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Notre Dame to host international workshop on molecular and cellular biology of plasminogen activation

2013-05-24T15:00:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame will host the XIV International Workshop on Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plasminogen Activation June 4 to 8 (Tuesday to Saturday).

The co-chairs of the conference are Francis J. Castellino and Victoria A. Ploplis of Notre Dame’s W. M. Keck Center for Transgene Research. The conference is co-sponsored by the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend and Memorial Hospital of South Bend.

The plasminogen activation system and related proteolytic systems are essential regulators of tissue remodeling events as well as of cell functions through activation of cell signaling pathways. Through early studies involving in vitro biochemical investigations and, more recently, in vivo biological studies involving gene modified technology, the plasminogen activation pathway has been identified as a major participant in the regulation and progression of a number of clinically relevant human diseases. These include cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurological pathologies and bacterial pathogenesis.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Désiré Collen, director of the Molecular Cardiovascular Medicine Group (comprising the Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Center for Transgene Technology and Gene Therapy of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology) in Leuven, Belgium.

Collen has co-authored more than 620 research papers and has received four honorary degrees. He led the team that initially developed t-PA, currently the most effective drug for thrombolytic therapy of acute myocardial infarction.

Contact: Victoria Ploplis, 574-631-4017, vploplis@nd.edu

Father Hesburgh celebrated in U.S. Capitol: 'A very wonderful day that I’ll never forget'

2013-05-23T10:50:00-04:00

University President Emeritus Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., speaks during a reception in the U.S. Capitol

It was all for him, a celebration of 96 years of a life well-lived, 70 of them as a Catholic priest from Notre Dame, Indiana.

The personal invitation from U.S. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. The applause as he entered the wood-paneled Rayburn Room on the House side of the U.S. Capitol. The intimate invocation from Theodore Cardinal McCarrick. The surprise appearance of Vice President Joe Biden. The personal anecdotes, heartfelt adulation and hugs shared by a lineup of senators and members of Congress.

Then there was the double-wide chocolate cake, big enough to feed a few hundred Notre Dame alumni and other Capitol Hill well-wishers and cheerfully inscribed, “Happy Birthday, Father Hesburgh.”

When it came time for him to speak, more than a half-hour into his national birthday party, Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh rose from his seat and stepped toward the podium escorted by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and Ambassador Timothy Roemer (who earned his master’s degree at Notre Dame in 1981 and his Ph.D. in 1985), who moments before had praised Hesburgh as a priest, civil-rights champion and president of the University of Notre Dame.

Hands firm on the podium, Hesburgh began humbly, dismissing all the storytelling with an Italian saying that he then translated for the benefit of his all-American audience: “By golly, it may not all be true, but it sure sounds good.”

Father Hesburgh’s day trip to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday (May 22) began with a 20-minute visit in the White House with President Barack Obama. When he mentioned the private audience in his remarks to the Rayburn crowd, Pelosi jumped on the chance to tease him. “How’d it go?” she asked. “Tell us about it.”

Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands with Father Hesburgh

He deftly sidestepped the question. But many in the elegant House chamber adjacent to Pelosi’s office noted how fitting it was that Father Hesburgh, who had made history at several key moments in his life simply by bringing people together, was at it again.

Pelosi, the top House Democrat, co-hosted Father Hesburgh with Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who was expected but could not attend the 3 p.m. gathering. Both members of Indiana’s split-party U.S. Senate delegation, Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly, offered appreciative reflections. In all, it was a genuinely bipartisan affair that brought politicians and staffers from “both sides of the Capitol, both sides of the aisle and all sides of Pennsylvania Avenue,” Pelosi said.

Cardinal McCarrick, the other elder statesman of the American Church present in the room, delivered an affectionate preamble to his invocation that recalled remarks he made at the 2008 dedication of the U.S. Institute for Peace headquarters, which Father Hesburgh helped through extensive fundraising to build near the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials on the National Mall.

McCarrick found symbolism in the lights illuminating those three buildings for travelers crossing the Potomac River into the city at night.

“Father Hesburgh brought to this country a new understanding of what a university education should be,” McCarrick said. Hesburgh, he added, also advanced important work the two American presidents had done to advance religious freedom in Jefferson’s case and civil rights for all Americans in Lincoln’s. So Hesburgh’s light shines in all three.

“Every time we see another birthday, he gets younger and younger and more influential than ever in the life of our country,” McCarrick said.

U.S. Representatives Mike Kelly and Steny Hoyer and House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi present Father Hesburgh with an American flag

The party came complete with birthday gifts — a framed copy of the text of Pelosi’s memorial to Hesburgh as it appears in the Congressional Record, and a triangular wood-and-glass case containing the flag flown over the Capitol in his honor earlier in the day.

Pelosi’s speech to the House noted the distinction Father Hesburgh received in April when the U.S. Navy named him an honorary chaplain at a ceremony on campus. For Hesburgh, it was the realization of a lifelong dream. When Pelosi congratulated him in person, Hesburgh slowly raised his hand in a salute.

To the right of the podium on an easel stood the famous photograph — on loan from the National Portrait Gallery — of Hesburgh singing, arm in arm with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., at a Chicago rally in support of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Pelosi wondered aloud how long she might be able to hang on to the photograph. “Don’t get too attached,” gallery director Kim Sajet shot back.

Biden recalled criticism of Hesburgh’s work as a Civil Rights Commissioner he’d heard as a young man in his hometown parish. He praised Hesburgh because he did not simply educate Notre Dame students. “You awakened their conscience,” Biden said.

“You’re one of the most powerful unelected officials this nation has ever seen,” he added.

Visibly moved, Father Hesburgh was having none of it. “No one,” he said, “could be as good as the guy you portrayed up here.”

He tried to direct the celebratory spirit toward Notre Dame. Calling America “an enormously beautiful dream,” he described the school he led for 35 years as a place where young people love being Americans and love trying to make the world a better place.

Father Hesburgh blesses Indiana U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly during the reception

“My heart swells with pride at seeing you all here in the nation’s capital,” he told the group, which included several members of Congress who graduated either from Notre Dame or Saint Mary’s College.

Hesburgh thanked Pelosi for “a very wonderful day that I’ll never forget.”

But it was a football coach, not a politician, who may have found the words that most in the room wanted to say.

Ten minutes after the conclusion of the formal program, as people waited in line to offer Father Hesburgh their own birthday wishes, former Notre Dame head football coach Gerry Faust took the microphone to tell about a humbling plane trip early in his Notre Dame tenure when he found himself enjoying a rare seat upgrade and Father Hesburgh riding economy class. Hesburgh kidded him for already being more recognizable than he was after nearly three decades as president of Notre Dame.

“I couldn’t get off that plane fast enough,” Faust said.

“I’ve got thousands of stories of Father Hesburgh [but] I’m going to tell you,” the former coach continued, his voice beginning to break. “Great president. Great priest. And a great person.

“I love him. I couldn’t have asked to work for a better man.”

Statement from Father Jenkins on tornado devastation

2013-05-21T10:45:00-04:00

The following is a statement from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, on the tornadoes that swept through parts of the nation on May 19 and 20, causing numerous deaths and injuries:

“The prayers of the Notre Dame community are with all who have been affected by the devastating tornado that swept across Oklahoma, in particular, as well as Texas and Kansas. To those who have lost loved ones, you have our deepest condolences. To those who have been injured, may God provide you with comfort and healing. To those who have responded with assistance to this tragedy, you have our heartfelt appreciation. And to those who are able, please consider donating to relief efforts through organizations such as Catholic Charities USA and the American Red Cross.”

Mendoza College offers 10-day program to develop executives in Catholic organizations

2013-05-21T08:00:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame Nonprofit Professional Development program, located at the Mendoza College of Business, is offering a 10-day leadership program for executives in Catholic organizations. Held July 8-18 in the Giovanini Commons in the College’s lower level, the Catholic Leadership Certificate Program offers a range of topics vital for organizational development within the context of furthering the Catholic mission.

“The leaders attending this program face some very unique challenges,” said Marc Hardy, director of Nonprofit Executive Programs. “As with any business, they’re responsible for creating a strategy of growth, often amidst limited resources and exponentially increasing demands for services. At the same time, they want to be effective not just in the business sense, but in serving the Church. We supply them with a toolkit of knowledge and skills that help them to meet this twofold challenge.”

Hardy noted that 2013 marks the fifth year the Catholic Leadership Certificate has been offered as part of the commitment of the Mendoza College and the Nonprofit Executive Program to advancing the work of Catholic organizations. The tuition of $495 for the 10-day session, which includes most meals, is steeply discounted to allow nonprofit executives to attend. Registration deadline is July 1 (Monday).

The program includes sessions in:

Employment law

Implementing mission in practical ways in everyday operations

Measuring effectiveness and impact

Budgeting and finance

Nonprofit board governance

The instructors include faculty members from the Mendoza College and others from the University, as well as nonprofit executives and consultants. Sister Melanie DiPietro, director of Seton Hall University Law School Center for Religiously Affiliated Corporations, will present a special session on canon and civil law.

Contact: Marc Hardy, 574-631-1087, mhardy@nd.edu

Graduating seniors honored for commitment to postgraduate service

2013-05-20T16:00:00-04:00

One hundred sixty-nine University of Notre Dame graduating seniors embarking on a year or more of service in this country and abroad were honored during the University’s annual Service Send-Off ceremony on May 18 (Saturday) in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Leighton Concert Hall.

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, commended the seniors for their commitment to service. Nearly a quarter of the graduates will join the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) or programs that share its model to serve as educators in the nation’s Catholic schools. Others will serve in the Peace Corps and Teach for America. Still others will mentor AIDS orphans in South Africa, cultivate sustainable agriculture in the South Pacific islands, foster spiritual formation in the nation’s parishes, or provide a host of other services that match the mission of Notre Dame.

Elizabeth Moriarty, Class of 2000 and 2007, whose postgraduate experiences included work in an addiction recovery program, in the Catholic Worker program offering hospitality to homeless families, and as a jail chaplain, offered the gathered students: “You and I are called to go out from here … to practice the works of mercy. This is not service. This is sharing life. What I mean is that these are not to be reduced to things we do for a year or two and then get back on track with the real plan. These are the first steps of the rest of your life. This is a path for meeting and loving Jesus. These choices will define who you are now and who you will become as teachers, mothers, fathers, priests, nuns, business people, community organizers, artists or doctors. It is not a retreat or a chance to take a step back for a year off from the real world. It’s a year on."

Graduating senior Gabriela Hernandez, who is undecided on her postgraduate service experience, introduced Father Jenkins. Graduating senior Carl David Jones II, who will serve with ACE in Jacksonville, Fla., introduced Moriarty, and graduating senior Abigail McCrary, who will serve with the Dominican Volunteer Corps in New York, introduced Rev. Paul V. Kollman, C.S.C., executive director of the Center for Social Concerns (CSC).

In introducing Father Kollman, McCrary spoke of how blessed she has been as a student at the CSC and at the University. “Father John Dunne, a Notre Dame professor of theology, writes, ‘The crossing over and coming back are the greatest spiritual adventures of our time.’ Service allows individuals the opportunity to engage with others in a new context and gain insight and perspective. I have been immensely blessed in my four years at Notre Dame to have the opportunity to cross over multiple times — from South Bend elementary schools to Westville Prison to India to Uganda — and these experiences have come to define me and my time at this university.”

Father Kollman, in addressing the graduates, said, “You are embarking on something that shows your openness to learn and grow, give and receive. You enter a new university, which L’Arche founder Jean Vanier calls ‘the university of the poor.’ You embrace an internship of sorts, an internship in vulnerability. And you will continue to grow, of that we can be sure. Whether you head to Tanzania or Toronto, into a classroom or a boardroom, whether you teach or learn or pray or listen or fold laundry, or all of these things, you will grow. Lonely or rich in companions, you will grow. Happy or sad, sick or well, you will grow.”

Among the service programs in which this year’s Notre Dame graduates will participate are ACE, which provides teachers for understaffed parochial schools in dioceses across the United States; Notre Dame’s Echo Faith Formation Leadership Program, which trains and provides religious educators for Catholic parishes; the Peace Corps; AmeriCorps; Nuestro Pequenos Hermanos, which cares for orphaned and abandoned children in Latin America and the Caribbean; Jesuit Volunteer Corps; and Teach For America.

Many of the graduates became involved in service and social action through the programs and courses of the Center for Social Concerns. They join a community of more than 4,000 Notre Dame alumni who have chosen postgraduate volunteer service since the Center was founded in 1983.

Contact: Mike Hebbeler, director, senior transitions programs, Center for Social Concerns, 574-631-5779, Hebbeler.2@nd.edu

Commencement 2013: A Look Back

2013-05-19T16:00:00-04:00

A chance Mother’s Day encounter with a Jewish alumnus of Notre Dame provided Cardinal Timothy Dolan, principal speaker at the 168th University Commencement Ceremony, with the inspiration for his address: The proud graduate revealed to Cardinal Dolan the “secret” that makes Notre Dame great. (Watch Video / Read Address)

“‘It’s not the library, as first-rate as it is. It’s not the professors and the courses, as stellar as they are. It’s not the campus, as enchanting as it is, or even the football team, as legendary as it is, or even the magnificent service projects,’” Cardinal Dolan told the graduates. “‘No, the secret of Notre Dame is really a person, who we Jews call Miriam and you Christians call Mary. She’s there. She looks down from that Golden Dome, and if you really want to discover the secret of Notre Dame,’ my friend went on, ‘visit that Grotto that you Catholics call Lourdes. There’s something there. No, he concluded, there’s someone there. We call her Notre Dame and she’s the secret of this university.’”

Cardinal Dolan is archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree at the ceremony, at which 2,078 undergraduates received their diplomas on Sunday (May 19) in Notre Dame Stadium.

“You, the class of 2013, have sensed Mary’s maternal presence, ‘rising, sizing and sympathizing’ these blessed years on a campus wrapped in her mantle, and as you praise God that Father Sorin and that pioneer band of priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross placed this most noble endeavor under her patronage from day one 171 years ago. So may I propose to you, my new classmates, that she’s not just our patroness; she’s our model.”

Dolan urged graduates to consider their experiences in a fuller light: “Here our goal is not just a career, but a call; not just a degree, but discipleship; not just what we’ve gotten, but what we’re giving; not just the now, but eternity; not just the ‘I,’ but the ‘we’; not just the grades, but the gospel."

Mallory Meter, a psychology major from Beverly Hills, Mich., delivered the valedictory address. (Watch Video / Read Address) Stressing the importance of living “every single day fully aware, present, and conscious and to never stop searching for the beauty in the present moment,” Meter said she recognized that “…this ability is one that few people ever achieve and if they do, it is often too late. This lack of awareness is why the phrase ‘you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone’ seems to be a truism of the human condition. It is why 30 years ago will always be the good old days, and it is why that intangible pin-prick we call nostalgia is so often accompanied by a sense of sadness. But what if we could learn at our young age to live with a constant awareness of the beauty in the world and in our lives? What if we could realize that these days are the good old days, and what if we could appreciate what we have while it’s still in our grasp?

“This place taught us to think critically, to reason, to evaluate, to debate, to question, and to create, and these are the tools it takes to avoid living unconsciously, prodded along by nothing but outside pressures and expectations. The things we have learned here can force us to see the beauty in the mundane and to appreciate and value the present. If we can use these tools Notre Dame has given us, I truly believe we can make the world a better place.”

Sister Susanne Gallagher, S.P.; Sister Mary Therese Harrington, S.H.; and Rev. James H. McCarthy, founders of the Special Religious Education Development Network (SPRED), received Notre Dame’s 2013 Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics.

“May you be surprised by joy as you undertake your life’s work,” Father McCarthy told the graduates. (Watch Video / Read Address) “May you go beyond your comfort zone to help those in need. May you be blessed with faithful companions for your journey. May those in need become your friends. As we say with them, you see, whenever we are happy together, Jesus is with us.”

2013 Laetare Medalists and Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

SPRED’s ministry began in 1960, when Father McCarthy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, began working with parents, special educators and catechist volunteers of several archdiocesan parishes to make Catholic liturgies and catechesis more accessible to children and adult parishioners with developmental disabilities. Sister Harrington, a member of the Society of Helpers, joined him in 1963 to help with catechetical and administrative work, and Sister Gallagher, a member of the Sisters of Providence, joined them in 1967, assisting both with administration and the training of new special catechists.

Energized by the renewed emphasis on catechesis in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, SPRED’s ministry expanded beyond Chicago in the 1960s and now the 52-year-old network administers faith formation and sacramental initiation programs for people with special needs in 28 Catholic dioceses and 200 parishes nationwide (including in Notre Dame’s own diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend) as well as small faith groups in several other countries including England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, Malta and Mexico.

Graduates urged to exhibit intellectual curiosity and 'grit' at Graduate School Commencement

2013-05-18T18:00:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame’s Graduate School recognized 438 master’s and 213 doctoral degree recipients and presented several awards during Commencement ceremonies Saturday (May 18) in the Compton Family Ice Arena.

Nathan O. Hatch, president of Wake Forest University and formerly provost and the Andrew V. Tackes Professor of History at Notre Dame, delivered the Commencement address.

Hatch focused on the themes of curiosity and grit in his remarks.

“This morning I want to leave you with two simple messages, the first about intellectual curiosity and the importance of learning as an end in itself; the second, about what scholars are now calling ‘grit’ or resilience,” he said.

Hatch explained that there were two reasons for his emphasis on intellectual curiosity.

“First, it is crucial for the vitality of your own sense of calling long-term,” he said. “Whether you will be spending time teaching, or in research, in public service, or in management, keeping alive a flame of curiosity will give motivation and meaning to what you do. Thomas Jefferson once said that the best prize life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Your work will continue to seem worth doing if it is animated by sustained inquiry.”

Hatch noted that he was also emphasizing intellectual curiosity because the ideal of learning for its own sake is under steady assault amid demands that the primary purpose of higher education should be its economic utility.

“This kind of accountability may have its place, but it also brings into question the value of learning itself and the vital importance of a liberal arts education — in a time when in Andrew Delbanco’s eloquent rendering, the liberal arts are becoming marginal or merely ornamental.

“All of us need to redouble our efforts to defend the ‘higher’ purposes of a college education despite our economic woes, just as C.S. Lewis did in his address during World War II, ‘Learning in Wartime:’ In that address he defended the importance of the life of the mind even when civilization was literally crumbling.”

Hatch explained that “grit” is important for two reasons. The first is related to the fact that today’s generation of students tends to have many and varied interests.

“My advice to you, as young professionals, is to become really good at something,” he said. “It is better to master one discrete thing than dabble in ten interesting projects. Being the faithful steward of a small responsibility will convince others you can be entrusted with larger things.”

Hatch noted that grit is important for another reason.

“Your generation needs to cultivate a second quality of ‘grit:’ to understand how to cope with disappointment and failure,” he said. “The timeless, if uncomfortable, truth is that true strength of character is almost always forged by encountering and overcoming failure.”

In conclusion, Hatch said, “This morning, I extend the heartiest congratulations on this special day. And I commend to you the conjoined virtues of relentless curiosity and sustained focus and hard work.”

The recipients of several Graduate School awards also were recognized during the Commencement ceremony.

The top graduating doctoral students in the humanities, social sciences, science and engineering were honored with the Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Graduate School Awards.

Bernard Sensale Rodríguez, an electrical engineering Ph.D., was the recipient for engineering. His research focus was on ultra-high frequency, or terahertz, electronics and their diverse applications. He will assume a tenure-track position this fall as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Utah.

In the social sciences, Laura K. Taylor, a peace studies and psychology Ph.D., was the recipient. The primary focus of her research was on children’s psychological development in areas of war, and ethnic conflict and violence — specifically in Columbia, Northern Ireland and Croatia. In the fall, she will assume a tenure track position in the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Major Gooyit, a chemistry Ph.D., was the recipient in the sciences. His research was focused on illuminating the progression mechanisms of a number of major human diseases — notably stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, and diabetic wounds — and the development of therapeutic strategies. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Research Institute, a leading biomedical research laboratory.

Theresa O’Byrne, a Medieval Studies Ph.D., was the recipient in the humanities. O’Byrne has made original discoveries about late medieval Anglo-Irish literature that have established her as a rising star in the medieval literary field. She will be joining the faculty at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Richard D. Connell. Connell was graduated from Notre Dame in 1989 with a doctorate in organic chemistry. He was honored for his achievements in pharmaceutical research and development as well as his accomplishments as a leader at two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies: Bayer and Pfizer.

Jennifer Tank, The Ludmilla F, Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla Collegiate Chair in Biological Sciences at Notre Dame, was honored as the 2013 recipient of the University’s Rev. James A. Burns. C.S.C., Graduate School Award. The award is given annually to a faculty member for distinction in teaching or other exemplary contributions to graduate education and honors the first Notre Dame president with an advanced degree.

Kathie Newman in the Department of Physics was recognized as this year’s Director of Graduate Studies Award winner and Nancy Davis from the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering was named recipient of this year’s Graduate Administrative Assistant Award.

Nathan Hatch Graduate School Commencement address

2013-05-18T17:55:00-04:00

Delivered at Notre Dame Graduate School Commencement Ceremony, held May 18, 2013 in the Compton Family Ice Arena

It is a double honor to return to this place, which so profoundly nurtured my own sense of calling as a teacher, scholar, and administrator. I arrived here in the fall of 1975 as a newly minted historian of early America. I found the History Department and the College of Arts and Letters an ideal academic home: impeccable intellectual standards, great commitment to teaching, and creative thought about what kind of discourse should animate a distinct place like Notre Dame. I remember fondly the intimidating intellectual presence of Father Marvin O’Connell, the powerful intellects of Marshall Smelser and Fred Pike, the good cheer of Vincent DeSantis, the wisdom of Philip Gleason, who seems to have read every book about any subject, the great teaching of Father Tom Blantz, the
stimulation of other new young colleagues like Jay Dolan, John Van Engen, Tom Kselman, and Diane Murray.

I also remember the fateful day, when Mike Loux, a new dean of Arts and Letters, called two weeks before classes began in the fall to see if I would stop what I was doing to take on a job in administration. Mike was a brilliant leader and, under his tutelage, I became intrigued with the challenges of working, on behalf of one’s colleagues, to strengthen this university. It was a distinct privilege to work with Provost Tim O’Meara and Father Ted Hesburgh. Father Monk Malloy gave me the enormous privilege of serving as Provost here and I learned a tremendous amount from him as well as from colleagues in the Provost office: Carol Mooney, Father Tim Scully, John AffleckGraves,Father John Jenkins, Chris Maziar, and Dennis Jacobs. My debts here are many and large, indeed.

It is also an honor to be here on this special day for those of you receiving graduate degrees from Notre Dame. Let me salute your signal accomplishments. This is a day to celebrate, to take note of all that your newly minted degree represents, and to give thanks to family and colleagues who helped make possible your course of study.

One thing I can promise those of you who are being awarded degrees today. The value of your graduate diploma from this place has never been higher. Notre Dame has been in the business of graduate education for a long time, for over 75 years, but the University’s ascendency as a research university and its commitment to graduate education has been marked in recent years. I was privileged to have a small hand in these efforts some twenty years ago. But the progress in recent years has been remarkable: investment in graduate support, in laboratories, in the library, and, most importantly, in bringing to Notre Dame faculty of the first rank.

Let me congratulate Father John Jenkins, Provost Tom Burish and especially Vice President and Senior Associate Provost Chris Maziar, who is also serving as Interim Dean of the Graduate School. Also, let me acknowledge the deans of the colleges, and so many faculty who have been responsible for making Notre Dame a truly distinguished university in the Catholic tradition. This sterling quality is certainly being recognized nationally and it will serve you graduates well as you move out from this place and begin to apply what you have learned here.

This morning I want to leave you with two simple messages, the first about intellectual curiosity and the importance of learning as an end in itself; the second, about what scholars are now calling “grit.” or resilience. Curiosity and Grit.

I trust your graduate education at Notre Dame offered one gift above all: to whet your appetite for understanding. The very reason a university exists—its heart and soul—is to inspire passion to learn, to explore, to discover, to understand. In these walls, I trust you have been gripped by the power of a great novel, or dazzled by hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe, or the intricacies of the human genome, or stirred by a play or concert, or amazed by a brilliant analysis of comparative politics. Most of all, I hope that your intellectual grounding in your respective discipline here has generated questions, and methods of inquiry, that will animate your work for years to come.

Professor Nancy Hopkins, who teaches at MIT, remembers her own moment of intellectual awakening. She does so in frankly romantic terms, describing her “crush on DNA.” After hearing a lecture by James Watson on the wonder of DNA, she admits she suddenly fell in love with a subject that promised to unravel the very mysteries of life. I hope that you have experienced such moments of awakening—and that their memory will be a continuing inspiration.

“Never lose a holy curiosity,” advised Albert Einstein. Be relentlessly inquisitive, every day, about the world around, its promises and mysteries. I make this point for two reasons. First, it is crucial for the vitality of your own sense of calling longterm. Whether you will be spending time teaching, or in research, in public service, or in management, keeping alive a flame of curiosity will give motivation and meaning to what you do. Thomas Jefferson once said that the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Your work will continue to seem worth doing if it is animated by sustained inquiry. How can things be understood better?

What new insights have others developed in a given field? How can human interactions be structured more positively? Any job can become routine without this kind of intellectual vitality. I also want to make this point about continuous learning because today the ideal of learning for its own sake is under steady assault. In the context of a constrained economy, and scarce public resources, we are hearing a drumbeat that the primary purpose of higher education should be its economic utility. The most pressing question today seems to be how much does college cost in relation to the salary that a college graduate can command. These themes resonate not just from nervous parents but also from Congressional Committees, from the Education Department itself, and from dominant influences like the Gates and Lumina Foundations. In states like Florida, Texas, and North Carolina there have been open discussion that suggest the value of higher education should be evaluated strictly in terms of return on investment. And Virginia has begun a statelevel data collection to link graduates’ salaries back to their colleges and majors. This kind of accountability may have its place, but it also brings into question the value of learning itself and the vital importance of a liberal arts education—in a time when in Andrew Delbanco’s eloquent rendering, the liberal arts are becoming marginal or merely ornamental.

We need intellectual curiosity on all fronts. We need it desperately in the so-called STEM disciplines. We need it in the social sciences, in the arts, and in professional fields of law, medicine, business, and divinity. While all of learning for its own sake is questioned, the greatest threat is to humanistic inquiry, which has been at the heart and soul of a place like Notre Dame. Literature, philosophy, history, the Classics—these fields are the ones most easily targeted as irrelevant or unnecessary. Michael Malone, in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal defending the Humanities, states the point bluntly: for the humanities “to image that they have anything approaching the significance or influence of technical fields smacks of a kind of sad, lastditch desperation. Science merely nods and says, ‘I see your Jane Austen monographs and deconstructions of ‘The Tempest’ and raise you stem cell research and the iPhone’—and then pockets all of the chips on the table.” (This does not mean to disparage science and technology in any way; only to suggest the comparative vulnerability of disciplines that have less economic utility.)

All of us need to redouble our efforts to defend the “higher” purposes of a college education despite our economic woes, just as C.S. Lewis did in his address during World War II, “Learning in Wartime:” In that address he defended the importance of the life of the mind even when civilization was literally crumbling. “Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure the search would never have begun.” Andrew Delbanco’s book College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be is an eloquent reminder of the real, higher aims of colleges and universities. Learn, keep learning, and inspire others to learn. That is my first piece of advice. The second is far more practical and addresses how you approach the jobs you will now undertake: in colleges, in research labs, in NGO’s, in government, in museums, in libraries. This is advice for any kind of position that you pursue.

I want to talk with you about some surprising studies about what make people successful. Those of us in the academy are particularly prone to believe that intelligence is the key to success: the spoils, we think, generally go to those who are brilliant, to those who analyze and write well, to those who are quick on their feet. This morning I am going to suggest an entirely different theory of success, one that offers both encouragement and challenge to us all.

My theme today is a character strength called “grit.” Before she taught psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Angela Duckworth taught math in middle and high school. She spent a lot of time thinking about something that seemed obvious: students who tried hardest did the best and students who didn’t try very hard
didn’t do so well. Duckworth wanted to know: what is the role of effort in a person’s success. Duckworth’s research focuses on a personality trait she calls “grit.” Grit is “sticking with things over the very long term until you master them.” She writes that “the gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.”

Duckworth has developed a “Grit Scale.” You rate yourself ona series of about 10 items such as “I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge” and “Setback don’t discourage me.” She has found in a variety of settings that a grit score was the best predictor of success: She found that among West Point cadets, at Ivy League institutions, at the National Spelling Bee competition, and among underprivileged students seeking to complete college. People with less talent often compensate by working harder and with more determination. The grittiest students, not the smartest ones, often do the best. Similar themes are evident in the work of Paul Tough whose books “How Children Succeed” and “Whatever it Takes” challenges the so-called cognitive hypothesis that success depends primarily on cognitive skills. The thesis of these books might be called the character hypothesis: the notion that noncognitive skills, like persistence, selfcontrol, curiosity, resilience, and grit are more crucial than sheer brainpower to achieving success. “Character is created by encountering and overcoming failure,” Paul Tough suggests. One of his articles is entitled “What if the Secret of Success is Failure?” This kind of “grit,” or staying power, is important for two reasons. Your generation tends to have interests many and varied. In college many of you doubled majored and in graduate school, your interest has ranged widely. Even within your own discipline, you may be intrigued by very different sets of questions and approaches. Your enthusiasms are worthy and intense, but sometimes fleeting. Your have not been known for persistence: sticking to something until you really master it.

My advice to you, as young professionals, is to become really good at something. It is better to master one discrete thing than dabble in ten interesting projects. Being the faithful steward of a small responsibility will convince others you can be entrusted with larger things. Publishing one firstrate academic article will carry more weight than a slew of second-tier work. This is not to say that, over time, you won’t branch out, and that you will not take on many different assignments. You will. But when you have a challenge, learn to master it, no matter how difficult. Don’t retreat to something easier, more interesting, or more familiar. Don’t dream about what might be. Learn to sprint up the hills. Your generation also needs to cultivate a second quality of “Grit:” to understand the how to cope with disappointment and failure. The timeless, if uncomfortable, truth is that true strength of character is almost always forged by encountering and overcoming failure.

On this bright and auspicious day, I wish I could promise you graduates the road would always rise up to meet you, that the wind would always be at your back, that the sun would always shine warm on your face. There will be many of those days, I am confident. But there will also be hard days when schooling, or job, or family, or your own sense of selfworth seems to crumble around you. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick,” Steve Jobs noted in his famous 10 commencement speech at Stanford in 2005. Jobs had revolutionized the world of personal computers in 1984 with the MacIntosh, but then the project faltered, and he was fired from the very company he had founded. “It was awful tasting medicine,” he said, “but I guess the patient needed it.” Jobs concluded that getting fired was actually the best thing that could have happened to him. Why? Because it drove him to reassess everything, to rekindle his creative fire, and to redouble his effort and commitment. It made him resilient.

Why is coming to terms with failure important? Because all of us encounter turns that seem to go nowhere, launch projects that fizzle, or get caught in organizations into which we do not fit. Particularly in this day and age, no one is exempt from the school of hard knocks. The key is how we respond to such setbacks. Do we lose heart, or do we learn things about ourselves? Do we blame others or do we change our approach? Do we become more skittish or find a way to bounce back, to get back into the saddle? In this day, the biggest problem with a fear of failure is that we will not take risks. And in this economy, as traditional jobs and careers disappear, and as some academic fields wax and others wane, you will have to take more risks, become more entrepreneurial. As Thomas Friedman recently stated: “Need a job? Invent it.” You cannot make big bets, experiment early and often, if you are terrified of failure.

Thomas J. Watson, the legendary leader of IBM counseled: “If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.” The point is to lean into disappointment and setback. Become more gritty. This morning you may think I have taken you in two entirely different directions. I have extolled inspiration, the joys of learning, the importance of thinking and understanding as ends in themselves. And I have said, as a young professional you need perspiration, to be more gritty; focused, tough, able to overcome setbacks and disappointment. I have spoken about inspiration and perspiration, traits that may seem opposite or contradictory. Actually, I do think they are linked more tightly than one might think. No one was more relentlessly curious than Thomas Edison, yet he regularly related his insights to a relentless work ethic: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.” Another brilliant inventor, Louis Pasteur, put it this way: “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goals: my strength lies solely in my tenacity.”

This morning, I extend the heartiest congratulations on this special day. And I commend to you the conjoined virtues of relentless curiosity and sustained focus and hard work.

Father Hesburgh to be celebrated at U.S. Capitol reception

2013-05-18T12:35:00-04:00

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president emeritus, who celebrates his 96th birthday May 25 (Saturday), will himself be celebrated three days earlier at a special reception in the U.S. Capitol.

A reception hosted by John A. Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, will be held May 22 (Wednesday) beginning at 3 p.m. in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol. All members of Congress, both House and Senate, have been invited to the reception, at which both Boehner and Pelosi are expected to make remarks.

In addition to celebrating his birthday, the reception also is taking place to honor Father Hesburgh’s 70th anniversary as a priest. He was ordained as a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross on June 24, 1943 at Sacred Heart Church on the Notre Dame campus.

The 70th anniversary of Father Hesburgh’s ordination also will be celebrated at Notre Dame May 24 (Friday) along with the ordination anniversaries of 21 of his brother Holy Cross priests at a Jubilee Mass at 4 p.m. in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Father Hesburgh is the oldest and longest-serving priest of the Congregation’s United States Province.

Long regarded an elder statesman in American higher education, Father Hesburgh holds 150 honorary degrees, the most ever awarded to one person. He has held 16 presidential appointments involving most of the major social issues in his time, including civil rights, the peaceful use of atomic energy, campus unrest, treatment of Vietnam offenders, and Third World development and immigration reform. A charter member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, he chaired the commission from 1969 to 1972, when President Richard Nixon replaced him as chairman due to his criticism of the administration’s civil rights record. He was the first Catholic priest elected to the Board of Overseers at Harvard University and served two years (1994-1995) as the board’s president. He also co-chaired from 1990 to 1996 the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. In July 2000, Father Hesburgh became the first person from higher education to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Notre Dame establishes Office of Postdoctoral Scholars

2013-05-14T15:00:00-04:00

To ensure that postdoctoral scholars in the early stages of their careers receive necessary resources, training, mentoring and comprehensive professional development support, the University of Notre Dame is forming an Office of Postdoctoral Scholars. The newly formed office will be administered through the Graduate School and is slated to open July 1.

Postdoctoral scholars are researchers who have received their Ph.D.s and who are undertaking additional training before assuming their professional careers, be it in the academy, industry, government or nonprofit setting. There currently are 271 postdoctoral scholars at Notre Dame.

Building on a foundation put in place by the Office of Research — which formerly managed the appointments of postdoctoral scholars — the new office will consolidate services and provide additional professional development training and resources that will allow postdocs to flourish both at Notre Dame and beyond in their careers.

“The fact that the Office of Postdoctoral Scholars will report through the Graduate School signals Notre Dame’s recognition that postdoctoral appointments are developmental positions for scholars preparing for the next stage in their careers,” said Christine Maziar, acting dean of the Graduate School.

Primary functions of the office will include:

Serving as a central location for providing services aimed at postdoctoral scholars’ needs.
Developing a postdoc professional development program in partnership with the Graduate School Professional Development program that is focused on research, teaching, career and professional ethics.
Building a strong and interactive postdoctoral community through orientation, information sessions, workshops and social events.
Providing assistance to faculty with recruiting and hiring postdocs.
Providing oversight of postdoctoral appointment procedures and policies.
Serving as a resource for visa issues involving postdocs.

Robinson Center and Notre Dame students create children's book

2013-05-14T11:15:00-04:00

With the help of a group of University of Notre Dame undergraduate students, children from the Robinson Community Learning Center worked together to publish a book of their stories and artwork.

Called “Every Child Has a Story,” the self-published children’s book features three stories with drawings that were created by the RCLC students, all between the ages of 7 and 11.

In spring 2011, a group of about 10 undergraduates from Notre Dame’s Student International Business Council decided to create and market a book with the students from the RCLC that could provide continued income to the center. Many of the Notre Dame students in the group, working as the Global Development section of the SIBC, volunteered at the Robinson Center and saw an opportunity to help develop the children’s literacy and creativity skills.

Velshonna Luckey, youth development program director at the RCLC, said the children collaborated on the content for the book. “The students were divided into small teams and they worked on a few ideas,” she said. “The process was an entire year – ideas, characters, story and illustration. Each story had to be accompanied with a picture. After all the stories were completed – some groups had multiple stories – the top stories from each group were selected.”

The book contains three of these stories, accompanied by illustrations. One of the stories, for example, is about a visit to the White House to meet President Barack Obama.

“Last year, the group worked extremely hard to get a professional designer to prepare the book for print,” Luckey said. “The final version is absolutely beautiful!”

The Notre Dame students decided to publish the book through Amazon.com, setting it up so that the proceeds from sales go back to the Robinson Center.

“Because so many people are involved at the Robinson Center, we wanted to do as much as we could because they do so much for the kids and the community,” said freshman Lisa Wuertz, an SIBC member and Robinson Center volunteer.

After facing setbacks such as when the initial project leader left to study abroad and challenges with printing, the finished book was published in March.

“It has been amazing for the students seeing their original work in a published book,” Luckey said. “We spend a lot of time encouraging our students to write and realize that every book they read was started by someone having a good idea and a willingness to work hard to get it published.

“It’s amazing to see the stories the students came up with. It was a lot of fun to see them work with the college students as well. They were a very interesting group of children with very diverse interest and personalities, and they had to work as a team, which wasn’t always easy. So they learned a lot about working in groups, sharing ideas and compromise.”

Paperback copies of “Every Child Has a Story,” sold for $12, are available online or at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore.

‘HAWK’ pedestrian safety system installed near Notre Dame campus

2013-05-10T15:20:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame, in cooperation with St. Joseph County, has installed a new type of traffic signal that has been proven to increase pedestrian safety when crossing the street. The new signal is known as a “HAWK” signal, an acronym that stands for high-intensity activated crosswalk.

The HAWK signal has been installed near the intersection of Twyckenham Drive and Vaness Street, the first of its kind in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties. HAWK signals were developed by the city of Tucson, Ariz., in 2004. They have since been installed by many other states and in Washington, D.C.

By installing the HAWK signal, the University is bringing proven technology to the campus area to enhance pedestrian safety. Studies have shown that more than 90 percent of motorists properly yield to pedestrians in crosswalks using HAWK signal. The HAWK signal at Twyckenham Drive is replacing a traditional pedestrian crossing. It will be more effective at increasing motorist awareness of pedestrians in the crosswalk.

When not in use, the HAWK traffic signal is dark to motorists, and a solid orange raised hand indicating “Don’t Walk” is displayed for pedestrians. When a pedestrian pushes the crosswalk button, motorists see a flashing yellow signal for several seconds. After the flashing yellow interval, the traffic signal displays a solid yellow — much like a conventional traffic signal — alerting motorists to get ready to stop.

Much like traditional traffic signals, the walking person symbol soon changes to a flashing orange hand with a countdown display showing the number of seconds left to cross the street. As with all pedestrian crossing signals, pedestrians should not start crossing the street if the flashing orange hand and countdown timer is showing. During this time, drivers see alternating flashing red signals, like at a railroad crossing signal. When the flashing red is displayed, drivers may proceed after stopping if there are no pedestrians in the crosswalk.

The cycle ends with the flashing red signals going dark and the solid orange raised hand shown to pedestrians until the next pedestrian pushes the button.

Contact: Tim Sexton, associate vice president for public affairs, sexton.30@nd.edu

Indiana Catholic Poverty Summit: 'People were inspired'

2013-05-10T14:35:00-04:00

In one of his earliest public addresses, at an audience for journalists, Pope Francis spoke of how, immediately following his election, an old friend and fellow churchman had embraced him, urging, “don’t forget the poor.” The new pope said that he subsequently chose as namesake the saint “who wanted a poor church,” and concluded his remarks by exclaiming, “Ah, how I would like a church that is poor and is for the poor!”

Pope Francis’ words were invoked early on during the Indiana Catholic Poverty Summit at the University of Notre Dame last month, and the paradox of Catholic doctrine — the imperative to alleviate the poverty we encounter in others while trying to become poor ourselves — was appreciable in the gathering.

Hosted and sponsored by the University’s Center for Social Concerns (CSC), the daylong summit brought together all five of Indiana’s Catholic bishops and representatives from Catholic social service, health care and educational institutions across the state and nationwide to explore and recommend new initiatives to reduce poverty in the state. “Five bishops in the same room, and all of them listening,” joked Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin. “Why, that’s practically an ecumenical council.”

As would befit an ecumenical council, the summit began with Mass in Geddes Hall’s Our Lady of Mercy Chapel. Concelebrating with the bishops, Rev. Paul V. Kollman, C.S.C., director of the CSC, gave a homily on the day’s Gospel (John 14:1-6), in which Jesus assures his followers that “in my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.”

“This Gospel reminds us that Jesus made room for all,” Father Kollman said, “and our work with the poor of our state should invite the same concern, even as we are mindful of the poverty we all share and ought to embrace.”

Whatever they may have thought of Pope Francis’ desire for a poor church, the nearly 100 summit participants plainly shared a determination not to forget the poor. Had they needed reminding, plenty of assistance was available from David Siler, executive director of Catholic Charities in Indianapolis; Rev. Larry Snyder, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities USA; and Sheila Gilbert, national president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, as well as from social workers active in three Indiana dioceses.

Even without the human stories that many of the summiteers are able to ascribe them, Indiana’s poverty statistics would make any morally sentient person wince: At present, 16 percent of the state’s residents and 20 percent of the state’s children (which means 311,000 children — about four Notre Dame Stadiums full) live under the poverty line. Moreover, those statistics are inadequate, as the outdated “poverty line” is reckoned by the cost of the cheapest three-meal daily diet that the federal government considered nutritionally adequate in 1963.

Having heard nation- and statewide overviews of the worsening plight of the poor and the increasing inadequacy of communal response, the summit participants received more intimate views of urban and rural Indiana poverty from diocesan social workers at work in Evansville, Tell City and South Bend before breaking into five respective diocesan groups to discuss the use of education, advocacy, service and prayer in battling Indiana poverty.

When they had reassembled, Archbishop Tobin spoke, reminding the participants of three conspicuous commitments of Catholic social services: refugee resettlement, disaster relief and the alleviation of poverty. “We need to learn why we have been so successful with refugees and disaster relief,” he said, “but we also need to keep in mind that Meat Loaf was wrong when he sang ‘two out of three ain’t bad.’"

As the summit concluded, Archbishop Tobin said that the Indiana bishops would be meeting again in May to discuss issues raised in the Notre Dame discussions and to consider writing a pastoral letter on poverty.

According to summit organizer William Purcell, associate director of the CSC, it is too early to gauge the effects of the Notre Dame meeting, but the unprecedented event “allowed leaders from around the state to draw attention to the needs of people in poverty, and reflect on concrete ways our Catholic faith calls all of us to respond. From this historical occasion, there were incentives for improved diocesan and statewide communication and coordination of poverty eradication efforts. The Holy Spirit was truly present at the day. There was real listening, deep engagement and a true desire to move further in addressing poverty in Indiana. People were inspired.”

Contact: William Purcell, 574-631-9473, wpurcell@nd.edu

Notre Dame adds two Fellows and three Trustees

2013-05-10T10:45:00-04:00

Two members of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees were elected Fellows of the University, three individuals were elected to the Board, and three Board members were elected to emeritus status May 3.

Rev. José E. Ahumada F., C.S.C., and John J. Brennan were elected Fellows, filling the vacancies left by Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., and Patrick F. McCartan, both of whom reached retirement age and were elected emeritus members of the Board.

Father Ahumada is the rector of Saint George’s College, a 2,600-student Congregation of Holy Cross primary and secondary school in Santiago, Chile, and the president of a consortium of more than 70 private schools on the east side of Santiago. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Notre Dame and graduate degrees from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif., and the Catholic University of Chile. He was ordained a priest in 1983.

Brennan is chairman emeritus of Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment companies. He joined Vanguard in 1982, was elected president in 1989, served as chief executive officer from 1996 to 2008, and was chairman of the board from 1998 to 2009. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master of business administration degree from the Harvard Business School. His three children are Notre Dame graduates.

Father Beauchamp is the president of the University of Portland and McCartan is senior partner of the international law firm Jones Day and immediate past chair of the Board. Also elected to emeritus status was Kenneth E. Stinson, chairman emeritus of the Omaha, Neb., construction firm Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc., who will receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame later this month.

The 12 Fellows – six lay men and women and six priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame’s founding religious community – are the University’s ultimate governing body. They elect the Trustees, adopt and amend the bylaws and are specifically charged with maintaining Notre Dame’s Catholic character.

The three new Board members are Karen McCartan DeSantis, Thomas Maheras and Cindy Parseghian.

DeSantis is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. She specializes in complex, commercial litigation. A graduate of Princeton University, she earned her law degree from Notre Dame, where she was editor in chief of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. She is a visiting faculty member in Notre Dame Law School’s Trial Advocacy Program and has served on the Law School Advisory Council and the advisory board for the University’s Alliance for Catholic Education program.

Maheras is the founder and managing partner of Tegean Capital Management, an investment management firm based in New York City. He previously was chairman and co-chief executive officer of Citi Markets and Banking, the investment banking division of Citigroup, and before that worked for Salomon Brothers. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Notre Dame and has been a member of the advisory council for the University’s Mendoza College of Business since 2006.

Parseghian is president and co-founder, with her husband, Michael, of the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation. Named in honor of Michael’s father, the legendary Notre Dame football coach, the foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Niemann-Pick Type C Disease, a disorder that took the lives of three of the Parseghians’ four children. Parseghian earned her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Notre Dame and a master’s degree from Northwestern University. She has served on the Notre Dame College of Science Advisory Council.

Also joining the Board is James Zavertnik, a 1979 graduate from Miami, the president-elect of the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees is chaired by Richard C. Notebaert and currently is composed of 47 members.

China’s new leadership: Notre Dame examines what changes mean

2013-05-09T15:40:00-04:00

Assembled for the first time at an analytical forum at the University of Notre Dame, a distinguished group of journalists, activists and academics will move beyond conventional scholarly ways of framing debates and address the dramatic changes in China’s leadership in relation to the global community.

To explore what those changes mean for ordinary Chinese citizens and for people around the world connected to China through globalization, “China, the Chinese and the World: Trajectories of Change,” will be held May 13 and 14 (Monday and Tuesday) at Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

Unlike most scholarly conferences, the forum will not include paper presentations by scholars. Instead, it will take the form of a wide-ranging “global conversation” focused on the rapid change currently taking place in China and subsequent analysis of potential future trends.

Gady Epstein, the China correspondent for The Economist since 2011 and former Beijing bureau chief for Forbes magazine; Xiao Qiang, founder and chief editor of China Digital Times, a bilingual China news website; and Elizabeth Perry, a Harvard University expert on popular protest in contemporary China and director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, are among the participants. Both Xiao and John Kamm, the founder and executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, have received MacArthur “genius” awards for their human rights work in China.

Areas of participant expertise include Chinese politics, history, culture and law; censorship and the Internet; the environment and geography; HIV/AIDS, human rights, international relations, military and security issues; and popular protest. A complete list of participants and their biographies is available here.

With China’s inequality skyrocketing and protests erupting in both urban and rural areas, participants in the forum will address issues such as the prospects for democracy 25 years after Tiananmen Square; what these dramatic changes in China’s leadership mean for the global community; and how the socioeconomic and environmental changes brought about by the country’s economic transformation are affecting its ordinary citizens.

Contact: Lionel Jensen, associate professor of East Asian languages and cultures, 574-360-0857, ljensen@nd.edu

Innovative-Thinkers Camp returns for second year

2013-05-08T15:00:00-04:00

Students build lamps from recycled materials during Innovative-Thinkers Camp 2012

The University of Notre Dame is partnering with several local organizations to host the second annual Innovative-Thinkers Camp, a two-week summer experience created to encourage youth in grades seven through nine to obtain skills that will create a mindset for individual achievement in their academic and future career interests. The camp also attempts to cultivate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Michiana region by nurturing the pipeline that feeds local economic development.

This summer, 100 Black Men of Greater South Bend, Indiana Black Expo, Ivy Tech Community College, La Casa de Amistad, Mount Carmel Baptist Missionary Church, The Salvation Army, the South Bend Community School Corp., and the YMCA Innovation Delta will partner with Notre Dame to host a second camp Mondays through Fridays from June 10 through June 21. Most days include a guest speaker from the business community sharing their areas of career expertise, and explaining the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) applications in their work. In addition, camp staff and administrators attempt to link students with subject matter experts so that they can discover how to develop their passions and interests into a potential career path or business.

Last year, several Notre Dame departments collaborated with Intel, Lenovo, the Lincoln Division of Ford Motor Company, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., La Casa de Amistad, 100 Black Men of Greater South Bend, and the Memorial Center Pfeil Innovative Center to pilot the Innovative-Thinker’s Camp. The 2012 summer parent and student evaluations were outstanding, with parents reporting immediate positive changes in their children.

To maximize the benefits of the program, it is recommended that students participate throughout their seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade years, but three-year participation is not required.

During the first summer, students will:

Understand innovation as a key competency for future success by developing an idea for a business presentation
Learn communication skills to better communicate with adults, peers and others
Understand the use of social media as a tool for personal branding
Expand their knowledge of information-seeking behavior, learning to recognize plagiarism and intellectual property (copyright) in the context of information literacy
Transition into supplemental programs for academic support

To provide continuity between each summer camp, the program also includes quarterly field trips that include experiential STEAM activities, academic support opportunities with Notre Dame’s TRiO Programs and educational opportunities for parents.

The camp day is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack are provided each day during the camp. Camp sites for the 2013 session include Ivy Tech Community College, Navarre Intermediate Center, the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC) and the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture.

Applications may be obtained from the Center for Arts and Culture, the RCLC, the Kroc Center or La Casa de Amistad. Application deadline is May 17 (Friday).

Contact: Jackie Rucker, associate director, community relations, 574-631-3249; Iris Outlaw, director, Multicultural Student Programs and Services, 574-631-6841

More than 3,000 students to receive degrees May 18-19

2013-05-07T15:40:00-04:00

More than 3,000 students will receive degrees during the University of Notre Dame’s Commencement ceremonies, which will be held on campus May 18 and 19 (Saturday and Sunday).

Degrees will be conferred on 2,078 undergraduates at Notre Dame’s 168th University Commencement Ceremony on Sunday. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will be the principal speaker and the recipient of an honorary degree. Sister Susanne Gallagher, S.P.; Sister Mary Therese Harrington, S.H.; and Rev. James H. McCarthy, founders of the Special Religious Education Development Network, will receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2013 Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics.

Mallory Meter, a psychology major from Beverly Hills, Mich., will deliver the valedictory address.

In addition to Cardinal Dolan, other honorary degree recipients are: Gu Binglin, former president of Tshingua University in Beijing; Sister Antona Ebo, F.S.M., a lifelong pioneer in civil rights; Marilynne Robinson, an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction; Morton Schapiro, the 16th president of Northwestern University; and Kenneth Stinson, chairman emeritus of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc. and a member of the Notre Dame Board of Trustees.

On Saturday, an additional 396 students will receive master’s and doctoral degrees at the Graduate School Commencement Ceremony, along with 422 master’s degree students at the Mendoza College of Business Ceremony and 197 students at the Law School Ceremony.

Notable Commencement weekend events are:

ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, 9 a.m. Saturday, Leighton Concert Hall, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

Graduate School Commencement Ceremony, 10 a.m. Saturday, Compton Family Ice Arena

Mendoza College of Business Graduate Ceremony, 10 a.m. Saturday, Purcell Pavilion, Joyce Center

Law School Ceremony, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Hesburgh Library Reflecting Pool

Service Send-Off Ceremony, 1 p.m. Saturday, Leighton Concert Hall, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

Commencement Mass, 5 p.m. Saturday, Purcell Pavilion, Joyce Center

University Commencement Ceremony, 9 a.m. Sunday, Notre Dame Stadium

Undergraduate college and departmental diploma ceremonies, beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, various locations

A complete schedule of events is available on the Commencement website.

A number of the weekend’s events will be streamed live on the Internet.

Indiana Campus Compact recognizes Center for Social Concerns

2013-05-07T13:00:00-04:00

Representatives from the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns (CSC) swept three of the four 2013 Service Engagement Awards given at the Indiana Campus Compact 20th anniversary dinner held recently in Indianapolis .

Annie Cahill Kelly, director of community partnerships, received the Community Service Director Award. Jon Schommer, a member of the CSC Student Advisory Council, VOICE, received the Richard J. Wood Student Community Commitment Award. La Casa de Amistad, a CSC community partner, received the Outstanding Community Partner Award.

Indiana Campus Compact advances the public purpose of colleges and universities by deepening their ability to improve community life and educate students for civic and social responsibility. This work is accomplished at many levels by engaging faculty, staff, students, university administrators and community partners in this work. In 2012, ICC supported nearly 50,000 individuals through grant programs, professional development opportunities, resources and networking.

Rev. Edward A. (Monk) Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus of Notre Dame and one of the founders of Indiana Campus Compact, attended the awards dinner along with the award recipients.

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

Statement from Father Jenkins on the passing of Gov. Bowen

2013-05-06T12:00:00-04:00

The following is a statement from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, on the death this past weekend of former Indiana Gov. Otis Bowen:

“Indiana has lost a beloved leader with the passing of Gov. Bowen. His contributions to our nation and state were many and valued, and he was, as well, a great friend of Notre Dame. On behalf of Fathers Hesburgh and Malloy and the entire Notre Dame community, our deepest condolences and heartfelt prayers go out to his family.”

Father Malloy elected to Riley Children’s Foundation Board of Governors

2013-05-03T14:00:00-04:00

Rev. Edward A. “Monk” Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, has been elected to serve on the Riley Children’s Foundation’s Board of Governors. Representing the South Bend region on the Board of Governors, Father Malloy will also chair a regional committee in the South Bend area comprising business and civic leaders, physicians and Riley parents.

Jim Morris, chairman of Riley Children’s Foundation Board of Governors, announced Father Malloy’s election: “We are incredibly honored and fortunate that Father Malloy will be joining our Board of Governors. During his 18 years as president of the University of Notre Dame, he made countless contributions internationally as well as to the South Bend community. His leadership will be invaluable in advancing the care of children through support of Riley Hospital and its research efforts.”

Children from all 92 Indiana counties receive care at Riley Hospital, with more than 6,500 annual patient visits from the South Bend region. Hundreds more children are seen each year in clinics conducted by Riley physicians in the South Bend area.

Father Malloy’s commitment to Riley Hospital for Children was inspired by his own family’s experience. His grandnephew Henry Scroope V was transported from Memorial Hospital in South Bend to Riley Hospital soon after his birth in September 2009. Except for a brief two-week stay at home, Henry spent his life at Riley Hospital, passing away on February 3, 2010. Father Malloy visited Henry several times, including on his last day when he anointed him and shared his final hours with Henry, his parents and other family members.

This experience prompted Father Malloy to write a letter to Riley leaders that praised the care Henry and his family received during an extraordinarily difficult time: “I was struck at that time by the family-friendly environment in the hospital in general and in the wards as well as by the highly skilled and devoted care provided by the doctors, nurses and technicians. We all felt, not only then, but later, that Henry was being given the very best care available.”

For 89 years, Riley Hospital for Children has cared for the sickest of the sick as its researchers and physicians seek the cures and treatments to save and improve the quality of children’s lives. Riley Children’s Foundation founded Riley Hospital in Indianapolis in 1924 and continues to provide philanthropic leadership to one of the nation’s most highly ranked comprehensive children’s hospitals. Riley also trains more than two-thirds of the pediatricians in Indiana.

Riley Children’s Foundation supports Riley Hospital for Children, Camp Riley and the James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home. As Indiana’s only comprehensive children’s hospital, Riley Hospital has provided compassionate care, support and comfort to children and their families since 1924. Each year children from all 92 Indiana counties turn to Riley Hospital and its regional clinics throughout the state more than 230,000 times as well as an additional 100,000 times in clinics and hospitals staffed by Riley physicians throughout the state.