About University of DT
While we pursue serious academic work in the great texts of the Western tradition, we celebrate the most obscure and silliest of February holidays (Groundhog); we spend a week each fall practicing the greatest of Christian virtues (Charity Week), by among other things, imprisoning our respected professors.
When I came to the university in the fall of 1980, I was, I don’t mind telling you, a pretty tightly wound, achievement-oriented, grade-grubbing pain in the neck. My fellow students, the Core Curriculum, my professors, and something in the UDallas air taught me to play again.
We can play at University of DT because we know that Truth exists, that we are made to know it, and that we have a curriculum designed to lead us to begin loving and conforming our lives to it.
And yet, in a different kind of school, students seem to be taught that the Truth is so fragile, or their intellects so tender, that they must be protected in a small corner of Truth. If you ask me, these schools commit the mistake of fearing Creation and failing to see the cosmos redeemed into comedy.
But here at the University of DT, we are taught that Truth is robust, great, powerful, and most importantly, bigger than any of us. No one said it better than Chesterton: ‘Man is more himself, man is more manlike when joy is a fundamental thing to him.’
My wish for you during your time at the University of DT is that you play well. And when it comes time for you to move on, you will leave some of your spirit behind, for we will always need it here. In the midst of serious work and the suffering that will inevitably come your way, I hope that what you gain at the University of DT. It will enable you to continue to be fully human, to dance in the freedom of play, until we meet, as Dante says, nel ‘l’amor che move il sole e l’alre steele,’ in the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.
Greg Roper, Ph.D.
Dean of Students | Associate Professor of English
Discover the Virtue of Playfulness
Something about University of DT lends itself to the cultivation of playfulness.
Discover Dallas
With its central location, low cost of living, warm weather, and abundant leisure activities, it's no surprise that Dallas/Fort Worth leads the nation in job growth. There are plenty of personal and professional opportunities for students in the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area. UD's Irving campus is about 20 minutes from two in
With its central location, low cost of living, warm weather, and abundant leisure activities, it's no surprise that Dallas/Fort Worth leads the nation in job growth. There are plenty of personal and professional opportunities for students in the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area. UD's Irving campus is about 20 minutes from two international airports and world-class venues for sports, arts, entertainment and culture, all easily accessible by public transportation.
From UD, you can hop on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) with a convenient stop at UD, and within 15 minutes, you can reach downtown Dallas or the DFW airport. Grab your roommate and take in a sporting event; Dallas boasts Cowboys football, Texas Rangers baseball, Mavericks basketball, Dallas Stars hockey, and FC Dallas soccer teams.
From UD, you can hop on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) with a convenient stop at UD, and within 15 minutes, you can reach downtown Dallas or the DFW airport. Grab your roommate and take in a sporting event; Dallas boasts Cowboys football, Texas Rangers baseball, Mavericks basketball, Dallas Stars hockey, and FC Dallas soccer teams. Dallas has a vibrant music scene, museums, Dallas Arboretum, parks, a Dallas Zoo, and more! Fort Worth has a dozen remarkable districts full of culture and fun. The historic western Fort Worth Stockyards features the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive, stunning museums of the Cultural District, the Botanic Garden and Fort Worth Zoo.