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Notre Dame reaches No. 10 on Peace Corps’ college rankings

2012-02-01T08:00:00-05:00

For the twelfth year in a row, the University of Notre Dame has placed on the Peace Corps’ list of top universities nationwide producing Peace Corps volunteers, and its rank is steadily rising.

This year, with 35 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, Notre Dame moves up to the No. 10 spot among medium-sized universities (with between 5,001 and 15,000 undergraduates), from last year’s No. 18 ranking with 25 volunteers in service. In 2011, Notre Dame moved up to No. 18 from the 2010 No. 23 spot. Since Peace Corps was founded in 1961, 858 Notre Dame alumni have served in Peace Corps.

“Colleges and universities prepare thousands of talented undergraduate and graduate alumni for Peace Corps service every year,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams (Dominican Republic, 1967-70). “These alumni go on to serve as Peace Corps volunteers, applying the skills and knowledge they acquired during their studies to promote world peace and friendship and improve the lives of people around the world. Every day, volunteers make countless contributions to projects in agriculture, education, the environment, health and HIV/AIDS education and prevention, small business development, and youth development.”

Michael Hebbeler, director of student leadership and senior transitions for Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, said, “We are extremely grateful for our continued partnership with the Peace Corps. This ranking reflects the formation of our undergraduate students as they learn and develop in a classroom that extends well into the community. These experiences often deepen their desire to serve the common good for justice, and the Peace Corps provides incredible opportunities for our students to live out the mission of our university beyond graduation and across the globe.”

This past fall, in commemoration of the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary, Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet visited campus to pay special tribute to Notre Dame and to University President Emeritus Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh. C.S.C., for his significant role in Peace Corps history. Father Hesburgh worked closely with President John F. Kennedy, the Peace Corps’ first director Sargent Shriver and associate director Harris Wofford in its development and invited the first Peace Corps volunteers to train on campus before traveling to assignments in Chile. He continued to mentor and advise these early volunteers throughout their service.

In 2010, Notre Dame introduced a new Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows graduate program in the area of nonprofit administration within the Mendoza College of Business. This unique graduate program offers Peace Corps volunteers who have completed their service the opportunity to attend Notre Dame to earn an advanced degree (master of nonprofit administration), with financial assistance and the chance to use their knowledge and skills in community internships as part of the program’s requirements.

Peace Corps recruiter Rok Teasley, who served in Moldova, will participate in the Winter Career and Internship Fair on Wednesday (Feb. 1) from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Joyce Center Field House at Notre Dame, and will host a public Peace Corps Information Session on Thursday (Feb. 2) at 7 p.m. in the Don McNeill Library, of the Center for Social Concerns. Teasley will hold office hours for walk-ins on Feb. 2 between 9 and 11 a.m., and again from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Don McNeill Library.

Teasley can be reached at the Chicago Regional Peace Corps Office at 800-424-8580, Option 1, or rteasley@peacecorps.gov.

About the Peace Corps:
Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served in 139 host countries. Today, 9,095 volunteers are working with local communities in 75 host countries. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age, but there is no upper age limit to serve. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment, including three months of comprehensive culture, language, program, and safety and security training. The agency’s mission is to promote world peace and friendship and a better understanding between Americans and people of other countries. Visit www.peacecorps.gov for more information.

Contact: John M. Guimond, director, communications, Center for Social Concerns John.Guimond.2@nd.edu, 574-631-3209

Originally published by John Guimond at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 31, 2012.

Father Jenkins and students, faculty and staff attend March for Life

2012-01-24T17:00:00-05:00

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, was among some 350 Notre Dame students, faculty and staff who traveled to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 23 to take part in the March for Life.

The annual march, which marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, has drawn increasing numbers of people over the years, and this year, the 39th anniversary of the decision, tens of thousands of marchers braved raw temeratures and intermittent rain to participate.

The Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture Fund to Protect Human Life provided funds to defray the cost of the buses and to offer $250 travel grants to some of the students who made the 15-hour trip to the nation’s capital.

The Notre Dame Alumni Association and the Notre Dame Club of Washington, D.C., hosted a “Notre Dame Reception for Life” for the Notre Dame march participants at a Washington restaurant on Sunday evening.

On Monday morning at Saint Agnes Catholic Church in Alexandria, Va., Father Jenkins presided at a Mass for the Notre Dame contingent before joining them on the National Mall for a noon “Rally for Life,” followed by a march along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court Building.

“Notre Dame assuredly has one of the largest contingents here from any college or university in the country,” according to Rev. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C., professor of history and president of Notre Dame’s chapter of University Faculty for Life. “This not only reflects the willingness of these faculty to demonstrate their own commitment to the cause of life but also indicates the desire of faculty and staff to march with and support our marvelous pro-life students. Together we are making clear Notre Dame’s commitment to defend human life at every stage and forcefully stating Notre Dame’s unambiguous position on the great civil rights issue of our time.”

The afternoon of the march on the Notre Dame campus, the Alumni Association hosted a “Sanctity for Life” prayer service in solidarity with the Notre Dame marchers. Some 50 students, faculty and staff members gathered for prayer in the Log Chapel followed by a procession to the Grotto, where they recited prayers for the protection of human life submitted by members of the extended Notre Dame family to the alumni association website at http://mynotredame.nd.edu/sanctityoflife.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 24, 2012.

Notre Dame dedicates Conway Hall in London

2012-01-23T17:00:00-05:00

A blessing and dedication ceremony for Conway Hall, the University of Notre Dame’s new residence hall for students studying abroad in London, took place Friday (January 20).

After undergoing a complete façade restoration and interior renovation, Conway Hall opened in August 2011, welcoming students more than four months ahead of schedule.

The new hall is named in honor of Robert and Ricki Conway. Mr. Conway has been a member of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees since 1990 and former chair of the academic affairs committee of the Board. A longstanding London resident, he currently serves as senior director of Goldman Sachs in London. Conway is a 1966 Notre Dame alumnus and received his master of business administration degree from the University of Chicago and a master of arts degree from Belgium’s Louvain University. He received an honorary doctoral degree from Notre Dame in 2005.

A member of Notre Dame’s Ireland Advisory Council since 1996 and the Performing Arts Advisory Council since 2002, Conway and his wife also have endowed the directorship of Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute and have provided funding for an innovative exchange program for Medieval Institute faculty with University of Oxford, as well as funding for Medieval conferences at the Notre Dame London Center.

Located in the heart of London’s South Bank cultural center, Conway Hall is directly across from Waterloo Station, two blocks south of the River Thames and adjacent to Kings College, London. The new residence is a 15-minute walk to the London Centre, the academic hub of Notre Dame’s London Program on Trafalgar Square.

Built in 1823 and originally used as an infirmary for indigent children, the five-story building, once known at the Royal Waterloo House, offers nearly 50,000 square feet of living space and contains a chapel, six common rooms, study space, laundry room and luggage storage. It is designed to strike a balance between experiencing the marvels of living abroad in London and building a sense of community for the program participant, with students living in “cluster flats,” with four to eight students per flat.

Conway Hall accommodates 268 students, two rectors and a facility manager. Of those 268 students residing in the building, 130 are Notre Dame undergraduates and 22 are Notre Dame law students. The excess space is being used by other universities through a partnership with Anglo American.

“Notre Dame has had a presence in London since 1968, when our first students came here to study law. Since that time, we have been able to expand our international presence here, enabling the Colleges of Arts and Letters, Business Administration, and Engineering to develop their own programs in London as well. Now, thanks to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Conway and others who have made Conway Hall a reality, we dedicate the largest international residence building for the flagship program of an ambitious international agenda,” said Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. at the dedication in London.

Friday’s ceremony included an invocation and remarks by Father Jenkins, and remarks by Professor Greg Kucich, director of the London Undergraduate Program; Notre Dame’s Vice President and Associate Provost J. Nicholas Entrikin; Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies Scott Appleby; a presentation by a student panel from the London Undergraduate Program; and a keynote address given by Professor Sir Richard Trainor, K.B.E., principal and president of King’s College, London.

Originally published by Susan Guibert at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 23, 2012.

Mass of Remembrance to be held Feb. 6 at Notre Dame for Sister Jean Lenz, O.S.F.

2012-01-23T14:00:00-05:00

A Mass of Remembrance will be held at the University of Notre Dame on Feb. 6 (Monday) in memory of Sister Jean Lenz, O.S.F., former assistant vice president for student affairs at the University. Sister Lenz died Jan. 21 at Our Lady of the Angels Retirement Home in Joliet, Ill., after a long illness. She was 81 years old.

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president, will preside at the Mass, which will begin at 5:15 p.m. in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus.

Visitation will be held Wednesday (Jan. 25) from 2 to 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Angels Retirement Home, 1201 Wyoming Ave., Joliet, Ill., followed by a funeral Mass at 7 p.m. Burial will be Thursday (Jan. 26) at 9 a.m. in Resurrection Cemetery, 200 W. Romeo Rd., Romeoville, Ill.

A Chicago native and a Franciscan sister of the Congregation of the Third Order of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, Sister Lenz, who earned a master’s degree from Notre Dame in 1967, was among the first women rectors on campus following the University’s transition to coeducation in 1972 after 130 years as an all-male institution.

As an administrator, teacher, mentor and alumna of the University, Sister Jean shaped and shared the experience of its first generation of women. “When I first came to campus, I had planned to assist Notre Dame’s first women for a year or two,” she said when she retired three years ago. “I’m surprised, delighted and grateful that those years turned into 36 years of wonderful ministry.”

Read full obituary

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 22, 2012.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to deliver Hesburgh Lecture

2012-01-23T13:00:00-05:00

Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel laureate in economics, will deliver the 18th annual Hesburgh Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy April 17 (Tuesday) at 5:30 p.m. in the Leighton Concert Hall of the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Sen is best known for his commitment to addressing the challenges facing the world’s poorest people.

“Professor Sen has spent a lifetime fighting poverty through research, analysis, and advocacy of human development informed by what the Nobel committee called ‘the ethical dimension,’” said Scott Appleby, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

The Kroc Institute established the Hesburgh lectures in 1995 in honor of the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of Notre Dame and a global champion of peace and justice.

“Of special interest to Notre Dame is Sen’s vision of how poverty, violence, corruption, denial of human rights, and ethnic, religious and gender discrimination reinforce one another,” Appleby said. “His pragmatic, culturally nuanced, ‘from the ground up’ approach resonates with Catholic Social Teaching and with the Kroc Institute’s emphasis on peacebuilding that begins with local communities and strategically builds national and transnational partnerships for peace.”

One of Sen’s best known works, “Development as Freedom,” (1999) argues that people cannot lift themselves out of poverty unless they have political freedom, civil rights, economic opportunities, access to health care and education and “protective security,” including unemployment benefits, famine relief and emergency aid. In a highly influential essay published in 1990 in The New York Review of Books and expanded upon in his subsequent academic work, Sen estimated that more than 100 million Asian women were “missing” — eliminated through sex-selective abortion, infanticide or inadequate nutrition during infancy.

In recent years, Sen has turned his attention to questions of justice and peace and their relationship to his approach to development. His 2006 book “Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny” explores the complex interaction of plural identities and inter-group violence. In 2009, he published “The Idea of Justice,” where he develops a theory of justice that seeks to be relevant to practical concerns.

Sen is the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, a Distinguished Fellow of All Souls College, and a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security. In 2010, Time magazine listed Sen as one of the “100 most influential persons in the world,” and the New Statesman listed him as one of the “World’s 50 Most Influential People Who Matter.” He holds more than 90 honorary degrees from universities around the world, and his books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Also on April 17, Sen will receive the Notre Dame Award for International Human Development and Solidarity, bestowed by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies’ Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity.

The Hesburgh lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and will be available from the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center beginning March 1.

Past Hesburgh Lecturers have included:

• Francis Deng (2011), special advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
• Martha Minow (2010), The Dean and Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor, Harvard Law School
• Shirin Ebadi (2009), 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, lawyer and human rights advocate in Iran
• Rev. Bryan Hehir (2008), Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government
• Shashi Tharoor (2007), author and former under-secretary-general, United Nations
• Mary Kaldor (2006), professor of global governance and director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics
• Congressman Lee Hamilton (2005), former vice-chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks and former chairman/ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Kenneth Roth (2004), executive director, Human Rights Watch
• Michael Walzer (2003), professor emeritus, School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University
• Freeman Dyson (2002), professor emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University
• Anthony Lake (2001), Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, and former assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
• Saskia Sassen (2000), professor of sociology and the Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University
• Martha Nussbaum (1999), Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago Law School
• Michael Ignatieff (1998), member of Canadian Parliament and former director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights and Policy, Harvard University
• Richard Falk (1997), Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University
• Jean Bethke Elshtain (1996), Laura Spellman Rockefeller Professor of Social Political Ethics, University of Chicago Divinity School
• Stanley Hoffmann (1995), Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser University Professor, Harvard University

Originally published by Joan Fallon at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 23, 2012.

Martin Luther King Jr. Series for the Study of Race to begin Jan. 25

2012-01-16T14:00:00-05:00

The University of Notre Dame’s 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Series for the Study of Race will feature four consecutive Wednesday night discussions led by prominent athletes, coaches, university athletic directors and sports scholars.

All the conference discussions, collectively entitled “Playing with Fire: Race and Sport in American Culture,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Legends nightclub each Wednesday night from Jan. 25 through Feb. 15. The series is open to the public.

Now in its third year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Series is hosted by the University’s Multicultural Student Programs and Services to encourage conversation and scholarship about the historical, cultural and psychological impact of race in social life in America and at Notre Dame.

On Jan. 25, the discussion leaders will be Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, former Notre Dame All-American and professional football player; Dwight “Doc” Gooden, former major league pitcher; and Briann January, former Arizona State University and current WNBA Indiana Fever basketball player.

On Feb.1, the discussion leader will be Jay Alexander, head coach of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles baseball team.

On Feb. 8, the discussion leaders will be David Williams, vice chancellor for university affairs and athletics, at Vanderbilt University; Ingrid Wicker-McCree, director of athletics at North Carolina Central University; and Kathy Beauregard, director of athletics at Western Michigan University.

On Feb. 15, the discussion leaders will be Pam Oliver, Fox Sports reporter; Dr. Richard Lapchick, director of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports and of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports; and Earl Smith, professor of sociology and director of the American Ethnic Studies Program at Wake Forest University.

Contact: Tobias Blake, 574-631-8503, tblake@nd.edu

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on January 16, 2012.

2011: The Year in Review

2011-12-26T12:00:00-05:00

The calendar year 2011 was filled with numerous moments of accomplishment, celebration and reflection at the University of Notre Dame. Here are some of the highlights.

ACADEMICS

For the second consecutive year, the Mendoza College of Business was ranked No. 1 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 6th annual survey of “Best Undergraduate Business Schools.” The College also garnered the No. 1 spot in ethics, the No. 2 spot in sustainability and top 10 spots in nine other categories, becoming the most decorated school in the survey. The MBA program also won accolades from the Aspen Institute, ranking No. 4 in the world for ethics and social impact.

The 2011-12 Notre Dame Forum, “Reimagining School: To Nurture the Soul of a Nation,” brought to campus prominent speakers including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The year-long discussion of the profound and challenging questions that shape the national debate about K-12 education will continue with more events planned for the spring.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates urged the class of 2011 to continue Notre Dame’s rich tradition and strong commitment to public service at the 166th University Commencement Cermony on May 22. Edward A. Larkin, a biological sciences major from East Lansing, Mich., delivered the valedictory address and the Laetare Medal was awarded to Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., and Joan McConnon, co-founders of Project H.O.M.E., an organization devoted to ending homelessness in Philadelphia.

Notre Dame continued its record success in National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships with two professors, historian Thomas F.X. Noble and theologian Eugene Ulrich, becoming the latest faculty members to receive the honor. Notre Dame has been awarded 44 NEH fellowships between 1999 and 2011—more than any other university in the country.

Ten faculty members were named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in honor of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The AAAS is the world’s largest scientific society and publishes the prestigious journal Science.

RESEARCH

Construction began in October on a new nuclear accelerator in Notre Dame’s Nuclear Science Laboratory (NSL). The first accelerator the National Science Foundation has funded in nuclear physics in nearly a quarter century, the machine represents a major equipment upgrade for the University and is expected to be completed in January 2012.

Breakthrough research on Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) was published by Notre Dame and Cornell scientists in March. NPC is an inherited cholesterol metabolism disorder that strikes one in every 150,000 children. It has been referred to by the National Institutes of Health as “childhood Alzheimer’s” because of similarities in the brains of NPC and Alzheimer’s disease patients. There currently is no treatment available in the U.S.

Notre Dame astronomer David Bennett co-authored a paper describing the discovery of a new class of planets — dark, isolated Jupiter-mass bodies floating alone in space, far from any host star. This discovery not only confirms that free-floating planets exist in space, but also indicates that they are quite common.

Some of the world’s leading scholars across a variety of relevant disciplines visited the University for a week-long Workshop on Adult and Non-embryonic Stem Cell Research, held on campus in July. Notre Dame faculty members Carter Snead and Phillip Sloan led the workshop and hosted the week’s public events, which are part of a University-wide effort to develop a center for high-level interdisciplinary work on the various dimensions of human developmental biology.

Former Notre Dame head football coach Lou Holtz is once again taking a leadership role at the University – this time in an arena outside of athletics. He and his wife, Beth, are serving as Notre Dame’s first ambassadors for research by taking a prominent role in increasing awareness of the University’s mission to pursue research that aims to heal, unify and enlighten a world deeply in need.

COMMUNITY

The University was selected as one of 115 institutions in higher education to receive the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. The classification, designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizes “the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.”

The Robinson Community Learning Center celebrated its tenth year of service to the Northeast Neighborhood. “The Robinson Community Learning Center has been a bright light in the community for a decade, and Notre Dame remains committed to the educational opportunities offered there,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. “I’m confident the next 10 years will continue the momentum for the center’s students and their families.”

Law School faculty member Michael Jenuwine received the 2011 Rodney F. Ganey, Ph.D. Faculty Community-Based Research Award for his research into Indiana’s guardianship laws. Working closely with the Indiana Adult Guardianship State Taskforce, Jenuwine helped to design and implement investigations aimed toward the ultimate goal of improving guardianship laws for the state of Indiana.

Notre Dame was selected as a finalist by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll as one of six institutions in higher education with an outstanding commitment to general community service. The Honor Roll is released annually by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Hundreds of institutions are listed, but Notre Dame is among only 17 to receive special recognition.

CAMPUS NEWS

The University established a scholarship fund in memory of Declan Sullivan, the Notre Dame junior who died on Oct. 27, 2010 when the aerial lift on which he was videotaping football practice fell in high winds. In conjunction with the one-year anniversary of Sullivan’s death, Father Jenkins invited members of the Notre Dame family to contribute to the scholarship fund and/or to the Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial Fund that has been established by the Sullivan family.

In April, Notre Dame released a comprehensive report containing the findings of a nearly six-month investigation into the accident that took Sullivan’s life. The report included eight recommendations, all accepted by Father Jenkins, to improve the safe use of elevated scissor lifts and general safety on campus. In addition, the University installed a remote video system for the Notre Dame football practice fields that will eliminate the need for elevated scissor lifts in those locations, and launched a national awareness campaign aimed at improving aerial lift safety.

A dedication ceremony for Harper Hall, the new home of the Mike and Josie Harper Research Institute, a novel collaboration between Notre Dame and the Indiana University School of Medicine, was held in March. Carole Sandner Hall was dedicated in September and will house the Alliance for Catholic Education and Institute for Educational Initiatives. October saw the opening of the Compton Family Ice Arena, which is not only the new home for Notre Dame Hockey, but also serves the Notre Dame and South Bend community as a place for the Irish Youth Hockey League and local figure skating groups.

Notre Dame became the first university without the powerful gift-giving attraction of a medical school to surpass $2 billion in a traditional seven-year capital campaign. Titled the “Spirit of Notre Dame,” the campaign raised $2.014 billion in the seven-year span that ended June 30 – 134 percent of the $1.5 billion goal. The fund-raising effort also was the largest in the history of Catholic higher education, surpassing the $1.061 billion raised in the University’s “Generations” campaign that ended in December 2000.

“The Word of Life” mural on the Hesburgh Library (known to many as “Touchdown Jesus”) underwent preventive maintenance this summer and fall. The stones from the 134 feet high and 68 feet wide mural were washed with water and a light detergent and the elastic urethane adhesive in the stone seams was replaced.

For the third consecutive year, Notre Dame received honor roll distinctions as one of the top 10 higher education workplaces in the country in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual “Great Colleges to Work For” survey.

For the first time since 2000, the University was closed on Feb. 2 due to severe winter weather.

SUSTAINABILITY

Two new buildings on the Notre Dame campus were LEED certified by the United States Green Building Council. Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center received LEED Gold certification and Innovation Park at Notre Dame achieved LEED Silver certification.

The University received a STARS Silver Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, is a new program that measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.

Entrepreneur magazine ranked the Notre Dame MBA program as one of the best in the country for MBA students seeking careers in “green” industries. The program was honored for its sustainability courses focused on topics such as “greening” the supply chain and improving environmental accounting.

In December, Father Jenkins signed the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor, making Notre Dame a partner in a national movement to respond to Pope Benedict’s and the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ call for faithful action on climate change.

The Hesburgh Library is shining a little more brightly these days thanks to new LED lights installed in May to illuminate the “Word of Life” mural on the south side of the building. The lights replaced the old mercury vapor fixtures that previously illuminated the 134-foot tall mural.

ADMINISTRATION

Father Jenkins received a number of honors and appointments in 2011, including being named to a national commission that will examine how to bolster teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences, and election to the board of directors of the Commission on Presidential Debates, the non-partisan, non-profit organization that has sponsored and produced all U.S. presidential and vice presidential debates since 1988.

Notre Dame vice president and chief investment officer Scott C. Malpass was named Large Endowment Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor magazine. The award recognizes U.S. institutional advisors whose “innovative strategies and fiduciary savvy resulted in impressive returns” over the past year.

Carolyn Y. Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business, announced in June she will leave the University at the start of 2012 to serve as president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services. During her tenure as dean, the college has received top rankings for its undergraduate business, MBA, EMBA and Master of Science in Accountancy programs, as well as business ethics and accountancy.

ATHLETICS

Eighteen of 22 Notre Dame athletics programs compiled graduation rates of 100 percent, and none were below 93 percent, according to the seventh year of Graduation Success Rate measurements developed by the NCAA and released in October. In addition, five Notre Dame student-athletes received Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors during the 2010-11 academic year, helping the Irish stay among the leaders in the nation in honorees.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team made it to the NCAA Divison I championship game, falling to Texas A&M in a 76-70 thriller. Head coach Muffett McGraw was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame during a gala ceremony in Knoxville, Tenn., in June.

The Notre Dame fencing team claimed its eighth NCAA National Championship in March.

Irish Hockey made its second trip to the Frozen Four in April, ending a stellar season with a 4-3 defeat against Minnesota-Duluth.

Notre Dame once again took the football weekend experience on the road, traveling to Washington D.C. for a home-away-from-home game against Maryland in FedEx Stadium. The Irish football team ended the season with a 8-4 record and earned an invitation to the Dec. 29 Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State.

The Notre Dame Band was presented with the Sudler Trophy — considered the Heisman trophy of college bands — at halftime of the Notre Dame vs. Air Force game on Oct. 8 in Notre Dame Stadium.

FAITH & SERVICE

The Notre Dame community gathered in prayer to observe the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks. A Mass of remembrance for the victims was held on Sept. 11 on the Hesburgh Library Mall.

On July 1, an historic union officially took effect when the former Eastern Province of Priests and Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross merged into the Indiana Province to form the new United States Province of Priests and Brothers. The merger was approved at the Congregation of Holy Cross’ general chapter meeting in Rome in the summer of 2010. The Congregation of Holy Cross is Notre Dame’s founding order.

Notre Dame welcomed a number of high-ranking Church leaders to campus, including Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles, who spent a month at the University to discuss the reform of the nation’s immigration policy; and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, who inaugurated the University’s Project on Human Dignity in November with a lecture entitled “Modern Questions, Ancient Answers: Defining and Defending Human Dignity in Our Time."

Notre Dame alumni volunteers to the Peace Corps were recognized for their service in campus events commemorating the organization’s 50th Anniversary during an October weekend. For the 11th year in a row, the University also was ranked among the nation’s top 25 medium-sized universities (those with undergraduate enrollments between 5,000 and 15,000) producing Peace Corps volunteers.

Originally published by Julie Hail Flory and Paul Murphy at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 22, 2011.

Amazement at the Grotto

2011-12-22T12:00:00-05:00

It appears early each Advent season, the massive crèche mounted on a platform of hay bales at the western edge of Notre Dame’s Grotto. Vibrantly colored, oversized figures of Mary, Joseph, an adoring shepherd, the oncoming Magi, some eerily well-groomed livestock and a girlish angel overhead, all symmetrically arranged around an empty patch of stable floor. All the figures, even the animals, have credulous and startled faces. The Baby is not yet where their apprehensive gazes fall.

While it is unlikely to be mistaken for a great work of art, this Grotto nativity scene is nevertheless irresistible, and not just for those small children whose parents bring them there to marvel and gawk and wonder where the Baby is. Naivete is commendable in this season.

Early in the 13th century, after constructing a manger scene which was probably very much like the one in the Grotto, Saint Francis of Assisi choked up a bit. His contemporary biographer, Saint Bonaventure, reported how Francis “preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His name for the tenderness of his love, he called Him the Babe of Bethlehem.”

At a Christmas Mass three years before he came to Notre Dame to receive the 1989 Laetare Medal, the novelist Walker Percy experienced something very similar and reported it in a letter to his friend Robert Coles. The Mass had begun and an unremarkable homily had been preached when, according to Percy, “a not-so-good choir of young rock musicians got going on ‘Joy to the World,’ the vocals not so good, but enthusiastic. Then it hit me: what if it should be the case that the entire cosmos had a Creator, and what if he decided for reasons of his own to show up as a little baby conceived and born under suspicious circumstances? Well, Bob, you can lay it to Alzheimers or hangover, or whatever, but—it hit me—I had to pretend I had an allergy attack so I could take out my handkerchief.”

It seems appropriate that the astonishment of the Incarnation, of God showing up as an inconvenient baby, can erupt even from banal art and sentimental gesture, from the music of a not-so-good choir, from the words of a dull homily. The doctrine celebrated in the feast of Christmas is an unwieldy one, even faintly preposterous.

At about the same time the Baby is placed in the Grotto crèche, the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-25) will be read at the Christmas vigil Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Those attending Mass may be forgiven for drowsing as that long list of occasionally unpronounceable names is read, but even in that monotonous litany, as Dominican theologian Father Herbert McCabe once noted, an arresting truth is glimpsed.

“The thing to notice,” Father McCabe said, “is that God’s plan is worked out not in pious people, people with religious experiences, but in a set of crude, passionate and thoroughly disreputable people. [Jesus] belonged to a family of murderers, cheats, cowards, adulterers and liars—he belonged to us and came to help us. No wonder he came to a bad end and gave us some hope.”

Even people who have strolled by and prayed at the Grotto crèche for many years find it difficult to remember exactly what the yet-to-arrive Baby looks like. Perhaps it will blend in perfectly with the other crèche figures. Perhaps not. We’ll have to wait and see. In amazement.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 22, 2011.

Main Building Christmas Tree

2011-12-16T14:00:00-05:00

The Main Building Christmas Tree brings festive cheer to all as student continue to complete their final semester examinations.

Originally published by Paul Murphy at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 16, 2011.

Murphy named associate dean for entrepreneurship and ESTEEM director

2011-12-09T14:00:00-05:00

David Murphy, former president and chief executive officer of Better World Books, a for-profit social venture initially created and spun out of the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed associate dean for entrepreneurship for the Colleges of Science and Engineering and director of Notre Dame’s Engineering, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Masters (ESTEEM) program.

A one-year master of science collaborative program between the Colleges of Science and Engineering and the Mendoza College of Business, ESTEEM augments the scientific and technical skills of individuals who have already earned their bachelor’s degree by providing the opportunity to obtain the unique skills required to take science and/or engineering inventions and translate them into commercial ventures. The primary goal of the program is to prepare students for a lifelong engagement with innovation that is wholly congruent with the University’s distinctive Catholic character, fostering a culture of excellence, inclusion, collaboration, respect for diverse ideas and care for the common good.

Murphy served as president and chief executive officer of Better World Books from 2004 to July 2011 and continues to serve on the company’s board of directors. Prior to his tenure at Better World Books, he worked for 20 years in corporate finance, operations, and mergers and acquisitions with firms such as International Paper Company; The First Boston Corporation; Hutchinson SA, a multi-billion dollar French subsidiary of the Total Energy Group; and Transcend Services Inc. He has developed three start-up companies and joined three others in their infancy in a C-level capacity. Murphy has also raised more than $85 million in capital to build and scale multiple organizations in the manufacturing, healthcare services, technology and online retail sectors.

“David Murphy brings with him a depth and breadth of experience that closely matches the goals of the ESTEEM program,” said Peter Kilpatrick, McCloskey Dean of Engineering. “David is also one of the world’s leaders in implementing social entrepreneurship, a new brand of business which emphasizes intergenerational and social justice, in addition to creating wealth and economic well-being for all stakeholders and employees in a company. This relatively new type of business venture is wholly consistent with the eminent tradition of Catholic social teaching and I am excited about David’s vision for how this can be implemented here at Notre Dame.”

A relatively new effort at the University, the ESTEEM program “has already shown a great deal of promise in the development of new businesses and the growth of our students,” says Gregory Crawford, W.K. Warren Dean of Science. "We look forward to even greater growth in the coming years with the help of David Murphy.”

Murphy graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1980 and earned his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1984.

Murphy is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2012 and also serves on the board of directors for the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, Indaba Systems LLC and was recently asked to serve on the Fetzer Institute’s Advisory Council on the Business Professions. He also serves on the advisory boards of Books for Africa and The Prison Book Program and is actively involved as a judge in Notre Dame’s annual McCloskey Business Plan Competition. Murphy is also a member of the University’s IrishAngels organization.

Originally published by Nina Welding at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 09, 2011.

Archbishop Louis Kébreau of Haiti to receive Notre Dame Prize for Public Service

2011-12-02T17:00:00-05:00

Archbishop of Cap-Haitien Louis Kébreau will be awarded the 2011 Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America at a ceremony in Cap-Haitien on Dec. 8 (Thursday).

Presented annually since 2000 by the University of Notre Dame with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the Notre Dame Prize recognizes the efforts of visionary leaders to enhance the region’s welfare by strengthening democracy and improving life for its citizens.

In his more than 35 years in service to the Catholic Church and the people of Haiti, Msgr. Kébreau has distinguished himself by his dedication to public service and social justice and his focus on education, even in the face of physical threats.

“When you build a school, you close a prison,” he says, contending that civic education is vital to democratic citizenship.

“Throughout his career, Archbishop Kébreau has advocated for the poor and dedicated himself to promoting opportunities for Haitian children to have access to quality education,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame. “In the wake of the 2010 earthquake, he has been instrumental in helping Haitians rebuild damaged churches and schools while ministering to their physical and spiritual needs. He is richly deserving of the Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America.”

Under Msgr. Kébreau’s leadership, the Haitian Church has acted with impressive zeal since the earthquake, uniting behind a “one Church response” for rebuilding and recovery.

Working with the U.S. Bishops Conference and Catholic Relief Services, he helped create and now oversees the Program for the Reconstruction of the Church in Haiti (PROCHE), which is responsible for the coordination, construction quality and transparency of Church rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

He has exercised vision in advocating for a coordinated national strategy for rebuilding and improving Catholic schools, which are a vital source of quality education in Haiti.

“Msgr. Kébreau has been an advocate for the homeless, the needy and the less fortunate; he is not afraid to take a stand for justice nor is he afraid to confront the evils of Haiti with a holy anger,” says Caleb E. Lucien, president of Hosean International Ministries and past president of the Pignon Rotary Club.

The Archbishop has spoken out for the homeless victims of the earthquake, calling on the world’s governments, international organizations and nongovernmental aid agencies to follow through on their promises of assistance. He has publicly insisted that the origins of Haiti’s deadly cholera epidemic be investigated and made public, so that future outbreaks can be prevented in Haiti and other disaster zones around the world.

Born in Jeremie, Haiti in 1938, Msgr. Kébreau trained as an agronomist in the Dominican Republic, professed at the age of 25, and was ordained as a Salesian priest in 1974. He directed a Salesian school in Petion-Ville for 12 years and from 1987 to 1996 served as the president of the Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education.

He has served as president of the Haitian Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2005 and was appointed Archbishop of Cap-Haitien in 2008.

“With firm moral and spiritual authority, Archbishop Louis Kébreau has shown effective leadership at the national and local levels,” says Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti. “As President of the Haitian Conference of Catholic Bishops, he has led the Church in its efforts to better the lives of many Haitians, in particular in the fields of education and health, and to promote harmonious relations with the state and society.”

The Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America is administered by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame with funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation. The award carries a $15,000 cash prize, with a matching amount donated to a charitable organization recommended by the laureate.

Upon the recommendation of Msgr. Kébreau, the matching prize will be donated to the educational efforts of Action et Solidarité contre la Pauvreté (Action and Solidarity against Poverty, or ASAP), which gives scholarships to university students in Cap-Haitien who cannot pay their educational expenses.

The Kellogg Institute centers its research and teaching on two themes critical themes to contemporary society—democracy and human development. Building on a core interest in Latin America, the Institute fosters research on many regions of the world.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, the company is focused on initiatives that reduce its environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for its associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where it operates. Together with its bottling partners, it also ranks among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees.

To learn about Notre Dame’s ongoing work in Haiti, visit committedtohaiti.nd.edu.

Contact: Elizabeth Rankin, editor, Kellogg Institute, 574-631-9184, erankin3@nd.edu; Vielka Guzmán, Gerente de Asuntos Públicos y Comunicaciones para el Caribe, Coca-Cola, 1-809-683-6840 (Ext. 223), viguzman@coca-cola.com

Originally published by Elizabeth Rankin at newsinfo.nd.edu on December 01, 2011.

Notre Dame hosts conference for executives in Catholic higher education

2011-11-17T08:00:00-05:00

Presidents and trustees of 14 Catholic institutions of higher learning met last week (Nov. 6 to 8) at the University of Notre Dame for a three-day conference on the maintenance and strengthening of their Catholic identity.

The conference, “What We Hold in Trust,” was sponsored by Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life, and hosted by Notre Dame theologian John C. Cavadini, McGrath-Cavadini Director of the institute.

The executives attending the conference discussed and heard lectures on such topics as hiring for mission, the application of canon and civil law in Catholic university life, the development and evaluation of distinctively Catholic curricula, and the indispensable role of theology in a Catholic college or university.

“Trustees of Catholic colleges and universities have a fiduciary responsibility for the Catholic character, identity, and mission of their institutions,” Cavadini said. “In order to serve effectively, they must fully understand what their responsibilities entail and develop the practical skills necessary for fulfilling them.”

Conference speakers from Notre Dame’s faculty and administration included Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.; John Affleck-Graves, executive vice president; Carolyn Y. Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business; Rev. John Coughlin, O.F.M., professor of law and concurrent professor of theology; Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology; and Rev. Robert E. Sullivan, associate professor of history and associate vice president for academic mission. Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend gave a keynote address.

“The purpose of the conference,” noted Cavadini, “is to begin to form trustees in the areas around Catholic identity. Our role is not to teach other universities how to be like the University of Notre Dame. Rather, we hope to provide a forum for discussion among the unique and varied institutions that share our Catholic identity and mission, so that we might consider together the themes and issues that are common to each of our campuses and come to a better understanding of how we might best fulfill our distinctive institutional missions.”

Contact: John C. Cavadini, 574-631-5510 Cavadini.1@nd.edu

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey and Jennifer A. Monahan at newsinfo.nd.edu on November 17, 2011.

Indiana Supreme Court comes to Notre Dame Law School

2011-11-14T10:50:00-05:00

The University of Notre Dame Law School will host the Indiana Supreme Court oral arguments in the case of Jerrme Damar Cartwright v. State of Indiana on Nov. 14 (Monday).

The case involves a defendant who was convicted of attempted battery with a deadly weapon, attempted aggravated battery and possession of a handgun by a felon. The Court of Appeals reversed his conviction on grounds that the jury was selected unfairly.

Bringing the arguments to Notre Dame provides an opportunity for students and other members of the public to see first-hand how the Supreme Court operates, according to Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard. “This allows the students to consider a real case. The members of the Court also enjoy meeting with the students after the argument to hear about their classes and professional goals and answer their questions about the Court.”

The argument session begins promptly at 3:30 p.m. in the Eck Hall of Law’s Patrick F. McCartan Courtroom. Once the courtroom doors close at the beginning of the session, spectators may not enter or exit until the conclusion of the arguments. Spectators who expect to leave early as well as those who arrive late or after all of the courtroom seats have been filled will be asked to view the arguments in Biolchini Hall Rooms 1310 and 1315, which have been reserved as overflow rooms.

Bags, purses and briefcases are permitted in the Courtroom. Spectators may bring their laptops with them but may not open them to take notes. The public will be asked to shut off cell phones in advance of entering the courtroom, and will be told that cell phones may not be used to take photographs during the argument.

A brief question-and-answer period will follow the oral argument, though for technical reasons this portion of the session will not be broadcast in the overflow rooms. A reception with the justices will be held in the Eck Commons afterwards and is open to all students.

For more background on the case, spectators are encouraged to read the Court of Appeals’ decision at this link. The parties’ briefs are also available at this link.

Originally published by Chuck Williams at law.nd.edu on November 08, 2011.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to discuss educational innovation

2011-11-11T08:00:00-05:00

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will deliver the keynote address during a day-long symposium titled “Educational Innovation and the Law” to be held Nov. 18 (Friday) at the Notre Dame Law School.

The event is part of the 2011-12 Notre Dame Forum, “Reimagining School: To Nurture the Soul of a Nation,” a year-long discussion of the profound and challenging questions that shape the national debate about K-12 education.

Hosted by the Notre Dame Law Review, the symposium will discuss whether the law impedes innovation in education and will consider a wide range of legal issues related to education, including the education gap, school choice, charter schools, labor issues and the effects of the current state and local fiscal crisis on public education. Two panels of legal scholars will present and discuss issues surrounding educational innovation and the law.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for the keynote address. Ticketing information is available on the Forum website, where the keynote will also be streamed live.

Christie is New Jersey’s 55th governor and formerly served as the state’s U.S. Attorney. He drew national attention for his efforts in battling political corruption, corporate crime, human trafficking, gangs, terrorism and polluters. He led a widely acclaimed charge against public corruption, winning convictions or guilty pleas from more than 130 public officials – both Republican and Democrat – without losing a single case.

The Forum features a series of panel presentations, symposia and workshops spanning the entire academic year. A complete listing of events is available on the Forum website, which will be updated throughout the academic year.

Established in 2005 by Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president, the Forum has brought leading authorities to campus to discuss substantive issues of the day. Past forum topics have included the global marketplace and its impact on the common good, immigration, sustainability, global health and the role of religious faith in a plural world.

Contact: Alison Curran, symposium editor, acurran@nd.edu

Originally published by Shannon Chapla at newsinfo.nd.edu on November 10, 2011.

Notre Dame to host Forum on Global Development in Washington

2011-11-09T08:00:00-05:00

Investing in development, building infrastructure and enhancing human dignity in fragile communities worldwide are several challenges to be examined during the University of Notre Dame’s Forum on Global Development Thursday (Nov. 10) from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington D.C. (1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW).

The forum will precede Notre Dame’s off-site “home” football game against the University of Maryland and will feature lunch-time speaker USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg. In addition, Sen. Dick Durbin, along with international experts and Notre Dame faculty, will discuss new U.S. policy that emphasizes partnerships and innovation, and Notre Dame’s global development programs.

• Panel 1, 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., Human Development in Africa: How the U.S. Government, Catholic Relief Services, and Notre Dame are Addressing Human Development in Africa

• Panel 2, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Development and Health in Haiti: How Foundations and Notre Dame’s Haiti Program, Eck Institute, College of Engineering and Institute for Educational Initiatives are Fighting Disease and Building Infrastructure

• Panel 3, 2 to 3:30 p.m., Investing in Development: The Importance of Business and Overseas Investment for Generating Prosperity and Raising Living Standards.
Additional information, including a complete list of speakers, is available here.

Contact: Michael Sweikar, Associate Director, 574-631-2754 or msweikar@nd.edu

Originally published by Shannon Chapla at newsinfo.nd.edu on November 09, 2011.

Notre Dame among top producers of Fulbrights

2011-10-28T08:40:00-04:00

University of Notre Dame students were awarded 12 Fulbright grants for 21.4 percent of its total number of applicants for the 2011-12 academic year, placing them among the top 15 universities in the nation.

The U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, Fulbright recently announced the complete list of colleges and universities that produced the most 2011-2012 U.S. Fulbright students. The success of the top-producing institutions is highlighted in the Oct. 24 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

“Our students are well-equipped to shape their professions and disciplines internationally,” says Deb Rotman, director of Notre Dame’s Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE), the office that administers the Fulbright competition. “Our Fulbright scholars illustrate one of the many ways in which the University is cultivating global citizens and world leaders who will successfully address the significant challenges of the 21st century.”

Almost 1,700 American students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study have been offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English, and conduct research in over 140 countries throughout the world beginning this fall.

Of the 1,700 Fulbright recipients, 19 percent are at the Ph.D. degree level, 17 percent are at the master’s level, and 65 percent are at the bachelor’s degree level. Students receiving awards for this academic year applied through 600 colleges or universities. Lists of Fulbright recipients are available here.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 310,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. In the past 65 years, more than 44,000 students from the United States have benefited from the Fulbright experience.

Contact: Deb Rotman, CUSE director, 574-631-7125, rotman.1@nd.edu

Originally published by Susan Guibert at newsinfo.nd.edu on October 28, 2011.

Notre Dame establishes Declan Drumm Sullivan scholarship

2011-10-28T08:00:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame has established an endowed scholarship in memory of Declan Sullivan, the Notre Dame junior who died a year ago Thursday (Oct. 27) when the aerial lift on which he was videotaping football practice fell in high winds.

In conjunction with the anniversary, Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., is writing to members of the Notre Dame family, inviting them to contribute to the scholarship fund and/or to the Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial Fund that has been established by his family.

Contributions to the family’s memorial fund will be used to support those causes about which Declan would be most enthusiastic, in particular, Horizons for Youth, a Chicago organization committed to helping children graduate high school by providing need-based scholarships, a summer program, one-on-one mentoring, enrichment outings, tutoring, and college preparation.

The Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial Scholarship at Notre Dame will assist students who are not only in financial need, but who also have demonstrated the traits that made Declan original, whether through a particular interest in filmmaking, service to under-privileged youth, creative writing, or other passions.

“We are grateful to the University for helping to keep Declan’s memory alive in this way,” said Barry Sullivan, Declan’s father. “We are pleased that he will be remembered through a scholarship that will provide others with the educational opportunities he enjoyed at Notre Dame.”

Declan’s father, mother Alison, and siblings, Wyn, a Notre Dame junior, and Mac joined with Father Jenkins and other University leaders Oct. 22 to dedicate an on-campus memorial to him. Located next to the Guglielmino Athletics Complex and the LaBar Football Practice Fields, the memorial includes a boulder with a plaque adorned by a shamrock with his initials and a poem written by a family friend, and two benches with smaller plaques with messages from Wyn and Mac, all surrounded by six trees.

At the dedication, vice president and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick gave the Sullivans the American flag that Barry had presented in a ceremony prior to the first football game of the season. Tim Collins and other members of the athletics video staff presented the Sullivans with a framed photo montage of Declan.

“The loss of Declan was a tragedy to all of us in the Notre Dame family,” Father Jenkins said at the dedication ceremony. “This was a chance for us to come together in a place dedicated to his memory, to remember him and give thanks for his life.”

A private Mass in memory of Declan for the residents of Fisher Hall, where he lived, and Lewis Hall, where Wyn lives, is scheduled for Thursday evening.

Contributions to the scholarship fund may be sent to: Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial Scholarship, 1100 Grace Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

Originally published by Dennis Brown at newsinfo.nd.edu on October 26, 2011.

$15 million gift to fund Morris Inn renovation

2011-10-26T14:00:00-04:00

A $15 million gift by longtime University of Notre Dame supporter Ernestine Raclin, The Carmichael Foundation, and her family to the “Spirit of Notre Dame” campaign will fund a major renovation and expansion of the Morris Inn, the full-service, on-campus hotel that was constructed nearly 60 years ago with a gift from her parents, the late Ernest M. and Ella L. Morris.

The Morris Inn was dedicated in May 1952. The renovation and expansion project is expected to begin in late summer 2012, with most of the construction intended to be completed by fall 2013.

Raclin has a distinguished record of service in the public and private sectors. A devoted supporter of higher education, she is a Trustee Emerita of Notre Dame.

“The generosity of Ernestine and her family is legendary, both for Notre Dame and in our community, and we are tremendously appreciative of their latest expression of that generosity,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., University president. “This gift will enable us to continue to welcome alumni and visitors in the warm, welcoming style that we always hope is one of Notre Dame’s distinguishing characteristics.”

Upon making his gift, Ernest Morris envisioned the Morris Inn as Notre Dame’s “window to the world.” He served as a member and chair of the University’s Associate Board of Lay Trustees and played a prominent role in a number of fund-raising campaigns for the University. Following his lead, both Ernestine and her late husband, “Mike” O. C. Carmichael Jr., chaired major capital campaigns for Notre Dame.

“The Morris Inn has served as a focus of hospitality over the years for alumni, parents, campus visitors and a host of distinguished University guests,” said Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., who began his 35-year tenure as Notre Dame’s president the same year the Morris Inn opened. “Ernestine’s gift ensures that the inn will continue to be a shining tribute to Ernie and Ella Morris’ loyalty and generosity to Notre Dame.”

The Morris family, benefactors of Notre Dame on several occasions and prominent in lay leadership roles, considered their $1 million gift a gesture of appreciation for the education in law Ernest Morris received in the early 1900s.

An orphan, without funds, and a member of the Presbyterian faith, Morris appealed for assistance in 1905 to then-Notre Dame President Rev. John W. Cavanaugh, C.S.C. He received a $100 loan and was accepted for legal studies. Upon his graduation, he went on to a career in law and finance, founding in 1917 what evolved into the Associates Investment Corporation of America.

Ernest Morris died in May 1951 and never saw completion of the inn. His wife, Ella, who served as chair of Notre Dame’s Women’s Advisory Council, died in 1969.

“Our family has a long and deep emotional bond with the University and with the Morris Inn,” Raclin said. “We are very pleased to have an opportunity to deepen this association and to help ensure that the inn continues to play a prominent role in the life of the University. The Morris Inn has long been a treasure, not just for the Notre Dame community, but for all of Michiana. It is where the community and the campus meet.”

Highlights of the renovation and expansion project include:
• An increase from 92 to approximately 138 guestrooms, and an increase in the average room size from 240 square feet to 360 square feet;
• A completely renovated lobby and the relocation of Leahy’s Pub to a more prominent location within a much larger casual dining facility;
• A 300-seat ballroom, to be constructed at the north end of the building, and three private dining rooms, which will be located along an expansion to the east side of the building;
• Replacement of the building’s 60-year old plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical system infrastructure;
• The building’s design and construction will seek LEED Silver certification;
• The finished building will be more than 130,000 square feet compared to 72,000 currently;
• A new outdoor courtyard on the west side of the building;
• A covered driveway at the lobby entrance;
• An expansion of the adjacent parking lot, with valet service offered at peak times;
• Sorin’s restaurant will remain and is not included in the renovation.

The inn may close for some duration during the renovation to facilitate construction.

The “Spirit of Notre Dame” campaign raised $2.014 billion in the seven-year span that ended June 30 — 134 percent of its $1.5 billion goal. The fund-raising effort was the largest in the history of Catholic higher education, surpassing the $1.061 billion raised in the University’s “Generations” campaign that ended in December 2000.

Originally published by William G. Gilroy at newsinfo.nd.edu on October 26, 2011.

Father Jenkins elected to commission on presidential debates

2011-10-21T08:00:00-04:00

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, has been elected to the board of directors of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), the non-partisan, non-profit organization that has sponsored and produced all U.S. presidential and vice presidential debates since 1988.

“Father Jenkins is a respected voice in higher education, and we are very pleased he will join the CPD’s board as we launch plans for the 2012 debates,” said Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. and Michael D. McCurry, co-chairmen of the commission. “He has demonstrated, through his words and actions, a serious and sustained commitment to civil discourse in society, which is consistent with the commission’s commitment to respectful and informed political dialogue.”

A strong proponent of civil discourse, Father Jenkins articulated his point of view in a speech this year at Emory University:

“Ideological differences seem more extreme, positions more entrenched, battles more acrimonious, compromise less common, friendly social relations among members of different parties more rare, and attacks on political opponents more personal.

“Such divisiveness makes politics not only unpleasant. It makes it harder to come together to address our nation’s challenges. If we choose to attack our opponents before we have taken the time to understand them, if we prefer denunciations to genuine dialogue, if we seek political victory rather than constructive compromise … we will not be able to find solutions to the problems before us.”

Father Jenkins became Notre Dame’s 17th president in 2005. He had served the previous four years as vice president and associate provost.

Father Jenkins earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from Notre Dame in 1976 and 1978, respectively, and was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1983. He also holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy from Oxford and advanced degrees from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

A member of the Notre Dame philosophy faculty since 1990, Father Jenkins is the author of the book “Knowledge and Faith in Thomas Aquinas.” He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the American Irish Historical Society’s Gold Medal, and he was elected last year to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an association that has recognized this nation’s leading “thinkers and doers” since the 18th century.

In addition to sponsoring and producing the general election debates, the CPD also engages in voter education initiatives, provides technical assistance to sponsors of non-presidential debates, and has established an International Debates Network to help other countries that seek to make debates part of their political process.

Additional information is available at www.debates.org.

Contact: Janet Brown, Commission on Presidential Debates, 202-872-1020, janet@debates.org

Originally published by Julie Hail Flory at newsinfo.nd.edu on October 20, 2011.

Cardinal Mahony and a new imagination of human dignity

2011-10-11T10:00:00-04:00

Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles, is urgently concerned with the reform of the nation’s immigration policy, and he wants Catholic college and university students to be as concerned as he is.

Speaking with nearly 100 students and faculty members in the auditorium of Notre Dame’s Eck Hall of Law last week, Cardinal Mahony insisted that America’s 220 Catholic colleges and universities and the 800,000 students enrolled in them have a crucial role to play in immigration reform.

“Catholic universities like Notre Dame are able to bring to the discussion something that secular institutions simply can’t,” Cardinal Mahony said. “Our interest in this issue has a faith foundation which reaches all the way back to the Old Testament and to the specific laws given by God to Moses. It reaches back to Matthew 25:35, where Jesus tells us that when we welcome a stranger in his name, we welcome Him. The history of our advocacy on behalf of the immigrant is underpinned by God’s revelation and by the consistent teaching of the Church.”

Cardinal Mahony is visiting Notre Dame for a month during which he will elaborate on this theme in discussions with students and faculty, in homilies in residence hall Masses, and as a guest lecturer in undergraduate and graduate courses.

His law school talk, sponsored by Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, Institute for Latino Studies (ILS), and Program on Law and Human Development, was preceded by a presentation given by Jessica Brock, postdoctoral research fellow at the ILS, on the DREAM Act. The acronym stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, and it labels a legislative proposal brought before Congress numerous times over the past 10 years and now awaiting House and Senate committee consideration later this year.

The DREAM Act would allow children of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors and have lived in the country continuously for at least five years to enter colleges and universities, be graduated, and become legal residents of the United States.

Cardinal Mahony and many other Catholic bishops in the United States and Mexico have been outspoken supporters of the act, which Archbishop Jose Gomez, Cardinal Mahony’s successor, has called simply “a common-sense humanitarian measure.”

“Notre Dame and other Catholic institutions of higher education have an obligation to take the lead not only in supporting such measures as the DREAM Act, but also in promoting justice and denouncing injustice toward migrants in general, and to infuse such efforts with ‘a spirit of hospitality and communion,’” Cardinal Mahony told the students, adding that “until we can energize Congress and the White House on this issue, it’s simply not going to get done. In the meantime, we want to inform you, make you aware of these issues, and involve you in the future.”

One of the organizers of Cardinal Mahony’s Notre Dame visit, Notre Dame theologian Rev. Daniel Groody, C.S.C., director of the Center for Latino Spirituality and Culture, shares this sense of the issues urgency.

“With more than 200 million migrating around the world, and over 1 billion if we include internally displaced people,” Father Groody said, “some have referred to our own times as ‘the age of migration.’ It is arguably the defining issue of our times, and what is at stake are profound human issues that are at the core of our Catholic tradition. Joining together the tradition of the Church with the tradition of Notre Dame, we hope to not only give people more information about migration but a new imagination, one that we hope will take us one step forward in creating a more just and peaceful society built on the dignity of every human being, especially those in our midst who are most vulnerable.”

Drawing on “God’s revelation and the consistent teaching of the Church” to give birth to a new imagination is a fairly tall order. But for an hour or so on an autumn afternoon in a crowded campus lecture hall, a retired churchman and some 100 Notre Dame students and faculty were already beginning to fill it.

Originally published by Michael O. Garvey at newsinfo.nd.edu on October 11, 2011.