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鲍鱼tv has improved its national ranking in the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026 survey of best universities in the country.

This year, UDM ranked No. 36, seven places higher than last year.

鈥淭here is so much great work being done every single day, year in and year out at 鲍鱼tv and this ranking reflects that,鈥� said UDM President Donald B. Taylor. 鈥淯DM is making a difference in the lives of our students, our neighborhood, our hometown of Detroit and our nation. It鈥檚 gratifying to be recognized for that.鈥�

The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings 鈥� first released three years ago 鈥� focus on student outcomes rather than inputs, highlighting the tangible value a school delivers to its students.

In addition to the overall ranking, the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse study evaluates colleges on several key measures. Social mobility recognizes universities that enroll a high proportion of students from lower-income families, while maintaining strong graduation rates and positive salary outcomes. Salary impact measures how graduates鈥� earnings compare to expectations, relative to the cost of attending.

The Best Value ranking considers how quickly graduates鈥� salary advantages pay back the average net price of a degree 鈥� measured as 鈥測ears to pay off net price.鈥� An additional ranking is based on a large-scale student survey, which captures the quality of the learning environment and overall student experience. This year, the survey reflected feedback from more than 110,000 students nationwide. Earlier this month, the University also ranked No. 22 nationally in the Best Value Schools category in the U.S. News & World Report 2026 鈥楤est Colleges鈥� edition.

UDM鈥檚 2026 Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings are as follows:

• No. 27 out of 584 schools for social mobility, up from 39 in the 2025 ranking
• 309 in student experience, up from 411 last year
• 52 in best salaries
• 103 in best value

The 2026 ranking also means that UDM is:

• The No. 1 ranked private university in Michigan
• The second-highest ranked university in Michigan
• The No. 2 ranked Catholic university in the Midwest
• The No. 3 ranked Catholic university in the United States
• The No. 2 ranked university among all Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities in the country

Additionally, UDM ranks in the top 9% of 4,476 colleges and universities nationwide for salary earned by graduates over a period of 15 to 40 years during their career according to Georgetown University鈥檚 Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) research report Ranking 4,476 Colleges by ROI (2025). This means that 鲍鱼tv graduates can expect to earn more than $2.1 million in salary over their 40-year career compared with those who forgo a college education.

Impressive national rankings over the last three years have led, in part, to record enrollment at UDM for freshmen. This year鈥檚 first-year enrollment is 672, which is higher than last year鈥檚 record first-year count of 651. In addition, transfer student enrollment is also up to 181, a significant jump from the previous year鈥檚 count of 158.

Since the fall of 2024, UDM鈥檚 total enrollment is up 191 students. This fall, the University welcomed 5,778 full and part-time students. Most importantly, UDM鈥檚 second-year retention rate has increased to 84.2%, higher than the previous three-year average of 83.8%,

For Debbie Stieffel, vice president for Enrollment Management & Student Affairs, these results are far more than a number in a ranking.

鈥淭hey are a powerful affirmation of the university鈥檚 commitment to each student鈥檚 wellbeing and success鈥攂oth in their careers and in their lives. This recognition reflects the tireless dedication of faculty and staff who believe deeply in our students鈥� potential, and it celebrates the determination, resilience, and accomplishments of the students themselves.鈥� Stieffel said.

Current students are elated at the new WSJ ranking and understand why UDM continues to move up in rankings each year.

鈥淪eeing 鲍鱼tv ranked 36th in the nation makes me really proud to be a student here,” said听Alexandria听Jarbo, a senior Biology major in the College of Engineering & Science鈥檚 Pre-Physician Assistant program. “It reflects how much the professors and community truly care about our success, and it reminds me that I made the right choice coming to UDM. It鈥檚 exciting to know that the hard work happening here is being recognized.鈥�

A Commitment to Expanded Offerings

UDM鈥檚 focus on student achievement and success is reflected by a commitment to offer new schools and programs.

This fall, the University welcomed the first class of the newly established School of Optometry. In addition, UDM launched a new听accelerated seven-year Doctor of Optometry Program. This new school and the 鲍鱼tv Eye Institute represent a significant step toward addressing the growing demand for eye care professionals in the state and region.

Also this fall, the听College of Health Professions (CHP) created the School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, through which two new bachelor鈥檚 degree programs are now available. 听Students pursuing careers in healthcare can now choose from degrees in Health Science and Sports & Exercise Sciences, both designed to prepare graduates for impactful roles across the evolving health sector.

The School of Law recently announced the launch of the state of Michigan鈥檚 first online J.D. program, which continues 鲍鱼tv Law鈥檚 mission to increase accessibility to legal education. The four-year program will be mostly asynchronous, with some upper-level courses such as the award-winning clinic portion taught synchronously.

Lastly, the University鈥檚 School of Dentistry welcomed the first cohort of students who will pursue their Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the University鈥檚 new campus in Vermont.

For President Taylor, this is only a beginning. With UDM preparing to celebrate its 150th anniversary and commitment to Detroit in 2027, there are more great things to come for the institution and its home community.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there has ever been a more exciting time to be part of 鲍鱼tv and our great city,鈥� said Taylor. 鈥淵ou can feel the energy on campus, in our neighborhood, downtown and throughout SE Michigan. Achieving a No. 36 rank in the U.S. is not only great for UDM, it鈥檚 great for our city and indeed the entire state.鈥�

Thank A Donor Day takes place Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 12:30-2 p.m. in the Fountain Lounge of the Student Union on the McNichols Campus.

Several activities are planned to educate students about how alumni and friends of 鲍鱼tv enrich all aspects of the University. Students can:

• Write a thank-you note to a donor and receive a free lunch.
• Create a photo or video message to thank donors and be entered into a drawing for a $25 Visa gift card!
• Participate in fun games to test skill and UDM philanthropic knowledge and earn 鲍鱼tv swag!
• Hunt for one of four plushies wearing Titans swag belonging to Tommy Titan on the McNichols Campus and choose which 鲍鱼tv fund will receive a gift from an anonymous donor 鈥� and keep the plushie!
• Wear 鲍鱼tv or Titan apparel for an extra chance to win prizes!

Once again, UDM will host the 20th annual Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Conference from Oct. 2-3.

This year’s Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit (GLBD) Conference is a platform for community members to network and highlight innovative approaches to environmental and social challenges. The conference is for people of all ages who are interested in exploring topics, developing skills and motivating action for the betterment of our One Earth Community.

Participants will have the opportunity to share experiences and learn strategies to ensure that humans are a positive force in our earth community while addressing the critical issues of public health and wellness; racial and environmental justice; indigenous (Traditional Ecological Knowledge, TEK) resource protection and sustainability; fresh water resource and Great Lakes protection; and recycling, food waste reduction and management.

鲍鱼tv opened a theatre on its McNichols Campus Monday, Sept. 29, that it hopes will become a venue not just for the school鈥檚 , but for artists and community members across Detroit who need a place to come together.

鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to bring live theatre back to campus,鈥� said 鲍鱼tv President Donald B. Taylor. 鈥淭his will enhance our student engagement on campus and provide community engagement opportunities for our neighborhood in ways we are only beginning to imagine.鈥�

The state-of-the-art 鲍鱼tv Black Box Theatre is designed to be a flexible, professional-quality space that allows students and faculty to explore innovative forms of storytelling. Located on the Lower Level of the Student Union, the venue will also be made available to Detroit鈥檚 varied community organizations and businesses for meetings, performances and presentations.

Though there have been performances at various spaces on the McNichols Campus for decades, this is the first dedicated theatre space there.

鈥淭he new Black Box Theatre will be a catalyst for creativity,鈥� said Greg Grobis, associate dean of the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS) and associate professor of Theatre. 鈥淚ts flexible design ensures that no two productions will ever feel the same, empowering students and faculty to dream bigger, take risks and explore new forms of storytelling.鈥�

Most important, it will be the new home to the award-winning 鲍鱼tv Theatre Company, which will open its 55th season on Nov. 7 with a new adaptation of William Shakespeare鈥檚 comedy 鈥淭welfth Night鈥� adapted by Marc Palmieri. Most recently, the company produced its works at the Marlene Boll Theatre at the Detroit YMCA.

鈥淭he Department of Performing Arts and 鲍鱼tv Theatre Company cannot wait to return home to UDM鈥檚 McNichols Campus after more than 10 years away,鈥� said Sarah Hawkins Rusk, managing director of DMTC. 鈥淭his new theatre space will be a vibrant home for creativity on campus 鈥� giving our students a professional-quality space to learn and grow, whether they鈥檙e performing on stage or working behind the scenes.鈥�

The 13,000-square-foot space cost just under $3 million and funded through investments by many donors, including several alumni who work in the entertainment industry across the country. It will seat up to 109 people, depending on the configuration of the stage, which can be adapted to each production. Lighting and sound technology is of a caliber being used in professional theaters across the country, allowing students to develop skills they can take directly to the workforce. The theater also includes a costume shop with laundry, individual changing rooms and a greenroom where performers can prepare and relax before and after a show.

The 鲍鱼tv Black Box Theatre will also strengthen arts and culture connections beyond campus said Jocelyn Boryczka, CHASS dean, noting its wider impact on both the University and surrounding neighborhoods.

鈥淭he 鲍鱼tv Black Box Theatre will energize arts and culture on UDM鈥檚 McNichols Campus, in our Northwest Detroit neighborhoods and across metro Detroit,鈥� she said of the Livernois and Six Mile corridor of Detroit. 鈥淭his space will host student productions, lectures, spoken word and musical performances, and other events that will drive community engagement. Our new theater exhibits how UDM lives its mission by creating a space where we can all reach for the听magis, the more.鈥�

The theatre also represents a significant step forward for 鲍鱼tv鈥檚 Department of Performing Arts. Andrew Papa, chair of the Department of Performing Arts, emphasized the impact it will have.

鈥淭he 鲍鱼tv Black Box Theatre is set to become a game-changer for not just the Department of Performing Arts, but for the entire 鲍鱼tv community,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving a permanently designated space for our theatre productions is an invaluable learning experience for our students. It will give them more opportunities to experiment, to work with technology that mirrors the real world, and even to develop their own student-produced work.

He continued: 鈥湵�鱼tv is a 鈥榣earn by doing鈥� institution, and laboratories are a key method for teaching our students. We have Chemistry lab spaces and Architecture lab spaces and even lab spaces for our Nursing students. And now, the student artists at 鲍鱼tv have a laboratory space, too.鈥�

Following a ribbon-cutting scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 29, the University will hold an invitation-only gala during the run of听Twelfth Night. Discounted tickets are available at special high school students and community members during the run of the show.听.

鈥淲e look forward to seeing what our students can do with this incredible resource, and how the commitment to arts on campus will echo through the community,鈥� said Grobis.

Learn more about 鲍鱼tv Theatre Company.

鲍鱼tv鈥檚 welcomes poet Joanna Fuhrman for a special reading, hosted by UDM鈥檚 Poet-in-Residence听Stacy Gnall. All are invited to attend this free event, which takes place virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 1, from 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Fuhrman is the author of seven poetry collections, most recently including Data Mind听and To a New Era. Her poems have appeared in The Believer, The Baffler, Fence, The Georgia Review听and more, as well as on the Poetry Foundation and Academy of American Poets websites. Her work has also been featured in Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize anthology and The Slowdown podcast. A graduate of the University of Washington鈥檚 MFA program, Fuhrman lives in New Jersey where she serves as an assistant teaching professor of creative writing at Rutgers University.

Beginning the week of Oct. 5 and concluding around the Feast of Christ the King on Nov. 24, Meeting Christ in Prayer is an eight-week retreat that invites participants to engage in spiritual exercises as a lived experience within daily life鈥攏o retreat houses required, just an open and generous spirit.

Each week, small groups will meet with a prayer leader who will guide participants through spiritual exercises and offer daily prayer suggestions to support their retreat journey. Additionally, a spiritual director will be available to participants twice within the retreat journey for individual spiritual conversation.

This program is free and open to all members of the 鲍鱼tv community. Weekly gatherings will include time for prayer, discussion and shared fellowship over food.

For more information, please contact Anna Bryson at lawleran@udmercy.edu.

Titan Equity Nourish Network (TENN) is hosting a festive evening filled with cider, donuts, games, crafts and goodie bags.

All are welcome to join in the Halloween fun with 鲍鱼tv’s neighbors from the Princeton Street Block Club and Theresa Maxis on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in the Briggs Building, Room 101.

Transportation is available for community members.

Please email Chelsea Manning at mannincp@udmercy.edu with any questions.

鲍鱼tv will host a fall graduate program open house on Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 5-7 p.m. in the Fountain Lounge on the McNichols Campus.

Prospective students looking to earn their graduate degrees will receive an opportunity to learn more about UDM graduate programs currently available, including online and hybrid programs. Faculty and admissions staff will be on hand to provide information and answer all questions.

Prospective students can drop in to the open house at any time between 5-7 p.m. Light refreshments will also be available.听.

For additional information on UDM graduate programs, please contact Jennifer Goethals, associate director of Graduate Admissions, at听goethajm@udmercy.edu听or at 313-993-3309.

View a listing of all UDM graduate programs.

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. Flu, COVID and many more vaccines will be available. All are welcome.

CVS requires 40 participants to be registered ahead of time, otherwise the event will be canceled.

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

As UDM approaches its 150th anniversary in 2027, we have a chance to define a new future for the University and our entire community. One of the most critical elements of this future is a new brand, one that captures and encompasses the spirit, grit, faith, strength and pride that define 鲍鱼tv.

Today, UDM invites our alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents, neighbors and partners to help co-author this new brand. Working together, UDM is confident that we can develop a new brand that is authentic, inspiring and worthy of our Jesuit and Mercy mission.

In 2016, 鲍鱼tv launched the 鈥淏uild a Boundless Future鈥� brand. While this message captured the ambition and possibility that UDM offers, many felt it lacked the emotional resonance this University and our Northwest Detroit community deserved. Over time, feedback confirmed that this brand did not fully express what makes 鲍鱼tv distinctive.

For some, it was too abstract; for others, it didn鈥檛 reflect our history, mission or Detroit roots.

As we look ahead to 2027 and our 150th anniversary, we see the need for a brand that not only promotes 鲍鱼tv but embodies its essence: a Jesuit and Mercy institution shaped by grit, compassion, innovation, love of all people and faith.

To ensure that this effort is rooted in authenticity, 鲍鱼tv launched a three-phase process involving research, strategy and brand development.

Phase 1: Research and Insights
Working with partners such as Elevate Marketing Research, we studied how prospective students, parents, alumni and community members perceived 鲍鱼tv through several research studies over the past two years. We examined peer institutions, explored what drives prospective student and parent choices when looking at which school to attend, and identified the words and values that resonate most with those who encounter UDM.

Phase 2: Strategy and Engagement
Through sessions with students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, community leaders and board members, we asked hard questions: How do we see ourselves? What values define us? Which parts of our identity have been overlooked? These conversations challenged assumptions and revealed opportunities to more fully embrace our story. These conversations and sessions will soon continue during this academic year.

Phase 3: Brand Development and Testing
Next, UDM will collaborate with branding experts to translate these insights into creative concepts. These concepts will then be tested and refined with stakeholders鈥� feedback to ensure that the final brand is both emotionally resonant and forward-looking. And while this may help create a brand that everyone can get behind, we understand that not everyone may warm up to it from the start. It takes time for a brand to gain traction through action.

While the new brand is still being developed, one concept has already emerged as a helpful guide: 鈥淭itan Faith.鈥�

鈥淭itan Faith鈥� is not a tagline but a way of describing the courage, pride and hope that runs through our community. It reminds us of the faith we place in God, in one another and in the transcendent Jesuit and Mercy values of UDM. It speaks to our grit, compassion, truth, love, joy and boldness鈥攓ualities that 鲍鱼tv AND our city live out every day. This guiding principle will help point us toward a brand that is more than marketing. It is a shared identity we can feel, believe in and carry with pride.

With the ongoing strategy sessions lead by GreenHouse::Innovation and the extensive outputs from these sessions, UDM now has a treasure trove of insights that will help inform and shape UDM鈥檚 new brand.

The strongest and most enduring brands are co-authored by the people who live the ideals and values of an organization. In short, a new UDM brand requires your heartfelt voice.

Your perspective鈥攁s an alumnus, a student, a faculty or staff member, a parent, a neighbor or a supporter鈥攎atters deeply. Whether you have been part of the University for one year or 50, your experiences and reflections help define what 鲍鱼tv truly is.

Here are ways you can participate:

鈥� Be honest. Share what inspires pride in 鲍鱼tv and where you see opportunities for growth.
鈥� Join the conversation. Participate in listening sessions, focus groups and other engagement opportunities.
鈥� Complete the feedback form. This simple but powerful tool allows you to record your insights and ensures that your voice shapes the brand directly. Visit the rebrand webpage, scroll down the page to “Info On Branding” and click on the feedback form.
鈥� Follow updates through Campus Connection, alumni newsletters and other 鲍鱼tv channels as we move through this exciting process.

Branding for UDM is more than merely creating a new slogan or logo. It is about capturing the faith, mission and resilience of our University and neighborhood鈥攁nd projecting it to the world in a way that inspires.

As we prepare for our 150th anniversary, we need a brand that honors our past, reflects our present and propels us into the future. That brand must be created by all of us. Please help shape the next chapter of 鲍鱼tv. Take a few minutes today to share your perspective. Your insights will help us craft a brand that resonates deeply, sparks pride and stands as a foundation of faith and hope for generations to come.

Together, we will write a brand story that only 鲍鱼tv can tell.