Although building construction on the McNichols campus started in 1925, it would be a few more years before the library had its own building. A library building was always part of the original plan for the campus, but the advent of a world-wide economic depression put those plans on hold. The actual groundbreaking for the library would not take place until 1949. Until the completion of the “new” library in 1950, all the library services were housed on the third...
As I was browsing the files in the Black Abolitionist Archives for something appropriate in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I came across this brief editorial from a Black Abolitionist newspaper Colored American dated July 7, 1838. As I was reading it, I could not help but hear a similar sentiment in Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. It is not a long post but the message is clear-we need to treat everyone equally. If...
The Rev. William T. Doran, S.J. had recently been installed as the new President of UD on Sept. 21, 1915 after the untimely death of a very popular president Rev. William F. Dooley. He had been Vice-President of the University and had worked closely with the previous president and was a worthy successor of President Dooley. On October 2, 1916, the University of Detroit formally opened the Evening School of Commerce and Finance. 1916 College of Arts and Science Tuition:...
As part of the 1954 Spring Carnival, Danny Thomas was awarded “American of the Year” by the University of Detroit. Danny Thomas was born in Deerfield, Michigan, one of ten children of Lebanese immigrants (New York Times obituary). (Just as a side note with the current events about Syrian refugees: Wikipedia notes that according to the 1930 and 1920 census, his parents are listed as being born in Syria.) He was honored for his charity work entertaining the troops with a...
Some Christmas ads from the Varsity News:...
Varsity News, November 23, 1948 Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! ...
Traditionally, the week before Thanksgiving, various organizations such as Campus Ministry, Student Government, fraternities, sororities, and a variety of student clubs of the University of Detroit Mercy, sponsor events to promote Hunger Awareness Week. Activities have included such things as: Dodgeball tournament with admission is a can of food A candlelight vigil Participate in a sleep out Take part in a Fast-A-Thon Collect money for various organizations like Oxfam, Gleaners Food Bank, local food agencies Attend a variety of lectures,...
Whatever you may have seen in the movies or read in books, sometimes the real story can be more compelling than any fictional account. In the archive files, there is a log by a former faculty at U of D, Herman Mayrose, telling the story of his life as a doughboy during the final years of World War I. It’s twelve pages long, but I thought I would post some of the some of the sections here for people to...
