Universities can rebuild public trust with better engagement with their communities
Posted by Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities on July 15, 2025
In Dayton’s Twin Towers neighborhood, the seeds of community engagement are taking root — literally.
University of Dayton (UD) students, alumni and residents work side by side at the Mission of Mary to grow and harvest more than 70,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables each year. For many of the neighborhood’s 3,000 residents, this nutritious food is a lifeline that shows love to those facing food insecurity.
“It’s not just how we grow produce. It’s how we build community,” says Michael Schulz, executive director of Mission of Mary and a 2007 UD graduate, about the nonprofit’s mission.
It’s how we build community. Michael’s words reflect our Catholic, Marianist philosophy of education. At UD, mutually beneficial civic engagement is not an elective course. It’s central to who we are as an anchor institution. We’ve even built a front porch for community collaboration: UD’s Fitz Center for Leadership in Community shares space with the Dayton Foundation and the Dayton Development Coalition in a building facing downtown, blurring the line between the University and the city.
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