Sports fans will appreciate the basketball memorabilia and milestones such as the opening and dedication of UD Arena.
We asked Henry Handley, assistant director of the Marian Library and Special Collections, to tell us what we can expect to see.
How are the exhibits arranged?
The 175th is in the Rose Gallery on the first floor of Roesch, and includes numerous cases with photos, documents and memorabilia in roughly chronological order.
The exhibit text and design carries over into the Marian Library on the seventh floor, which begins with a map of the first Marianists’ journey to Ohio, and continues chronologically through the gallery, with a feature on Marianist art on campus.
The third exhibit, “Mirror of Hope: 25 Years of Visual Storytelling" just down the hall in the Marian Library Crèche Museum celebrates the 25th anniversary of the artwork by exploring the artist Kevin Hanna’s design process and inspiration. It includes Nativities from the Crèche Collection that combine the Nativity with other stories in a similar way as “Mirror of Hope,” which was commissioned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of UD’s founding.
QUESTION: When you’re dealing with 175 years of history, how do you decide what to include?
Answer: We really began at the beginning: we looked around our collections to see what we had from the origins of UD in the 19th century, and what stories were connected to those materials and how they’ve shaped UD today. In “Forever Marianist,” this meant identifying Marianists who shaped UD as well as the broader history of the Marianists and UD’s place in it.
Q: Is everything on exhibit from the university’s collections or did you use outside loans or sources?
A: Most objects on display are from our collections. We worked with Marianist sisters on campus who shared a couple of items from their history, including a ceramic plaque from Marianist Brother Don Smith recognizing their 50th anniversary. Exhibit graphics have images from the Marianist US Province archive, including tickets for Father Leo Meyer’s passage from France to Ohio, where he founded the school that would become UD, as well as images of Marianists Rev. Leo Meyer and Brother Stan Mathews.
Q: What was the biggest challenge of putting these exhibits together?
A: One of the biggest challenges was covering so much history! After choosing images and objects that represent different periods, we had to think about storytelling for visitors in a 3D exhibit space.
Q: What are some of your favorite things in the exhibits and why?
A:
- There’s a beanie worn by a UD freshman in the 1950s.
- I really enjoy the photos. There are so many different perspectives on the institution but especially student life. It makes 175 years feel much more than a single narrative.
- Homecoming floats. There are some photos (given to the Marian Library by an alumna) of a Mary float in the 1950s. One is a portrait of a student in a white dress, holding giant rosary beads. It’s a great image and invokes Catholic practices around religious processions while also being part of homecoming and UD student life.
- A Chaminade plush toy. Although he never visited UD, William Joseph Chaminade has a presence on campus, and we wanted to demonstrate how the Marianist founder has been depicted and shaped how Marianists have been represented.
- Issues of “The Marianist Magazine" (later “Mary Today”) are a way into how Marianists at UD and beyond were responding to the times they lived in, and how they were communicating with a wider audience. With Brother Joseph Barrish as an art editor, the magazine was also an incubator for Marianist art.
- Both exhibits include materials from UD’s centennial in 1950, including the brochure “Making Leaders.” The world had faced some unprecedented times in UD’s first century, and the stories told about UD and Marianist education in commemoration have some familiar resonance as we’re celebrating 75 more years.
- “Mirror of Hope" is a treasure that tells the story of salvation with the Nativity at its center, including Mary in each of the New Testament scenes. The sculpture is 12 feet long, eight feet high, and includes over 200 individual ceramic figures. A favorite detail is the heavenly City on the Mount, which artist Kevin Hanna fashioned to resemble UD’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception.
Credit: SURYA DEIP REDDY KESARAM
Credit: SURYA DEIP REDDY KESARAM
- A small ceramic nativity set inside an apple makes connections between the forbidden fruit of Genesis and the Christmas story. Viewing Mary as the New Eve, their stories also intertwine in “Mirror of Hope."
- As for sports, two highlights are the UD men’s basketball team’s trophy and net from the 1962 National Invitation Tournament, and memorabilia from the 1969 opening of the UD Arena. There are also numerous photos and student news stories about UD sports over the years across the exhibit.
Q: In addition to those connected to US, who else will enjoy the exhibit?
A: Anyone interested in Dayton history would find something to enjoy--there are so many ways that UD has shaped Dayton, and Dayton has shaped UD, from business to the arts (and of course basketball). The “Mirror of Hope: 25 Years of Visual Storytelling” exhibit would also be a highlight for visitors interested in the Marian Library’s nativity collections.
Q: Why did you enjoy working on this exhibit?
A: I’ve always been curious about UD history, and my part in “Forever Marianist” was curating Marianist history, which I’ve written about in my scholarship. It was a great way to connect my everyday work in the Marian Library to the Marianists who have worked in the Marian Library and on campus over the years.
What do you hope visitors will take away from seeing the exhibit?
A: We hope visitors will get a sense of how life at UD has evolved and how UD has become a leader in Dayton, whether they’re an alum returning to campus or a first-time visitor.
HOW TO GO
What and when:
- "Honoring Our History: UD at 175," open 8 a.m.–8 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.–6 p.m. weekends, through Nov. 2
- “Forever Marianist: 175 Years of Marianist Presence at UD,” open 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday–Friday through Oct. 31 and 1–4 p.m. Sept. 27
- “Mirror of Hope: 25 Years of Visual Storytelling,” open 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday through Oct. 23, 2026, and 1–4 p.m. Sept. 27
Where: University of Dayton Roesch Library building, 300 College Park Drive, Dayton
Admission: Free
Parking info: If you are visiting on a weekday, a parking pass is required. For a free parking pass, drive through the main campus entrance on Stewart Street just east of Brown Street and follow the signs to visitor parking. Stop at the visitor center, and an attendant will issue a parking pass. The closest entrance to P Lot is the ground floor (Learning Teaching Center) entrance. B Lot is closest to the main entrance of Roesch Library. Parking passes are not required on weekends.
More info: udayton.edu/libraries/visit/events.php
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