The Fitz Center for Leadership in Community initiates and sustains partnerships with urban neighborhoods and larger communities for both comprehensive community building and as a context for connected learning and scholarship. The University of Dayton is a national leader in educating community builders through participation in community building partnerships. Teams of students, faculty, and Fitz Center staff are contributing to a network of community building partnerships throughout the region that enriches neighborhoods and communities and provides opportunities for connected learning.

Ferree Professor of Social Justice was created in honor of Marianist Provincial Fr. William Ferree in 2002 by the Cincinnati Province of the Society of Mary to continue and build on Fr. Ferree’s work and his approach to social justice. Bro. Raymond L. Fitz, S.M., Ph.D., assumed the role of Ferree Professor in 2002. Bro. Ray uses his Ferree Professorship as a channel through which he connects Catholic social teaching to regional community-building leadership issues.

Semester of Service (Fitz Center and Center for Social Concern) this program allows students to take a semester or summer off from full-time study to experience 450 hours of service in the Dayton community and grow through experiential learning, the creation of intentional community, and support from local agencies. The program aims to expand the personal worldview of participants and to empower them with experience and knowledge to become life-long advocates for social change. Semester of Service is funded by more than $100,000 of annual grants from foundations and the Marianists. Learn more about the Semester of Service.

Dayton Civic Scholars (Fitz Center) is to shape a "Social Science Excellence" identity within the social science classes by creating an intentional pathway from the classroom to community leadership and public service. It is our intent to enable up to 45 University of Dayton students to have high community impact as early as their junior year by preparing each 15-student cohort for meaningful civic leadership roles as students. This is a program of the College of Arts and Sciences initiated and supported by the social science departments. Learn more about the Dayton Civic Scholars.

Community-based Service Learning (Fitz Center) is facilitated by building relationships between University faculty and trusted community partners. Each semester, the Fitz Center enables dozens of students to learn through their service to neighborhoods, agencies, and community projects. These experiences must be mutually beneficial, so both learning requirements and project outcomes for the partner organization are essential. This aspect of the Fitz Center is funded by an annual grant from the Marianists.

Leadership in Building Community Seminar (Fitz Center, Political Science, Sociology, Public Administration) enrolls a mix of MPA graduate students and undergraduates from the disciplines of political science, sociology, communication, engineering, business administration, religious studies, education, criminal justice, and many others. This seminar takes UD students and places them within a City of Dayton neighborhood to understand the inner workings of local community leadership and local politics. Through lectures, tours, neighborhood meetings, a team project, and extensive reading, the seminar teaches the art of building community. Regardless of discipline, students find the seminar an eye-opening experience. The seminar is team-led by four instructors and two graduate students. Enrollment is limited to 24.

National Issues Forums (Fitz Center and Political Science) encourage students and faculty to discuss timely issues and weigh policy alternatives. The forums help participants move toward well-informed public judgments through deliberations. The deliberation that occurs at a National Issues Forum is organized around an issues booklet that participants use as a basis for discussion. The issues forums enable participants to learn and practice the arts of dialogue and deliberation. These are critical to building community in the Marianist tradition and are essential skills of citizen leaders.

Neighborhood School Centers (Fitz Center) The Fitz Center was selected in 2004 to design the concept and build the partnerships for five neighborhood school centers, a major initiative of The Dayton Foundation and the Dayton Public Schools. This initiative also strives to encourage parent and neighborhood participation in learning, increase program resources through community partnerships, and improve the neighborhoods surrounding the schools. Since utilization of community partnerships is essential to the success of the project, the Fitz Center is working to secure long-term relationships among public and private organizations for each neighborhood school center in order to assure the continuation of the project benefits beyond the life of any grants.

Fitz Center Scholarship, Applied Research, and Evaluation (Fitz Center) has focused on families in economic distress, young families, adolescent risk-taking, child maltreatment, and the interfaces between work, family, community, and religion. Since 2004, a former Director of the Center has authored more than a dozen publications in refereed journals concerning the work/family interface with support from the Fitz Center resources. She is currently writing a book for Lawrence Erlbaum Associates concerning work, family, and community. The Center has been actively involved in the development of effective human service programs to support fragile families and the design of new strategies for effective evaluation of social service programs. Much research has been focused on social service programs designed to ameliorate difficulties faced by families throughout the region; others have been designed to help young people postpone early parenthood through abstinence education and asset development. The Fitz Center has also been involved in the efforts of a number of social service agencies to reduce the chances of family violence, child maltreatment in general, and violence within the schools. Staff have worked closely on program development, grant writing, and evaluation for service providers such as Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, Services United for Mothers and Adolescents, Elizabeth’s New Life Center, Dayton Public Schools, and Montgomery County Children Services.

Family and Children First Research Division (Fitz Center) has had the lead responsibility for producing the Montgomery County Family and Children First Council’s hallmark publication – a series of annual Reports to the Community on Outcomes and Indicators. This effort has put Montgomery County in the forefront of communities attempting to implement “Results-Based Accountability.” FCFC has also provided support regarding issues as diverse as low birth weight, early childhood development, infants and toddlers at risk for – or with – developmental delays or disabilities, school readiness, child fatalities (with particular emphases on child suicides and layover deaths), juvenile sex offenders, teen pregnancy, and the needs of the frail elderly. The FCFC Research Division is housed within the Fitz Center to enable interaction with University students, faculty, and staff.

Family Development Minor (Fitz Center) increases understanding of the meaning and dynamics of marriage and parenthood in contemporary society. It examines the family as a major institution affecting society and surveys the individual, social, and economic problems found within families. This background contributes to preparation for careers in areas such as social work, psychology, education, communication, human ecology, and religious work.

CityLinks Neighborhood Conference (Fitz Center) features workshops that bring Dayton and Montgomery County citizens together to learn from national speakers and from one another ways to revitalize neighborhoods and nurture leadership at its roots. Vision, perseverance, and sweat are apt descriptions of the requirements of leading community-based organizations in community building and development strategies. Annual conferences throughout the past 20 years have stressed the importance of leadership development as a way of getting the next generation of community leaders engaged to tackle ongoing issues, e.g., liquor establishments, vacant properties, affordable housing, quality schools, crime, and neighborhood redevelopment. Learn more about CityLinks. 

Rubicon House (Fitz Center) is a community development initiative to revitalize the Rubicon Park district adjacent to the University of Dayton. The student staff mobilizes and supports University of Dayton faculty, staff and students, as well as area businesses, schools, and neighborhood associations, in building community and social capital, addressing difficult developmental issues and creating a neighborhood identity. Rubicon House serves as the meeting place for the planning of a healthy, vital community. The Rubicon House has served as a catalyst for various community initiatives and experiential learning opportunities in Rubicon Park. Strategic analyses of the business district, survey research focused on priority concerns of residents, education of school children and their families about lead paint, oral histories of long-time residents, classroom experience for future teachers, tutoring, and other service-learning opportunities have been supported by the Rubicon House at 1054 Brown Street. Learn more about Rubicon House.

Community Summit on Eliminating Racism (Fitz Center) is supported by a student assistant provided by the Fitz Center.

Anytown Youth Leadership Program (Fitz Center) Anytown is a camp program sponsored by the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). The program, designed for high school students, focuses on community improvement, the importance of acceptance, overcoming exclusion, and embracing diversity. The ultimate aim of Anytown is to prepare participants for leadership roles by encouraging them to discuss “isms” – racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, and other types of discrimination that restricts people and creates detrimental division in communities. The Fitz Center provides a graduate student assistant to support the program.

AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer (Fitz Center) is supported by the Ohio Campus Compact to link one of Dayton’s premier after-school programs, Adventure Central, to the neighborhood school centers being developed by the Fitz Center with Dayton Public Schools. The Fitz Center has supported three Vista volunteers to date, two of whom assisted with the development of the Semester of Service.

Genesis Project (Fitz Center) The Genesis Project is a partnership among the City of Dayton, the University of Dayton, Miami Valley Hospital, CityWide Development Corp., County Corp. and the Fairgrounds neighborhood. The project builds on neighborhood assets and ideas, with all partners supporting a vision of rebirth. Improving the physical environment is a substantial part of the plan. The Genesis Project has enabled home ownership to grow to 75 percent, 40 sub-standard houses to be demolished, and 34 homes to be built or rebuilt. The homes that result are targeted to people of moderate income levels of $25,000 to $40,000 a year. The Fitz Center works at the intersection of the University of Dayton and the community to help develop the community's assets while giving faculty, staff, and students opportunities to support neighborhoods and build communities.

Berry Scholars Leadership in Community Summer Program (Fitz Center and Berry Scholars) aims to prepare the incoming Berry Scholars, UD’s most competitive academic program, to be scholars and leaders during their first-year at UD. The theme, “Lead to Build Community,” encourages the 30 students to embrace their personal and group gifts and share them with the University. Focused on promoting the Marianist values of community and leadership, students are also introduced to the Marianist heritage of UD. Learn more about the Berry Scholars Program.

Berry Scholars River Stewardship Summer Service Program (Fitz Center and Berry Scholars) is a partnership among the Berry Scholars, Fitz Center, Five Rivers MetroParks and the Miami Conservancy District. The program fulfills a requirement for Berry Scholars to participate in a service project before they graduate, while offering students an in-depth view of a critical local issue. Berry Scholars spend a week exploring “River Stewardship and Global Responsibilities,” an interdisciplinary look at the environmental, historic, economic, and social issues related to the Great Miami River Watershed. They also complete a semester-long project to return value to the partners. Learn more about the Berry Scholars Program.

DECA Community Outreach Center (Fitz Center) involves one of the first institutions of its kind in the United States and the first early college high school in Ohio organized by the University of Dayton and Dayton Public Schools to maximize each student’s unique potential through a personalized, accelerated academic program. It addresses a critical need in urban public schools to help students — particularly those underrepresented in higher education — to explore their personal and intellectual potential, achieve academic success, and make a seamless transition from high school to college. The Fitz Center supports the Community Outreach function by providing a student assistant to assist with placement of interns in the community.

Predatory Lending Alternative (Fitz Center and School of Business Administration) created a partnership with credit union executives to address the growing problem of people falling into debt due in part to payday loans. UD students researched possible solutions and, together with the credit unions, came up with a pilot program. Several area credit unions now offer an alternative sub prime loan.

Earned Income Tax Credit Promotion (Fitz Center and School of Business Administration) is a coalition that includes the IRS, local business, human services and community leaders, and the Fitz Center to encourage Dayton residents to take advantage of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a federal tax benefit to help low-income workers increase their financial stability. It is the nation’s largest anti-poverty program, and it helps working families maintain their independence from the welfare system.

Kids Voting (Fitz Center, Political Science, Public Administration, Philosophy) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that operates nationwide to educate students in grades K-12 about the democratic process and the importance of voting. The ultimate goal of the program is to produce good citizenship by encouraging children to become informed, lifelong voters. The Fitz Center coordinates the efforts of the UD volunteers. All classroom volunteers complete a training session conducted by Kids Voting staff on the UD campus.

Neighborhood Asset Mapping (Fitz Center) is a technique taught by the Fitz Center staff to neighborhood associations, University students, elementary school children, and others to appreciate the resources of individuals, associations, and institutions present in every community. Through one-hour experiences in identifying and organizing assets, participants learn to recognize assets as well as needs.

Neighborhood GIS Mapping (Fitz Center and Geology) involves extensive use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in partnership with the Department of Geology to support social science courses and to add new applied course to curriculum for non-science students. This technique enhances the University’s ability to document assets and needs, to contribute to neighborhood planning, and to build community through the power of the picture.

April 2005