The University of Detroit Mercy Alumni Office is partnering with Publishing Concepts Inc. (PCI) to create an oral history project called “Titan Tales.”
This voluntary project allows alumni to share their most memorable experiences from their time at UDM. It also allows the University to hear alumni’s anecdotes about late-night study sessions, transformative lectures and memorable events that brought the campus community together.
Peggy Pattison, UDM’s Director of Alumni Relations, has played a key role in the project.
“This is an 18-month project in partnership with PCI company,” Pattison said. “Our alumni were notified by email and regular mail and given the opportunity to share their favorite memories and stories about their time at Detroit Mercy.”
That’s not all they were asked for.
“Along with the story collection, we asked the respondents to provide updated contact information for both their home and business information,” she said.
The project was started in March 2024 and is expected to be released sometime by the end of the year. During this time, PCI collects stories from UDM alumni that volunteered and preserves these stories in a book.
“The advancement team decided to move forward with the project because of information we would be able to collect both in alumni stories and in contact information to update our database,” Pattison said.
According to UDM’s website, this book aims to celebrate the impact and importance that UDM has on students’ lives and who they are today. These events will foster a sense of connection among graduates and provide an opportunity for networking, mentorship and collaboration.
This project means a lot to the University and the alumni who participated. UDM has a large part in who students are today, especially the alumni.
“The Detroit Mercy alumni are proud of their association with their alma mater, and this project is an opportunity to share with everyone what Detroit Mercy means to them,” Pattison said.
She added that it provides an opportunity to communicate beyond graduation.
“It is a chance to express how their time at the University transformed their lives and set them on a course for future success,” she said.
The final product of the collection will be the production of a coffee table style book which will include the collection of stories and personal pictures provided by the alumni.
Though the project will be finished in 2024, the alumni who purchased the book should receive them in the mail by March 2025.
However, it is not up for sale to the general public and will not be available to people who do not have stories in the book.
Overall, this project means a lot to the University and the alumni who participated. This book will hold the memories of these alumni’s college experience and how UDM shaped them.
The alumni relations office and PCI have been working extremely hard to make this possible and to allow these participants to relive some of their favorite memories.
According to Detroit Mercy’s website, PCI is a family-owned business that is located in Dallas, Texas. PCI has published directories for educational institutions, fraternities, sororities and military organizations.
