President Spina Announces 2027 Retirement
Photo via University of Dayton website
Michael Oliss | News Editor
In a letter to the University of Dayton community, President Eric Spina announced he will retire in June 2027 after 11 years of service.
In his message, he said, “This is the best job I have ever held, and yet I know the time is right.”
He cited his family as a reason to step down and said the decision to retire came after months of prayer, reflection, and conversation. “The time is right,” Spina said. “For Karen and me. And for UD.”
Spina was announced to become the 19th president of the university in 2015, taking the position formally in July 2016. The Board of Trustees’ decision to elect Spina was unanimous.
Before arriving in Dayton, Spina earned a Ph.D. and master’s degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree with university honors in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. After his education, Spina remained in academia, spending nearly 30 years at Syracuse University. He retired from Syracuse as a Trustee professor, vice chancellor, and provost emeritus. Prior to seeking a permanent position in higher education’s upper echelon, Spina served as interim president of Syracuse in 2013, gaining valuable experience for his future position.
In his time at Dayton, Spina’s administration weathered a decade of turbulence — both in academia and in the world.
For one, the university is slowly shrinking in total students. According to financial records released by the university, UD had 11,368 enrolled students in 2015. Last fall, the total number of enrolled students was 9,713, a decline of about 15 percent over the last ten years.
A defining moment of Spina’s career had nothing to do with him: the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. That year, UD’s Men’s Basketball went 29-2 and the star, Obi Toppin, was chosen as the National Collegiate Player of the Year. The 2020 Flyers team was considered one of the favorites to win the national championship. Now, the greatest basketball team in UD’s history is considered one of the biggest cases of “what if” in March Madness history.
That was just the beginning of the troubles brought on by the pandemic. According to WDTN, UD had the worst outbreak of COVID-19 of any college in Ohio and one of the highest rates of infection in the nation. In August of 2020, as the height of the pandemic raged on, students and administrative officials clashed over whether to return to fully-remote work.
As the pandemic came to a rolling stop, a new controversy arose. In the 2024-2025 academic year, UD notified 45 professional faculty that their contracts would not be renewed for the next year. 20 staff positions were permanently cut. Some post-grad programs were suspended or removed. Spina shouldered much of the responsibility to speak with the media, staff, and students of a college in a state of confusion.
UD’s national image and prestige remain unsoured by local controversies. Jeffrey Selingo’s book, Dream School: Finding the College That’s Right for You, chose UD as one of 75 “dream schools” in America. UD was selected for its combination of “small-college attention with big-school resources.”
In his letter, Spina said he’d spend the next year ensuring a smooth transition for his successor, the 20th president of UD.
Last spring, Flyer News interviewed Spina on the budget cuts and the future of the university.
Flyer News interviewed Spina three days after his announcement and will release an article profiling his time as President of UD in the monthly edition.