The University of Dayton (UD) is an American private Roman Catholic national research university in Ohio's sixth-largest city, Dayton.

Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the largest private university in Ohio.

The university's campus is located in the city's southern portion and spans 388 acres on both sides of the Great Miami River.

The campus is noted for the Immaculate Conception Chapel and the University of Dayton Arena.

The University also operates, in China's Suzhou Industrial Park, the University of Dayton China Institute.

A research university is a university that expects all its tenured and tenure-track faculty to continuously engage in research, as opposed to merely requiring it as a condition of an initial appointment or tenure.

Such universities can be recognized by their strong focus on innovative research and the prestige of their brand names.

On the one hand, research universities strive to recruit faculty who are the most brilliant minds in their disciplines in the world, and their students enjoy the opportunity to learn from such experts.

On the other hand, new students are often disappointed to realize their undergraduate courses at research universities are overly academic and fail to provide vocational training with immediate "real world" applications; but many employers value degrees from research universities because they know that such coursework develops fundamental skills like critical thinking.

Catholicism (from Greek, ', "universal doctrine") is a term which in its broadest sense refers to the beliefs and practices of Christian churches that understand and describe themselves as being Catholic within the universal and apostolic church.

Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.

The literature debates various viewpoints: contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, and also (within the West) US vs.

European approaches.

US academic environments define leadership as "a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task".

Leadership seen from a European and non-academic perspective encompasses a view of a leader who can be moved not only by communitarian goals but also by the search for personal power.

Community service is a non-paying job performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions.

Performing community service is not the same as volunteering, since it is not always performed on a voluntary basis.

It may be performed for a variety of reasons: