoods adjacent to the campus for student housing, extending the campus to Brown Street. In 2007, the university built five new townhouses and renovated four homes in a Citirama project with the Home Builders Association of Dayton.
In 2005, the university acquired a 49-acre (20 ha) parcel of land for $25 million that had once housed the cash register factory complex of the NCR Corp. The purchase extended the university's boundaries west to the Great Miami River and increased the total acreage to 216 acres.
In 2009, the university announced the purchase of another 115 acres from NCR for $18 million, including the former NCR World Headquarters and Old River Park, the former NCR employees' recreation area, extending the campus to 373 acres. The former NCR world headquarters, renamed the 1700 South Patterson Building, now houses the University of Dayton Research Institute, classrooms, offices, and meeting space.
In 2010, GE Aviation announced it would build the $51 million GE Aviation Dayton Electrical Power Research Lab research and development facility on eight acres of the campus, becoming the first major new development on the former NCR land.
In 2012, the campus totaled approximately 388 acres and included 38 academic, research, athletic, and administrative buildings, five residence halls, 18 student apartment complexes, and 473 residences, including 347 university-owned residences.
Enrollment grew to about 1,000 when World War II broke out. It reached more than 3,500 in 1950 with the return of the veterans and grew steadily. When the baby boomers reached college age, the university's enrollment topped 10,000. However, local enrollment decreased in the 1960s when Wright State University was established and Sinclair Community College was expanded, moving UD toward becoming a national university. In 2012, more than half of the undergraduates were from states other than Ohio. International enrollment has grown as well. In 2012 a record of more than 1,500 international students were enrolled.
Marianist tradition
The University of Dayton was founded by priests and brothers in the tradition of the Society of Mary and is one of three Marianist universities in the U.S. It is a member of the Association of Marianist Universities and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
Although the university is not pontifical in character, the academic program of the university's International Marian Research Institute does have pontifical character and is affiliated with the Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum in Rome.
Vowed Marianists governed the university until 1970, when the charter was amended and lay members joined the board of trustees. Vowed Marinists served as presidents through 2002, when Daniel J. Curran became the university's 18th president and first lay leader. Eric F. Spina, PhD, succeeded Dr. Curran in 2016 as the 19th president of the university.
To sustain the Marianist identity and values of the university, Marianist Educational Associates was established in 2005 to educate lay leaders so the beliefs and traditions at the foundation of the Marianist educational philosophy could continue.
Presidents
Leo Meyer (1850–1857)
John B. Stintzi, S.M. (1857–1860)
Maximin Zehler, S.M. (1860–1876)
Francis E. Feith, S.M. (1876–1879)
George Meyer, S.M. (1879–1887)
John Harks, S.M. (1887–1889)
Joseph Weckesser, S.M. (1889–1896)
Charles Eichner, S.M. (1896–1902)
Louis A. Tragesser, S.M. (1902–1908)
Bernard P. O'Reilly, S.M. (1908–1918; 1923–1932)
Joseph A. Tetzlaff, S.M. (1918–1923)
Walter C. Tredtin, S.M. (1932–1938)
John A. Elbert, S.M. (1938–1944)
George J. Renneker, S.M. (1944–1953)
Andrew L. Seebold, S.M. (1953–1959)
Raymond A. Roesch, S.M. (1959–1979)
Raymond Fitz, S.M. (1979–2002)
Daniel J. Curran (2002–2016)
Eric F. Spina (2016– )
From Wikipedia’s article on University of Dayton, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5