tag:news.nd.edu,2005:/newsNotre Dame News | News2024-03-28T09:00:00-04:00tag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1608062024-03-28T09:00:00-04:002024-03-28T09:29:14-04:00Suppressing boredom at work hurts future productivity, study shows <p>New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that trying to stifle boredom at work prolongs its effects and that alternating boring and meaningful tasks helps to prevent the effects of one boring task from spilling over to reduce productivity on others.</p><figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/528884/casher_belinda_350.jpg" alt="Male professor wearing green shirt" width="350" height="350">
<figcaption>Casher Belinda</figcaption>
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<p>Boredom is more common at work than in any other setting, studies show, and employees are bored at work for more than 10 hours per week on average.</p>
<p>Even astronauts and police officers get bored on the job. No occupation is immune.</p>
<p>Boredom serves an important purpose — it signals the need to stop an action and find an alternative project. But boredom becomes problematic when it’s ignored.</p>
<p>New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that trying to stifle boredom prolongs its effects and that alternating boring and meaningful tasks helps to prevent the effects of one boring task from spilling over to reduce productivity on others.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-46936-001">Breaking Boredom: Interrupting the Residual Effect of State Boredom on </a><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2024-46936-001">Future Productivity</a>” is forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology from lead author <a href="https://mendoza.nd.edu/mendoza-directory/profile/casher-bellinda/">Casher Belinda</a>, assistant professor of management at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, along with Shimul Melwani from the University of North Carolina and Chaitali Kapadia from Florida International University.</p>
<p>The team sought to understand if, when and why experiencing boredom now might lead to attention and productivity deficits later. They tested these possibilities in three studies that examined the consequences of boredom on a task-to-task basis.</p>
<p>The first study drew on data from dual-career families working in a variety of industries. Participants responded to multiple surveys per day at different intervals, enabling the team to examine the relationships between boredom, attention and productivity over time. Follow-up studies used alternative methods to reach a broader audience and focused on how meaningful work tasks help mitigate boredom’s prolonged effects.</p>
<p>Belinda, who specializes in emotions, interpersonal communication and close relationships within organizations, noted that boredom is viewed as a nuisance emotion that any strong-willed employee should subdue for the sake of productivity.</p>
<p>He found that experiencing boredom at any one point in time leads to delayed or residual bouts of mind-wandering. Employees often try to “power through” boring tasks to make progress on their work goals, but he said that not only does this fail to prevent boredom’s negative effects, it’s also one of the most dysfunctional responses to boredom.</p>
<p>“Like whack-a-mole, downplaying boredom on one task results in attention and productivity deficits that bubble up during subsequent tasks,” he said. “Paradoxically, then, trying to suppress boredom gives its harmful effects a longer shelf life.”</p>
<p>Part of the solution lies in how work tasks are organized throughout the day. Although boring tasks can’t be avoided, effectively combating the negative effects of boredom requires careful consideration of the nature of different work tasks and how they are sequenced. Casher said it helps to work strategically, looking beyond a single boring task.</p>
<p>“‘Playing the long game’ will help minimize the cumulative effects of boredom over the course of the day,” Belinda explained. “Following an initial boring task, employees should turn to other meaningful tasks to help restore lost energy.”</p>
<p><strong><em>Contact</em></strong><em>: Casher Belinda, 574-621-9629, <a href="mailto:cbelinda@nd.edu">cbelinda@nd.edu</a></em></p>
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<p> </p>Shannon Roddeltag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1607422024-03-25T15:00:00-04:002024-03-26T14:46:54-04:00Cancer therapies show promise in combating tuberculosis<article class="post">
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<p>A study from the University of Notre Dame, Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health has identified a combination of medications that may improve blood flow within granulomas, benefiting drug delivery. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study leverages decades of cancer research to study tuberculosis-affected lung tissue and improve treatment.</p>
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</article><p>What could cancer teach us about tuberculosis? That’s a question <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/faculty/meenal-datta/">Meenal Datta</a> has been chasing since she was a graduate student.</p>
<p>Once the body’s immune system is infected with tuberculosis, it forms granulomas — tight clusters of white blood cells — in an attempt to wall off the infection-causing bacteria in the lungs. But more often than not, granulomas do more harm than good.</p>
<p>Charged with analyzing the similarities between granulomas and tumors, Datta discovered that both are structurally and functionally abnormal. In 2015, she and other researchers <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1424563112">looked at the vascular structures of granulomas</a> and showed that they are compromised and leaky just like tumor blood vessels, which limits drug delivery and successful treatment in both diseases.</p>
<p>“It was the first time we showed definitively that there was this pathophysiological similarity between these two diseases that present with different causes and symptoms,” said Datta, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame. “Cancer doesn’t sound anything like an infectious disease. And yet, here are two different diseases with the same problem of dysfunctional blood vessels.”</p>
<p>Now a study from the same team at the University of Notre Dame, Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health has identified a combination of medications that may improve blood flow within granulomas, benefiting drug delivery. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2321336121">Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, the study leverages decades of cancer research to study tuberculosis-affected lung tissue and improve treatment.</p>
<p>“Much like in tumors, many of the blood vessels in granulomas are compressed or squeezed shut — just like if you stepped on your garden hose,” said Datta, the first author on the study. “In cancer, we know that happens because of the growing tumor mass and the supportive protein scaffolding it puts down, called matrix. We thought maybe the same thing was happening in tuberculosis.”</p>
<p>The study confirmed that a similar phenomenon is occurring in granulomas — too much cell mass and protein scaffolding. This impaired function makes blood flow through blood vessels nearly impossible, crippling the ability to get a medication to the tuberculosis disease site.</p>
<p>Datta and her collaborators used losartan, an affordable drug used to treat high blood pressure. However, it also has the beneficial side effect of reducing the amount of matrix being created inside a granuloma, thus opening the compressed blood vessels and restoring blood flow.</p>
<p>Researchers then combined losartan with bevacizumab, a drug used by cancer patients to stop the overproduction of poorly formed blood vessels. With this two-pronged medicinal approach, Datta and the team were able to make the granuloma blood vessels function and behave more normally.</p>
<p>When the researchers applied the host-directed therapies losartan and bevacizumab along with antibiotics, they showed improved drug delivery and antibiotic concentration within granulomas.</p>
<p>Additionally, Datta’s graduate student Maksym Zarodniuk analyzed genome sequencing data produced by the team, and found that even without antibiotics, there was a reduction in tuberculosis bacteria within the granulomas.</p>
<p>“When we gave just those host-directed therapies, we were getting good treatment benefit even without adding the antibiotics. Those therapies were promoting the body’s inflammatory response to fight against the bacteria, which we did not expect,” Datta said.</p>
<p>For Datta, this study caps off a stretch of tuberculosis research that started when she began her doctoral research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2011, and has spanned multiple phases of her career. Tuberculosis, although largely controlled in the U.S., is still considered one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide.</p>
<p>“The advantage of the host-directed therapies we selected is that these agents or very similar drugs of the same class are already approved by regulatory agencies around the globe, and they are affordable,” Datta said. “We hope that our preclinical results will be found compelling enough to start a clinical trial to benefit tuberculosis patients.”</p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://timelab.nd.edu/">Datta’s lab</a> at the University of Notre Dame primarily focuses its <a href="https://news.nd.edu/news/understudied-cell-in-the-brain-could-be-key-to-treating-glioblastoma/">research on understanding glioblastoma</a>, a rare treatment-resistant brain cancer. Datta said that being an engineer allows her to cross into other areas of research and with a different perspective, making an excellent case for the importance of multidisciplinary research.</p>
<p>“I do believe that really is an advantage of being an engineer. It’s easier for me to sometimes make connections between contexts that seem disparate,” Datta said. “We depend on our life science and clinical colleagues to walk through those details, but engineers are very good at approaching complex problems from a simplified systems approach.”</p>
<p>The study, “Normalizing granuloma vasculature and matrix improves drug delivery and reduces bacterial burden in tuberculosis-infected rabbits,” was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Datta is an affiliated member of Notre Dame’s <a href="https://precisionhealth.nd.edu/">Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health</a>, <a href="https://globalhealth.nd.edu/">Eck Institute for Global Health</a>, <a href="https://harpercancer.nd.edu/">Harper Cancer Research Institute</a>, <a href="https://lucyinstitute.nd.edu/">Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society</a>, <a href="https://nano.nd.edu/">NDnano</a> and <a href="https://drugdiscovery.nd.edu/">Warren Center for Drug Discovery</a>. Datta is an assistant professor in the following doctorate programs: aerospace and mechanical engineering, bioengineering, and materials science and engineering.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact:</strong> Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, <a href="mailto:brandiwampler@nd.edu">brandiwampler@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p> </p>Brandi Wamplertag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606762024-03-25T13:00:00-04:002024-03-25T12:44:09-04:00Essays on democracy draw attention to critical threats, explore safeguards ahead of Jan. 6<p>Shortly after Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, Notre Dame’s Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy established the January 6th, 2025, Project, which includes 10 Notre Dame faculty who are preeminent scholars of democracy. In an effort to understand the social, political, psychological and demographic factors that led to that troublesome day, the group created a collection of 14 essays aimed at drawing attention to the vulnerabilities in our democratic system and the threats building against it, hoping to create consensus on ways to remedy both problems. </p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/562644/fullsize/u.s._capitol_building_1200x675_mc.jpg" alt="The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., against a blue sky with soft clouds." width="1200" height="675">
<figcaption>The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Photo Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
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<p>Following the events of Jan. 6, 2021 — when a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to interrupt the certification process of the 2020 presidential election — experts began to question how to protect the next presidential election from a similar threat. To that end, University of Notre Dame political scientists have partnered with preeminent scholars of democracy from across the country to produce a set of recommendations to strengthen and safeguard democracy in America.</p>
<p>The University’s<a href="https://rooneycenter.nd.edu/"> Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy</a> established the<a href="http://rooneycenter.nd.edu/january6th"> January 6th, 2025, Project</a> in an effort to understand the social, political, psychological and demographic factors that led to that troublesome day in our nation’s capital. By pursuing research, teaching and public engagement, the project offers insight into how American democracy got to this point and how to strengthen and protect it, while emphasizing how to prepare for a similar attack many deem imminent on Jan. 6, 2025, when Congress seeks to certify the 2024 presidential election results. The project includes 34 members who represent various disciplines and leading universities — 10 of whom hail from Notre Dame’s faculty.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/matthew-e-k-hall/"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/562643/300x350/matt_hall_300x350_new.jpg" alt="Professor Matt Hall wears dark glasses and a blue collared shirt underneath a black blazer." width="300" height="350"></a>
<figcaption>Matthew E.K. Hall, director of the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy and the David A. Potenziani Memorial College Professor of Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame. (Photo Credit: University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/matthew-e-k-hall/">Matthew E.K. Hall</a>, director of the Rooney Center, said one of the project’s first goals was to create a collection of essays written by its members to be included in a special issue of the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ANN/current">Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science</a>, which was published this month. These essays aim to draw attention to the vulnerabilities in our democratic system and the threats building against it, and to create consensus on ways to remedy both problems.</p>
<p>The authors set out to tackle the following tough questions, but from different perspectives: How serious are the threats to our democracy, how did we get to this point, and what can we do to fix the situation? The 14 essays are broken down into categories, falling under the headings of “‘Us’ Versus ‘Them,’” “Dangerous Ideas” and “Undermining Democratic Institutions.” With most pieces being co-authored by faculty from multiple institutions, the collection offers a collaborative approach to evaluating what led America to this crisis and how to avert it.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/david-campbell/"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/562641/300x350/david_campbell_300x350_bj.jpg" alt="Professor Dave Campbell, male, wears a blue blazer over a blue collared shirt and has a friendly smile." width="300" height="350"></a>
<figcaption>David Campbell, director of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative and the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. (Photo Credit: Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/david-campbell/">David Campbell</a>, director of the <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/initiatives/democracy-initiative/">Notre Dame Democracy Initiative</a> and the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy in the <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/">Department of Political Science</a>, described the project as “an example of how Notre Dame can be a national leader on the issue of preserving American democracy. Not only do we have top scholars working on the issue, but we can provide a forum for a community of scholars across many leading universities. Maintaining democracy will require all hands on deck.”</p>
<p>In the collection’s introduction, <a href="https://news.nd.edu/our-experts/matthew-hall/">Hall</a> explained the backdrop of what led America to this point and why these essays help acknowledge the challenges we are facing as a nation. “We are basically living through a revival of fascist politics in the U.S.,” Hall wrote, “where politicians are using divisive rhetoric to separate us into an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ paradigm — left versus right, white versus Black, rich versus poor, urban versus rural, religious versus secular — the divisions go on and on.”</p>
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<p style="padding-left: 40px;">“Maintaining democracy will require all hands on deck.” ~ David Campbell</p>
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<p><a href="https://news.nd.edu/news/on-the-brink-of-a-new-civil-war-new-national-survey-highlights-fragility-of-american-democracy-stark-partisan-divides/">Hall estimated</a> that between 25 and 30 percent of Americans have consistently endorsed some fascist ideas such as racial oppression, conspiracy theories and authoritarianism. “Ordinarily, this consistent minority is held in check by the democratic process,” Hall explained. “These candidates don’t even get nominated for major political positions because their co-partisan allies don’t want to lose the general election.</p>
<p>“But when our politics become this intensely polarized, most partisans will support their party no matter who is nominated,” he continued. “As a result, politicians pushing these fascist ideas can gain power by taking over one political party and then exploiting the polarization to win elections. Once taking power, they will likely manipulate the electoral process to remain in power.”</p>
<p>Consequently, Hall said, fascist leaders are able to exploit these social divisions to break down basic social norms and shared understandings about American politics. This pushes huge swaths of society toward accepting dangerous ideas that would normally be rejected, such as expanded executive power, intense animosity toward political opponents, a wavering support for free speech, and political candidates who deny election losses. This weakened support for democratic norms enables attacks on our democratic institutions, such as ignoring court rulings, enacting voter suppression laws and — most shockingly (as in the case of Jan. 6) — openly subverting elections.</p>
<p>With the political situation as dire as many feel it to be, the January 6th, 2025, Project’s essays outline a few practical steps that can be taken to strengthen and safeguard democracy in America.</p>
<p>For example, Hall said, as the nation moves forward into this next election year, American voters have to stay focused on the “deliberate denial of reality” on the part of some politicians so that they can discern the difference between lies, truths and just plain distractions.</p>
<p>“The more we lose touch with basic facts and accept misinformation, conspiracies and contradictory claims as the norm in our society,” he said, “the more vulnerable we are to losing our democracy.</p>
<p>“Even more importantly, we have to be willing to sacrifice short-term political gains in order to preserve the long-term stability of our democracy. That might mean holding your nose to vote for candidates that you would not otherwise support.”</p>
<p>Hall added that Americans must redouble their devotion to democratic principles such as open elections and free speech, and states should adopt institutional reforms that remove partisans from the electoral process (for example, employing nonpartisan election commissions). He also noted the importance of paying close attention to efforts that divide groups of Americans, especially those that portray outgroup members as evil or less than human.</p>
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<p>“The public needs to take these critical threats seriously and we’re hoping that these essays draw attention to them, and help to build consensus about the underlying problems in our politics and potential remedies.” ~ Matthew E.K. Hall</p>
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<p>The members of the project hope that by honestly acknowledging the challenges our nation is facing, understanding the mistakes that were made and recognizing the vulnerabilities in our system that led us to this situation — and by resolving to fix these issues — we can pull our country’s political system back from the edge of the cliff before it’s too late.</p>
<p>“The public needs to take these critical threats seriously and we’re hoping that these essays draw attention to them, and help to build consensus about the underlying problems in our politics and potential remedies,” Hall concluded.</p>
<p>Notre Dame faculty who are members of the January 6th, 2025, Project include <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/david-campbell/">David Campbell</a>, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/darren-davis/">Darren Davis</a>, the Snyder Family Mission Professor of Political Science; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/luis-ricardo-fraga/">Luis Fraga</a>, the Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor in Transformative Latino Leadership; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/matthew-e-k-hall/">Matthew E.K. Hall</a>, the David A. Potenziani Memorial College Professor of Constitutional Studies; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/jeff-harden/">Jeffrey Harden</a>, the Andrew J. McKenna Family Associate Professor of Political Science; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/geoffrey-c-layman/">Geoffrey Layman</a>, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/rachel-porter/">Rachel Porter</a>, assistant professor of political science; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/ricardo-ramirez/">Ricardo Ramirez</a>, associate professor of political science; <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/erin-rossiter/">Erin Rossiter</a>, the Nancy Reeves Dreux Assistant Professor of Political Science; and <a href="https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/christina-wolbrecht/">Christina Wolbrecht</a>, the C. Robert and Margaret Hanley Family Director of the Notre Dame Washington Program and professor of political science.</p>
<p>Democracy is one of several University-wide initiatives emerging from Notre Dame’s recently released <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://strategicframework.nd.edu/&source=gmail&ust=1711456421234000&usg=AOvVaw319Az5f0PCn7lfUhWM0C0r" jslog="32272; 1:WyIjdGhyZWFkLWE6cjMwNDM4NjgxMzM3NjY3MTIzMjYiXQ..; 4:WyIjbXNnLWY6MTc5NDI2NDgzNTI4MTcxNTIwOSJd" rel="noopener">Strategic Framework</a>. The <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/initiatives/democracy-initiative/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://strategicframework.nd.edu/initiatives/democracy-initiative/&source=gmail&ust=1711456421234000&usg=AOvVaw3ZJmaWMtKPG96oYy-ZS8t4" rel="noopener">Democracy Initiative</a> will <span style="color: #000000;">further</span> establish Notre Dame as a global leader in the study of democracy, a convenor for conversations about and actions to preserve democracy, and a model for the formation of civically engaged citizens and public servants. The Democracy Initiative will connect research, education and policy work across multiple campus units and will extend Notre Dame’s voice to policymakers and federal agencies in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p><strong id="docs-internal-guid-fa421fe0-7fff-98e1-9e72-79923e4cdec9"></strong><em><strong>Contact: </strong>Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or <a href="mailto:tdestazi@nd.edu">tdestazi@nd.edu</a></em></p>Tracy DeStaziotag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606992024-03-22T11:37:00-04:002024-03-22T11:38:26-04:00‘You’ve got power; use it’: Nobel laureate Maria Ressa speaks on democracy at Notre Dame Forum event<p>As part of the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum on “The Future of Democracy,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, an acclaimed journalist and renowned defender of democracy, spoke to more than 300 attendees on campus Wednesday (March 20) about the key challenges facing international information ecosystems and global democracy.</p><p>As part of the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum on “<a href="https://forum2023.nd.edu/">The Future of Democracy</a>,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, an acclaimed journalist and renowned defender of democracy, spoke to more than 300 attendees on campus Wednesday (March 20) about the key challenges facing international information ecosystems and global democracy.</p>
<p>In welcoming those gathered, University President <a href="https://president.nd.edu/about/">Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.</a>, said that Ressa’s work in combating disinformation and exposing human rights abuses exemplifies Notre Dame’s commitment to being a force for good. Father Jenkins noted that her visit coincides with the launch of the University’s new <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu/initiatives/democracy-initiative/">Democracy Initiative</a>, aimed at enhancing Notre Dame’s research and teaching on democracy and translating this knowledge for policymakers and public officials in the United States and abroad.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/562722/bj_3.20.24_maria_ressa_1559.1200x675.jpg" alt="University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., stands at the podium on stage offering opening remarks" width="600" height="338">
<figcaption>University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. (Photo Credit: Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
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<p>He referred to Ressa as a “person who exudes compassion, joy and hope” and whose life exemplifies the “triumph of the human spirit.”</p>
<p>Ressa opened her presentation by asking, “What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth?” She stated that democracies across the globe are in trouble, and it is up to each of us to defend democracy. But to do so, Ressa said, we have to know what our values are.</p>
<p>“The first step is to draw the line — these are your values — and then you have to hold the line,” Ressa explained, “because you don’t really know who you are until you’re forced to defend it.” And, Ressa admitted, such action takes courage.</p>
<p>Sharing examples from her own life and work as co-founder of Rappler, the top digital-only news site leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines, Ressa discussed the ways tech and social media companies are manipulating users. Observing that social media is designed to be addictive, she described how its use ultimately changes users’ behavior by spreading misinformation, influencing feelings, shortening attention spans and promoting “tribalism.” The result, she said, is widespread disbelief, distrust, bullying and dehumanization.</p>
<p>“Essentially, what the tech companies did was to hack our biology by shifting the way we think through how we feel,” she said. “There is no law against making you addicted. There is no law against manipulating you and there is no law against the impact that it has had.”</p>
<p>Ressa also emphasized the positive potential of technology, which can be used to cultivate connections and form communities. “The power of information distribution is now person to person,” she stated. “If you organize, you can be far more powerful than a large news organization.”</p>
<p>Ressa shared that it is possible to rebuild trust in journalism, in democracy and in each other by capitalizing on the innovative and beneficial uses of technology in fields such as medicine, journalism, crisis communications and community building. She also emphasized the need to support responsible, independent and truthful journalism.</p>
<p>In concluding, Ressa noted that Notre Dame, with its strong campus community, location in the Midwest and Catholic mission, is uniquely positioned to make a positive impact, and she encouraged attendees to find ways to act.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/562724/bj_3.20.24_maria_ressa_1596.1200x675_use.jpg" alt="A large crowd of attendees fills the Smith Ballroom for a lecture by Maria Ressa, who stands on stage in the background" width="600" height="338">
<figcaption>Maria Ressa (Photo Credit: Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
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<p>“I feel like what we are seeing online is the growth of cults versus the leadership of religions,” she said. “But you are unique because you are not captured, because you have values, and you live the faith. And faith is incredibly important. The time is now. Please act. Notre Dame, you’ve got power; use it.”</p>
<p>Following the lecture, <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/people/andres-mejia-acosta/">Andrés Mejía Acosta</a>, the Kuster Family Associate Dean for Policy and Practice at the <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/">Keough School of Global Affairs</a>, moderated a discussion between Ressa and audience members.</p>
<p>This event was co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Keough School. Ressa’s lecture was the fifth and final keynote event for the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum, a series of discussions designed to foster respectful and informed dialogue on national and global issues. In February, Ressa was appointed as a distinguished policy fellow at the Keough School, and she delivered a <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/maria-ressa-defending-democracy/">keynote address on digital democracy</a> at the school’s Washington Office on March 14.</p>
<p><strong id="docs-internal-guid-9fc1856b-7fff-d177-4987-b2984774aa55"><a href="https://youtu.be/JyEMsOTCeRQ">You can watch a recording of the March 20 event here</a>.</strong></p>Notre Dame Newstag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606862024-03-22T08:50:00-04:002024-03-22T08:53:27-04:00Notre Dame as a leading research university<p>The University of Notre Dame has experienced transformational growth in research over the past decade. The evidence is everywhere on campus, both in the talent of the faculty and the resources devoted to making Notre Dame a leading research institution.</p> <p>In this episode of <em>Notre Dame Stories</em>,…</p><p>The University of Notre Dame has experienced transformational growth in research over the past decade. The evidence is everywhere on campus, both in the talent of the faculty and the resources devoted to making Notre Dame a leading research institution.</p>
<p>In this episode of <em>Notre Dame Stories</em>, host Jenna Liberto talks to <a href="https://research.nd.edu/people/jeffrey-rhoads/">Vice President for Research Jeff Rhoads</a>, who shares his plans for expanding the University's impact globally.</p>
<p><a href="https://stories.nd.edu/podcasts/notre-dame-as-a-leading-research-university/?_gl=1*1ydtflq*_gcl_au*Nzc2Mjg2OTkuMTcwNDgxNjgxMQ.." class="btn">Watch now</a></p>Office of Brand Contenttag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606982024-03-22T08:00:00-04:002024-03-22T13:27:00-04:00Carter Snead testifies before US Senate Judiciary Committee<p>O. Carter Snead, the Charles E. Rice Professor of Law and director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, offered expert testimony on Wednesday (March 20) before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the current legal landscape following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.</p><figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/assets/562634/fullsize/ocs_at_senate_judiciary_20240320_300x.png" alt="O. Carter Snead at Senate Judiciary 20240320" width="300" height="350"></figure>
<p><a href="https://law.nd.edu/directory/o-carter-snead/">O. Carter Snead</a>, the Charles E. Rice Professor of Law and director of the <a href="https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/">de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture</a> at the University of Notre Dame, offered expert testimony on Wednesday (March 20) before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the current legal landscape following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.</p>
<p>Snead is one of the world’s leading experts on public bioethics — the governance of science, medicine and biotechnology in the name of ethical goods. His research explores issues relating to neuroethics, enhancement, human embryo research, assisted reproduction, abortion and end-of-life decision-making.</p>
<p>In his <a href="https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/assets/562574/snead_senate_judiciary_20240320.pdf">remarks at the hearing</a>, Snead first explained that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs — which overturned Roe v. Wade — restored the authority of the people to address the issue of abortion through their elected representatives, thus bringing the United States into “alignment with most nations around the world, who have always addressed the issue through the political process.” He noted that the majority of countries around the world “restrict purely elective abortion to the first 10 to 14 weeks of pregnancy.”</p>
<p>Snead offered the committee “three suggestions for good governance in this difficult area.”</p>
<p>First, he argued that to govern ourselves wisely, justly and humanely, the issue of abortion must be discussed in its full complexity. Those who support abortion rights, he said, must squarely acknowledge that it is not simply a matter involving the importance of women’s equality and autonomy in the face of difficult circumstances, but it also involves the life of the unborn child — a whole, living member of the human species, who “is not a trespassing stranger; she is the biological child of this particular mother.” On the other hand, pro-life elected officials must “acknowledge and work to alleviate the sometimes crushing burdens of unplanned pregnancy and parenthood.”</p>
<p>Second, Snead said, discussions about abortion and reproductive technologies must “fairly and accurately characterize the legal landscape.” He discussed recent reporting surrounding a legal case about in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama that “has been widely misdescribed as a theocratic power grab heralding the demise” of the procedure. “In fact, the victorious plaintiffs there were IVF patients suing a clinic for the negligent destruction of their embryos, using a civil statute [pre-dating Dobbs] that already allowed such claims for the death of embryos in the womb. The Alabama Supreme Court decision did not depend on and had nothing to do with Dobbs.”</p>
<p>Similarly, Snead provided additional context to recent highly publicized cases from Texas involving the interpretation of its post-Dobbs abortion laws and the scope of their exceptions intended to protect mothers from threats to their lives or of substantial bodily impairment. In particular, he noted that the Texas legislature recently enacted bipartisan legislation clarifying that certain conditions were covered by such exceptions, the Texas Supreme Court recently held that such threats need not be imminent, and the Texas Medical Board would be meeting this week to offer clinical guidelines. He also observed that the standard of “reasonable medical judgment” for such exceptions had proven workable since first adopted in the state’s 2013 law banning abortions after 20 weeks. Since then, the state has recorded 238 abortions performed at 20 weeks or later in pregnancy and zero prosecutions.</p>
<p>Concluding his remarks with a theme that animates the de Nicola Center’s <a href="https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/programs/culture-of-life/women-and-children-first/">Women and Children First Initiative</a>, Snead invited the committee members “to reimagine the framing of the human context in which the question of abortion arises. Instead of a zero-sum conflict among strangers over the permissible use of lethal force, think of it instead as a crisis facing a mother and her child. Then ask how we can work together across our differences to come to their aid, not just during pregnancy, but throughout life’s journey.”</p>
<p>Snead is the author of “What It Means to be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics” (Harvard University Press, 2020), which was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-10-best-books-of-2020-11607556369">Ten Best Books of 2020</a>”; in 2022, it was listed in the New York Times as one of “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/books/books-about-abortion.html">Ten Books to Understand the Abortion Debate in the United States</a>.” Snead also received the 2021 Expanded Reason Award, given by Francisco de Vitoria University, Madrid, and the Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, in recognition of his work. Prior to joining the law faculty at Notre Dame, Snead served as general counsel to the President’s Council on Bioethics, where he was the primary drafter of the 2004 report “Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation of New Biotechnologies.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Kenneth Hallenius</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/news/professor-carter-snead-testifies-before-u-s-senate-judiciary-committee/">ethicscenter.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">March 21</span>.</p>Kenneth Halleniustag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606702024-03-21T17:30:00-04:002024-03-21T17:30:30-04:00Notre Dame professor Monisha Ghosh testifies at Senate hearing on ‘Spectrum and National Security’<p><a href="https://news.nd.edu/people/monisha-ghosh/">Monisha Ghosh</a>, professor of <a href="https://ee.nd.edu/">electrical engineering</a> at the University of Notre Dame, testified on Thursday (March 21) before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the topic of “Spectrum and National…</p><p><a href="https://news.nd.edu/people/monisha-ghosh/">Monisha Ghosh</a>, professor of <a href="https://ee.nd.edu/">electrical engineering</a> at the University of Notre Dame, testified on Thursday (March 21) before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on the topic of “Spectrum and National Security.”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2024/3/spectrum-and-national-security">hearing</a>, chaired by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, focused on the critical need for a “coordinated and comprehensive approach to domestic spectrum policy,” believed to be critical to U.S. national security. The committee sought opinions from experts on countering international threats and ways to ensure “the United States leads in spectrum use policy that protects the nation’s critical national security and economic competitiveness missions.”</p>
<p>Increased reliance on and use of spectrum — radio frequencies used for everything from mobile broadband to GPS navigation as well as satellite and defense applications — have raised questions about how to manage what is a key natural resource efficiently and effectively.</p>
<p>Ghosh stressed the need for policies that enhance national security through sustainable allocation of spectrum. Those policies, she said, must balance the current and future needs of the commercial wireless sector, scientific applications and mission-critical federal operations including radar used for defense, weather, aviation, GPS navigation and satellite systems.</p>
<p>“The U.S. leads the world today in innovations in spectrum policy that have delivered wireless applications that impact all aspects of our life, from broadband connectivity to national security and scientific breakthroughs,” Ghosh said in her written testimony. “This leadership must continue to ensure that all options are evaluated to create a sustainable spectrum strategy for every system that requires access to spectrum.”</p>
<p>Ghosh is an expert in spectrum sharing and coexistence, wireless networks, signal processing, wireless broadband mapping, measurements and experimental methods. Before coming to Notre Dame, she served as chief technology officer at the Federal Communications Commission, developing strategies in response to explosive growth of broadband wireless communications technologies.</p>
<p>In addition to her faculty position, Ghosh serves as policy outreach coordinator for <a href="https://www.spectrumx.org/">SpectrumX</a>, a National Science Foundation Spectrum Innovation Initiative Center led by Notre Dame’s <a href="https://wireless.nd.edu/">Wireless Institute</a>. The center is a collaboration of experts from more than four dozen academic institutions, businesses and government organizations working to transform the landscape of spectrum research, education, collaboration and management.</p>
<p>Ghosh also emphasized the need for dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) — a practice allowing both government and private users to access the same frequency at the same time while protecting primary users from potentially harmful interference.</p>
<p>According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, DSS has been used by the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, a multi-tiered licensing framework through which federal and non-federal entities access the same band of radio frequency at 3.5 GHz. “While the government isn’t using the airwaves, companies and the public can gain access through a tiered licensing arrangement,” the NTIA has said.</p>
<p>“Dynamic spectrum sharing is a key technological innovation that was conceived of and first implemented in the U.S.,” Ghosh wrote in her testimony. “However, we must continue the innovations to ensure that both policies and technologies lead to the development of a truly sharing-native wireless ecosystem that continues to serve all needs.”</p>
<p>Before concluding, Ghosh urged the committee to consider the need for long-term spectrum research and development.</p>
<p>“The U.S. has always led the world in spectrum policy and technology innovations,” she said. “I’m confident that the actions of this committee and the all-of-government approach outlined in the National Spectrum Strategy will solidify our position.”</p>
<p>Notre Dame celebrates 125 years of wireless innovation and research this year: The University conducted the first long-distance wireless transmission in North America in 1899. Those early experiments have led to numerous technology and application developments in wireless that now require careful deliberation when it comes to allocating radio spectrum for certain uses. Through research at the Wireless Institute and SpectrumX, Notre Dame continues to be at the forefront of wireless innovation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><em>Contact: Jessica Sieff</em></strong><em>, associate director of media relations, 574-631-3933, </em><a href="mailto:jsieff@nd.edu"><em>jsieff@nd.edu</em></a></p>Jessica Siefftag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606422024-03-21T11:00:00-04:002024-03-21T11:01:59-04:00Notre Dame sends cancer research aboard the International Space Station<p>University of Notre Dame researchers will gather new insights about cancerous tumors by taking their science to space aboard NASA’s 30th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission.</p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/562518/fullsize/nasa_image.jpg" alt="A spacecraft and rocket prepare to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station." width="3000" height="1688">
<figcaption>SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3>Researchers will gather new insights about cancerous tumors using the station’s microgravity environment</h3>
<p>University of Notre Dame researchers are taking their science to space aboard NASA’s 30th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission, which is slated to launch no earlier than Thursday (March 21).</p>
<p>The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft will lift off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and travel to the International Space Station (ISS), which is in orbit roughly 250 miles above Earth’s surface. In addition to food, supplies and equipment for the ISS crew, the spacecraft will transport an experimental study from researchers in Notre Dame’s <a href="https://ame.nd.edu/">Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering</a>.</p>
<p>Assistant Professor <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/faculty/meenal-datta/">Meenal Datta</a>, an affiliate of Notre Dame’s <a href="https://harpercancer.nd.edu/">Harper Cancer Research Institute</a>, is leading the study. She plans to use the unique microgravity environment found aboard the space station to gain new insights into human biology.</p>
<p>The self-contained experiment uses materials and methods similar to those Datta uses in <a href="https://timelab.nd.edu/">her lab at Notre Dame</a>, but the experimental procedures have been miniaturized and automated in partnership with Space Tango using its <a href="https://spacetango.com/cubelab/">CubeLab technology</a>.</p>
<p>“Researchers have been studying the body and biological processes in space since the ISS first launched,” she said. “It goes hand-in-hand with space exploration and is a key part of keeping astronauts safe and healthy. But increasingly researchers are turning their attention toward ways research in space can improve life on Earth.”</p>
<p>Datta’s experiment will shed light on glioblastoma, a fast-growing, aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer.</p>
<p>“There are all sorts of advantages to studying brain cancer in microgravity,” she explained. “When you study brain tumors on Earth, that usually means studying them in a flat layer in a dish on a benchtop. But the microgravity environment of the ISS provides conditions that in some ways mimic how a tumor would form when it is suspended within the brain’s tissues.”</p>
<p>Datta’s experiment focuses on one particularly difficult step in studying brain cancer: growing tiny structures that resemble human organs known as organoids. Organoids function as “stand-ins” or “avatars” for human tissues in experimental studies. Datta and her team use organoids developed from glioblastoma and immune cells to discover how immune cells interact with cancerous cells. They will be among the first researchers to grow glioblastoma-immune organoids in space and compare their growth and development to similar structures grown on Earth.</p>
<p>“Organoids form organically from human cells,” she said, “but in Earth’s gravity, they are heterogeneous and form slowly. Microgravity will provide an environment where they can form quickly and regularly, allowing for clearer and more reproducible results in experimental studies, including drug discovery and testing.”</p>
<p>To provide a control condition for the study, Datta’s lab at Notre Dame will run an Earth-based experiment parallel to the one that will take place during the 30-day space expedition. After the mission is complete, Datta and Alice Burchett, a doctoral student in <a href="https://bioengineering.nd.edu/">Notre Dame’s Bioengineering Graduate Program</a>, will collect the samples and thoroughly analyze the differences.</p>
<p>Datta’s experiment is not the first by a Notre Dame researcher to take place on the ISS. In 2021, <a href="https://engineering.nd.edu/faculty/tengfei-luo/">Tengfei Luo</a> conducted a <a href="https://www.nd.edu/stories/space-bubbles/">groundbreaking study with Space Tango</a> on the formation of bubbles in space, the results of which recently appeared in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-024-00352-0">Nature journal Microgravity</a>.</p>
<p>Datta said she plans to work with Luo and a host of other researchers at Notre Dame to send additional experiments to the ISS.</p>
<p>“As surprising as it may sound,” Datta said, “when it comes to advancing health research, there are many things we can do more efficiently in space than on the ground. Space provides a better way to synthesize a reproducible model. And better models allow us to more quickly develop and test the treatments that can fight this cancer and ultimately save lives.”</p>
<p>In addition to the Harper Cancer Research Institute, Datta is an affiliate of the <a href="https://globalhealth.nd.edu/">Eck Institute for Global Health</a>, the <a href="https://precisionhealth.nd.edu/">Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health</a>, <a href="https://nano.nd.edu/">NDnano</a>, the <a href="https://drugdiscovery.nd.edu/">Warren Center for Drug Discovery</a>, the <a href="https://lucyinstitute.nd.edu/">Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society</a> and the <a href="https://crnd.nd.edu/">Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases</a>.</p>
<p>Find more information, including instructions for viewing the launch, in <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-send-research-to-station-aboard-30th-spacex-resupply-mission/">NASA’s news release</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact: </strong>Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, <a href="mailto:brandiwampler@nd.edu">brandiwampler@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p><strong id="docs-internal-guid-da8a4154-7fff-f5e9-c5bb-623179bf19a8"></strong></p>
<p> </p>Brett Beasleytag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606532024-03-21T09:00:00-04:002024-03-21T12:01:01-04:00Oak Flat under threat: Stephanie Barclay leads discussion on urgency of protecting Indigenous sacred site<p>The Native American Law Students Association, in collaboration with Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative, hosted the event “Sacred Lands: Apache Stronghold v. United States of America” led by Professor Stephanie Barclay.</p><p>The Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) at the University of Notre Dame, in collaboration with Notre Dame Law School’s <a href="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/">Religious Liberty Initiative</a>, hosted the event “Sacred Lands: Apache Stronghold v. United States of America” earlier this month. The discussion, led by Professor <a href="https://law.nd.edu/directory/stephanie-barclay/">Stephanie Barclay</a>, centered on the importance of upholding religious liberty protections for Oak Flat, a site in Arizona that has been sacred to the Apache people for centuries and is being threatened by a massive copper mining operation.</p>
<p>Barclay, who serves as the faculty director of the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative, participated in oral argument before the en banc Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California, last March, where she represented as amici the National Congress of American Indians, an Apache tribal elder and other groups that protect Native American cultural heritage and rights.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><a href="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/clinic/cases/apache-stronghold-v-united-states-of-america-9th-cir/"><em><img src="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/assets/562481/ac1_2023_apache_stronghold_9th_circuit_en_banc_hearing_notre_dame_iphone_53_2_1_4_.jpeg" alt="Stephanie oral argument 2" width="600" height="567"></em></a></figure>
<p><a href="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/clinic/cases/apache-stronghold-v-united-states-of-america-9th-cir/">Apache Stronghold v. United States</a> was one of the first cases that the Notre Dame Law School <a href="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/clinic/">Religious Liberty Clinic</a> supported when the clinic was newly established in 2020. For the past three years, faculty and students from the clinic have worked with members of the Apache tribe to protect Oak Flat.</p>
<p>“It is always great to learn about the ways in which the Law School supports freedom of religion, especially with regard to Native American sacred lands, which Professor Barclay explained have had the least success in legal protection,” said Katie DePaola, president of NALSA. “Part of NALSA’s mission is to educate students on Native American legal issues, and having ties to these issues through Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative is very meaningful to our student organization.”</p>
<p>Apache Stronghold v. United States involves a proposed mining project that would turn the sacred site at Oak Flat into a massive 2-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep crater, ending Apache religious practices at Oak Flat forever.</p>
<p>At the event, Barclay spoke in depth about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and its relevance to the case. RFRA establishes rights beyond those protections afforded by the Free Exercise Clause by creating a heightened standard of review for government actions that substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion.</p>
<p>The Religious Liberty Clinic argues that the destruction of Oak Flat constitutes a substantial burden under RFRA on Native American religious exercise, as Native American religious identity, expression and practices are inextricably tied to the sacred land.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/assets/562478/stephanie_to_class.jpeg" alt="Stephanie Barclay classroom" width="600" height="400"></figure>
<p>“Since time immemorial, [Oak Flat] has been sacred to multiple tribes including the Western Apache, and they believe it is the direct corridor to their Creator,” Barclay said. “The physical destruction the government anticipates at Oak Flat will take away any choice the Western Apache has to continue performing their religious exercise at this sacred site.</p>
<p>“They face the elimination of plants, natural resources, shrines with religious significance, and religious ceremonies,” she added. “They face their places of worship being inaccessible simply because those places will cease to exist, making religious exercise physically impossible.”</p>
<p>Barclay also stated that, whether they are directly or indirectly affected by government actions, Native American tribes tend to be particularly vulnerable to ongoing government interference and violations of their religious liberty.</p>
<p>Bre Gruber, a Navajo undergraduate student at the University of Notre Dame, corroborated this and shared that the persisting challenges that Native American tribes face extend beyond the desecration and destruction of sacred lands.</p>
<p>“Indigeneity, whether it be the spiritual practices, language or other cultural practices, has consistently been challenged,” Gruber said. “These challenges threaten the existence of indigeneity as it is intrinsically tied to the land, the people and the language. These issues being discussed on the Notre Dame campus are crucial to emphasizing their importance.”</p>
<p>On March 1, a divided en banc Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Apache Stronghold, affirming the district court’s denial of Apache Stronghold’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling clears the way for the destruction of Oak Flat, and Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic hopes that the Supreme Court will correct it.</p>
<p>“Professor Barclay’s work along with the Religious Liberty Clinic student fellows is making such a strong national impact,” said <a href="https://law.nd.edu/directory/susan-azyndar/">Susan Azyndar</a>, senior associate director at the Kresge Law Library. “It was moving to hear about the students’ self-reflective approach to this work and how deeply the tribes value the clinic’s efforts.”</p>
<p>The event drew a diverse array of attendees from across the University. Tori Van Arsdale, an undergraduate student and tribal member of the Navajo Nation, said, “As an Indigenous student, it was uplifting to see Notre Dame Law School talk about the underrepresented issues faced in Indian Country, past and present, such as the Apache Stronghold vs. United States<em> </em>case. This type of Indigenous visibility is an essential tool for change in our communities.</p>
<p>“Here at Notre Dame, we continue to work toward Native American inclusivity in discussions across campus and beyond, and I am hopeful for change with events such as ‘Sacred Lands.’ I appreciate Notre Dame Law School for supporting the Apache and Oak Flat and for continuing to take the initiative in sharing Native American perspectives and realities.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Arienne Calingo</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://religiousliberty.nd.edu/news/latest/oak-flat-under-threat-professor-stephanie-barclay-leads-discussion-on-urgency-of-protecting-indigenous-sacred-site/">religiousliberty.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">March 20</span>.</p>Arienne Calingotag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606102024-03-20T09:00:00-04:002024-03-19T09:20:11-04:00Students to volunteer Saturday for Back the Bend, Mulch Madness<p>University of Notre Dame students will participate in a variety of service projects from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (March 23) as part of <a href="http://backthebend.nd.edu">Back the Bend</a>, an annual day of service in and around South Bend organized by Notre Dame Student Government.</p><p>University of Notre Dame students will participate in a variety of service projects from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (March 23) as part of <a href="http://backthebend.nd.edu">Back the Bend</a>, an annual day of service in and around South Bend organized by Notre Dame Student Government.</p>
<p>With support from the <a href="http://rclc.nd.edu">Robinson Community Learning Center </a>and others, students will clean, paint, do yardwork, sort and organize donations and complete a variety of other chores and tasks for local nonprofit organizations in the South Bend area.</p>
<p>Students will check in at Stepan Center on campus from 8:15 to 9 a.m. Buses will depart by 9:15 a.m. Volunteers will gather afterward at the Robinson Center for lunch from local food trucks.</p>
<p>“We are excited to provide an opportunity for students to get off campus and experience South Bend through so many of the wonderful organizations in the community,” said Kate Jackowski, Director of Community Outreach for <a href="https://studentgovernment.nd.edu/">Notre Dame Student Government</a>. “Back the Bend is always a wonderful event, and it is our hope that this day provides an opportunity for students to maintain or even build new relationships through meaningful service.”</p>
<p>Students will also spread mulch and distribute free lead screening kits as part of Mulch Madness, an annual event organized by the <a href="https://leadinfo.nd.edu/">Notre Dame Lead Innovation Team </a>(ND-LIT).</p>
<p>Lead is a persistent, complex problem in South Bend because of the age of the city’s housing stock, much of which predates the federal ban on lead paint. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead.</p>
<p>Mulching is an important strategy for limiting exposure to lead that may exist in the soil found around a home’s foundation, gardens and/or play areas.</p>
<p>“Mulch Madness has become an important annual event to our team’s mission to prevent lead poisoning. Our students work together with community members and organizations and the city of South Bend to provide education, lead screening kits and mulch to neighborhoods at higher risk for lead exposure,” said <a href="https://globalhealth.nd.edu/about/core-team/heidi-beidinger-burnett/">Heidi Beidinger</a>, co-founder of ND-LIT.</p>
<p>This is the 13th year for Back the Bend, whose slogan is “Unity in CommUNITY.” In the past, more than 600 students have participated in the event. This year’s goal is 1,000 students.</p>
<p>Sponsors for this year’s event are KPMG, EY, PWC, Deloitte and Notre Dame Campus Ministry.</p>
<p>For more information, including a full list of projects, visit <a href="http://backthebend.nd.edu">backthebend.nd.edu</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>Contact</strong>: Erin Blasko, associate director of media relations, 574-631-4127, <a href="mailto:eblasko@nd.edu">eblasko@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p> </p>Erin Blaskotag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1606022024-03-18T16:00:00-04:002024-03-18T15:58:09-04:00In memoriam: Ronald Weber, American studies professor emeritus<p>Ronald Weber, a professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, died March 12 in Valparaiso, Indiana. He was 89.</p><p>Ronald Weber, a professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, died March 12 in Valparaiso, Indiana. He was 89.</p>
<p>Born and raised in Mason City, Iowa, Weber earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Notre Dame in 1957. After working for newspapers in Illinois and Iowa, he took his master’s degree in English from the University of Iowa and a doctoral degree in American studies from the University of Minnesota.</p>
<p>Weber taught for two years at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and then returned to his undergraduate alma mater in 1963 as a faculty member in the Department of Communication Arts. As department chair, he directed a committee that created a program in American studies, which in 1970 merged with the communication arts department and became the Department of American Studies. Weber served as chair of the new department for its first seven years.</p>
<p>Robert Schmuhl, the Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Journalism, said of his longtime colleague: “More than anyone, Ron Weber was responsible for making American studies a distinctive academic entity at Notre Dame. He combined inquiry about literature, history and politics with the practice of journalism and modern communications. He’d tell new faculty members that they had to bring their subjects to life, something he did whenever he entered a classroom. As a writer, he was at home working on a book of literary analysis or history as well as a mystery or spy novel. His rare abilities were those of a rare individual, who will be long remembered.”</p>
<p>Weber focused his writing and research on American literature, journalism and culture and was the author or editor of 19 books of nonfiction and fiction, including murder mystery novels centered on fly fishing in northern Michigan. Two of his nonfiction titles, “Hired Pens” and “The Midwestern Ascendancy in American Writing,” drew praise from a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who called Weber “one of the finest writers on writers,” adding that “previous authors have covered the ground he walks … but no one has covered it better.”</p>
<p>Weber was a Fulbright lecturer in American studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal in 1968-69, and he received a second Fulbright to Coimbra as well as the University of Lisbon in 1982. He was the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University, and he received the Office of the Provost Faculty Award from Notre Dame in 1976. He was a member of the American Studies Association, Great Lakes American Studies Association and Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs. He was elevated to emeritus status in 1999.</p>
<p>Weber was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Patricia, and a daughter, Andrea Weber. He is survived by two daughters, Elizabeth Krupchak and Kathryn Weber, and three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.</p>
<p>His family will bury his ashes with those of his wife and daughter in Cedar Grove Cemetery at Notre Dame.</p>
<p> </p>Dennis Browntag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1605432024-03-14T13:00:00-04:002024-03-14T11:44:40-04:00Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa to speak at Notre Dame Forum event<p>Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, acclaimed journalist and renowned defender of democracy, will be the featured speaker at the 2023-24 University of Notre Dame Forum event “Safeguarding Democracy in an Era of AI and Digital Disinformation” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 20) in the Smith…</p><p>Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, acclaimed journalist and renowned defender of democracy, will be the featured speaker at the 2023-24 University of Notre Dame Forum event “Safeguarding Democracy in an Era of AI and Digital Disinformation” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 20) in the Smith Ballroom at the Morris Inn. <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/people/andres-mejia-acosta/">Andrés Mejía Acosta</a>, Kuster Family Associate Dean for Policy and Practice at the <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/">Keough School of Global Affairs</a>, will moderate a conversation following Ressa’s lecture. The event is free and open to the public.</p>
<p>In 2012, Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital-only news site leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. The site earned recognition for combating fake news in addition to exposing human rights abuses by the regime of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.</p>
<p>“Maria Ressa’s fearless advocacy for democracy and bravery as a journalist is inspiring,” said University President <a href="https://president.nd.edu/about/">Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C</a>. “Having risked her own life and freedom to defend democracy in the Philippines, she is committed to ensuring that we as citizens understand the impact of technology on our democratic processes. We are honored to welcome her back to Notre Dame.”</p>
<p>Ressa was one of two journalists <a href="https://www.rappler.com/about/winners-nobel-peace-prize-2021">awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize</a> in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace,” the selection committee said. She was the first Filipino to win a Nobel Peace Prize. In 2018, Time also honored Ressa and several other journalists as its Person of the Year “in recognition of those who faced persecution, arrest or murder for their reporting.”</p>
<p>Featured in a Notre Dame “<a href="https://fightingfor.nd.edu/2023/fighting-to-defend-human-rights/">What Would You Fight For” story</a>, she was appointed in February as a distinguished policy fellow at the University’s Keough School of Global Affairs. She also delivered the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies Asia Leadership Forum lecture in spring 2023. She will be presenting at the Keough School’s Washington Office as part of a March 14 <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/event/digital-democracy-defending-democratic-norms-with-new-deliberative-technologies/">discussion on digital democracy</a>.</p>
<p>Born in Manila, Ressa moved to the United States with her family at a young age. After studying at Princeton University, she returned to live in the Philippines and launched her journalism career. Before co-founding Rappler, she worked as a CNN correspondent and bureau chief in Jakarta and Manila. She was also senior vice president in charge of ABS-CBN’s multimedia news operations, managing about a thousand journalists for the largest news organization in the country.</p>
<p>As Rappler’s CEO, Ressa endured multiple arrests by the Philippine government, a barrage of online hate and constant political harassment. She was also arrested on the country’s first-of-its-kind charge of cyber libel. She awaits a decision on that case from the Philippines Supreme Court.</p>
<p>For her principled stance, courage and work on disinformation and fake news, Ressa has won numerous awards around the world, including the prestigious <a href="https://www.rappler.com/about/golden-pen-freedom-2018-award-wan-ifra-maria-ressa-speech">Golden Pen of Freedom Award</a> from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. In 2021, UNESCO awarded her the <a href="https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/opinion-maria-ressa-unesco-world-press-freedom-prize-speech">Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize</a>. Her work combating fake news is also the subject of a 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQpjfWV_p6E">A Thousand Cuts</a>.”</p>
<p>She is the author of three books concerning the rise of terrorism in Southeast Asia: “Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia,” “From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism” and “How to Stand Up To a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future.”</p>
<p>In 2022, she was appointed by the United Nations secretary-general to the leadership panel of the Internet Governance Forum and serves as its vice chair. She has also served as a fellow at the Initiative on the Digital Economy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; as a Joan Shorenstein Fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy; and as a Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. She is an inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute of Global Politics. In July, she will join the faculty of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs as a professor of professional practice.</p>
<p>This event is co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Keough School. It is the final keynote event for the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum on “The Future of Democracy,” a series of discussions designed to foster respectful and informed dialogue on national and global issues. The conversation will be livestreamed at <a href="https://forum2023.nd.edu/">forum.nd.edu</a>.</p>
<p> </p>Notre Dame Newstag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1605252024-03-13T12:59:00-04:002024-03-13T13:51:12-04:00Medieval Institute to host Medieval Academy of America’s 99th meeting in mid-March<p>More than 350 scholars of the Middle Ages will converge Thursday-Saturday (March 14-16) at the University of Notre Dame for the 99th meeting of The Medieval Academy of America, hosted by the Medieval Institute.</p>
<p> </p><p>More than 350 scholars of the Middle Ages will converge Thursday-Saturday (March 14-16) at the University of Notre Dame for the 99th meeting of <a href="https://www.medievalacademy.org/">The Medieval Academy of America</a>, hosted by the University’s <a href="https://medieval.nd.edu/">Medieval Institute</a>.</p>
<p>The institute — the nation’s largest and most preeminent center for understanding the Middle Ages — is a fitting host, said <a href="https://medieval.nd.edu/faculty/thomas-e-burman/">Thomas E. Burman</a>, the Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute, a Notre Dame professor of <a href="https://history.nd.edu/">history</a> and co-chair of the meeting organizing committee.</p>
<p>“We want to show off our great resources in medieval studies, particularly the Medieval Institute, to all our great visitors,” he said.</p>
<p>The conference’s three themes are “Mapping the Middle Ages,” “Bodies in Motion” and “Communities of Knowledge.”</p>
<p>The Middle Ages, roughly, is the 1,000-year period from A.D. 500 to 1500. While some scholars have singularly focused on Western Europe during that time, assistant director Megan J. Hall said the institute fosters a global focus.</p>
<p>Medieval studies are inherently interdisciplinary, Burman said, and scholars examine the period from a variety of fields, including history, languages, literature, philosophy, theology, art history and music.</p>
<p>While there is a lingering belief that the Middle Ages were a backward time, Burman said the era is responsible for many aspects of modernity, including universities.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://al.nd.edu/assets/561556/thomas_e._burman400x.jpg" alt="Thomas E. Burman" width="370" height="493">
<figcaption>Thomas E. Burman, the Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute and Notre Dame professor of history.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Middle Ages, he said, offer a 1,000-year-long laboratory to study interactions of Jews, Christians and Muslims. And for Hall — whose research pertains to literature and women’s studies during the medieval era — the period yields information about women’s history and the roots of some stereotypes.</p>
<p>With four plenary lectures and <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wkzB8mZtP1RplHiU7_16g3r4gpMze0KrOJUTgQvIJAY/edit#heading=h.r7r7hnfgx4ga">60 sessions</a> over three days, presenters will share innovative scholarship and reframe perspectives on topics ranging from architecture to pandemics to surgical errors.</p>
<p>Notre Dame graduate students will take part in the meeting, both as academics presenting papers and as volunteers to help the event run smoothly.</p>
<p>“They’re already heavily involved with the MAA and are dedicated to developing their skill base,” Hall said.</p>
<p>A number of grants, awards and publication prizes will be presented at the meeting, and recently elected fellows will be inducted into the MAA, which is the largest organization in the country that promotes excellence in the field of medieval studies.</p>
<p>Throughout the three-day event, Hall said, Notre Dame representatives will provide genuine hospitality, showcase all of Notre Dame and invite scholars to return for future research.</p>
<p>In addition to formal academic presentations, attendees will be invited to use other University medieval resources and programming. There will be relevant pieces at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, the “Mapping the Middle Ages: Marking Time, Space, and Knowledge exhibit” in the Rare Books and Special Collections section of the <a href="https://www.library.nd.edu/">Hesburgh Library</a>, and a presentation of the cosmology of Hildegard of Bingen at the <a href="https://science.nd.edu/about/facilities/digital-visualization-theater/">Digital Visualization Theater</a> in Jordan Hall of Science.</p>
<p>The 99th meeting will conclude Saturday evening with an Irish dance social called a céilí.</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Beth Staples</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/medieval-institute-to-host-medieval-academy-of-americas-99th-meeting-in-mid-march/">al.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">March 12</span>.</p>Beth Staplestag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1604542024-03-10T09:00:00-04:002024-03-20T11:23:34-04:00Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, to receive 2024 Laetare Medal<p>Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the chief executive officer of Feeding America, will receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2024 Laetare Medal — the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics — at Notre Dame’s 179th University Commencement Ceremony on May 19 (Sunday).</p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/561292/fullsize/bj_2.7.24_claire_babineaux_fontenot_1200.jpg" alt="Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, standing front of a wall mural showing foods and the words values, accountability, and empowerment" width="1200" height="675">
<figcaption>Claire Babineaux-Fontenot (photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the chief executive officer of <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/">Feeding America</a>, will receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2024 <a href="https://laetare.nd.edu/">Laetare Medal</a> — the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics — at Notre Dame’s 179th <a href="https://commencement.nd.edu/">University Commencement Ceremony</a> on May 19 (Sunday).</p>
<p>Feeding America, a national network of more than 200 food banks and 60,000 charitable and faith-based partners, works to rescue, store and distribute food to more than 49 million people facing hunger each year. It also conducts research on food insecurity and potential solutions.</p>
<p>“Claire Babineaux-Fontenot has devoted herself to answering Christ’s call to feed the hungry and care for those who are most vulnerable, and in doing so has created a network that sustains millions of Americans every day,” said Notre Dame President<a href="https://president.nd.edu/about/"> Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.</a> “Under her visionary leadership, Feeding America has become a beacon of hope not only to the individuals and families it serves, but for all who share her vision of eliminating food insecurity in this country.”</p>
<p>Prior to joining Feeding America, Babineaux-Fontenot was executive vice president of finance and global treasurer at Walmart — the culmination of 13 years on Walmart’s leadership team and a career spanning three decades of increasingly high-profile leadership positions in government, law firms and private corporations.</p>
<p>However, in 2015, she felt strongly that she was being called by God to a higher purpose.</p>
<p>“I knew that there was someplace I was being guided to, and I knew it was going to require faith and confidence in Him,” she said. “I truly did not feel afraid, and I am so grateful for that guidance. I just trusted that He would take me to where He wanted me to be.”</p>
<p>Hunger is a cause that has always been close to Babineaux-Fontenot’s heart. Growing up in Opelousas, Louisiana, she was one of 108 siblings. Through a combination of birth, adoption, and fostering, her parents built a large and loving family and worked tirelessly to help children in need — many of whom had faced neglect, abuse and food insecurity before joining their home.</p>
<p>Serving as CEO of Feeding America feels like a full-circle moment for her, she said.</p>
<p>In the last six years, Babineaux-Fontenot has led the organization through a number of challenges, including navigating a global pandemic and the ensuing increase in food insecurity. Under her direction, Feeding America became the nation’s largest charitable organization in 2022, according to Forbes, and the network distributed 5.3 billion meals in 2023.</p>
<p>But there is still much work to do, said Babineaux-Fontenot.</p>
<p>“Over 10 million children are food insecure here, in the richest country in the history of civilization,” she said. “That means we need to continue to get the word out. We should help people to understand that the game isn’t over. Notre Dame knows a thing or two about football, right? You don’t leave the field before the game is over. The game’s not over with hunger.”</p>
<p>Babineaux-Fontenot is ready to continue the fight. She and her team at Feeding America are seeking new ways to address food insecurity and championing new legislation in Congress. They recently announced a partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services to explore the link between food insecurity and health outcomes.</p>
<p>“Success for Feeding America is having a place at the table in thriving communities where people are creating solutions for themselves,” she said, “and an America where no one — no one — has to wonder where their next meal is going to come from, or the one after that or the one after that.</p>
<p>“That’s my vision, and it’s all possible. These are not pipe dreams.”</p>
<p>Babineaux-Fontenot holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; a Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and a Master of Laws in taxation from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas. In 2020, she was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine and was featured in the 2022 Forbes “50 over 50” list.</p>
<p>The Laetare (pronounced lay-TAH-ray) Medal is so named because its recipient is announced each year in celebration of Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent on the Church calendar. “Laetare,” the Latin word for “rejoice,” is the first word in the entrance antiphon of the Mass that Sunday, which ritually anticipates the celebration of Easter. The medal bears the Latin inscription, “Magna est veritas et praevalebit” (“Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail”).</p>
<p>Established at Notre Dame in 1883, the Laetare Medal was conceived as an American counterpart of the Golden Rose, a papal honor that antedates the 11th century. The medal has been awarded annually at Notre Dame to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”</p>
<p>Previous recipients of the Laetare Medal include Civil War Gen. William Rosecrans, operatic tenor John McCormack, President John F. Kennedy, Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, novelist Walker Percy, Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner (awarded jointly), Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, labor activist Monsignor George G. Higgins, jazz composer Dave Brubeck, singer Aaron Neville and actor Martin Sheen.</p>
<p> </p>Carrie Gatestag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1604142024-03-07T09:33:00-05:002024-03-07T09:33:24-05:00Women Lead 2024<div class="intro"> <p>As the University of Notre Dame celebrates International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, meet eight individuals who are accelerating progress in their respective fields and advancing the University’s mission as a leading research institution that is a means for good in the</p>
…</div><div class="intro">
<p>As the University of Notre Dame celebrates International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, meet eight individuals who are accelerating progress in their respective fields and advancing the University’s mission as a leading research institution that is a means for good in the world.</p>
</div>
<div class="section-profile profile-1">
<div class="profile ">
<div class="profile-titles"><a href="https://womenlead2024.nd.edu/" class="btn">Read their stories</a></div>
</div>
</div>Office of Brand Contenttag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1604022024-03-06T15:19:00-05:002024-03-11T15:32:05-04:00University of Notre Dame ranks as top educational institution and in top 20 on Forbes’ America’s Best Large Employers list<p>The University of Notre Dame has been named as the top educational institution on the Forbes list of America’s Best Large Employers 2024, and was positioned in 20th place overall, ahead of many notable corporations and organizations.</p> <p>The list of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-large-employers/?sh=413e00997b66">America’s</a>…</p><p>The University of Notre Dame has been named as the top educational institution on the Forbes list of America’s Best Large Employers 2024, and was positioned in 20th place overall, ahead of many notable corporations and organizations.</p>
<p>The list of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-large-employers/?sh=413e00997b66">America’s Best Large Employers</a> was identified in an independent survey from a sample of more than 170,000 U.S. employees working for companies employing at least 5,000 people.</p>
<p>“We are tremendously grateful for the talent and dedication of the people who work at Notre Dame and make the University the special place it is,” said <a href="https://president.nd.edu/about/">University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.</a> “Our employees are our most valuable asset, and so we are delighted to be named as a top employer alongside so many excellent organizations.”</p>
<p>Vice President for Notre Dame Human Resources <a href="https://www.nd.edu/about/leadership/council/heather-christophersen/">Heather Christophersen</a> cited the University’s unprecedented commitment to its employees when discussing the Forbes recognition.</p>
<p>“Notre Dame is committed to consistently investing in our people and fostering a culture that allows our employees to be their best selves,” Christophersen said. “From a historic compensation investment during the pandemic to continued growth of our total rewards program, we are proud to know that our employees value the benefits of being a member of the Notre Dame community.”</p>
<p>In 2022, citing the perseverance of and extraordinary contributions from members of the campus community during the pandemic, Father Jenkins announced a <a href="https://evp.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-makes-historic-compensation-investment-surpassing-75-million/">$25 million commitment</a> to increase base compensation for eligible hourly and salaried University staff, faculty and student workers.</p>
<p>That announcement was the third component in a compensation enhancement strategy that the University introduced in 2022. Across three phases, the overall investment in recurring compensation surpassed $75 million, the largest such investment in employees in the University’s history.</p>
<p>Additionally, in October 2022, the University expanded its employee <a href="https://ndworks.nd.edu/news/the-wellness-center-expansion/">wellness center</a> with additional exam rooms, a bigger physical therapy room, well-being services and an enlarged pharmacy.</p>
<p>Last spring, the University <a href="https://evp.nd.edu/news/office-of-human-resources-announces-enhanced-emotional-well-being-education-benefits/">enriched its emotional well-being and education benefits</a> for employees, announced the addition of a new <a href="https://hr.nd.edu/well-being-culture/news/notre-dame-partners-with-kindercare-to-offer-new-on-campus-child-care-facility/">on-campus child care facility</a> and, most recently, updated its leave programs to enhance the employee experience.</p>
<p>According to Forbes, the list of America’s Best Employers is based on two types of evaluations:</p>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p>Personal — Given by employees themselves; also known as direct evaluations. These evaluations have a higher weighting.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p>Public — Given by friends and family members of employees, or members of the public who work in the same industry; also known as indirect evaluations.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>To explore Notre Dame career opportunities, visit <a href="http://jobs.nd.edu">jobs.nd.edu</a>.</p>
<p> </p>Notre Dame Newstag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1604002024-03-06T15:00:00-05:002024-03-12T09:41:03-04:00McGrath Institute to host online seminars to help inform new USCCB pastoral statement on disability and inclusion in the Church<p>The webinars, which are free and open to the public, will begin Thursday (March 7) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. EST. Future sessions will take place on March 14 and 21 and April 11, 18 and 25.</p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/410480/fullsize/cross_and_clouds_feature.jpg" alt="Ornamental cross on the Basilica of the Sacred heart. Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame." width="1200" height="675">
<figcaption>Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://mcgrath.nd.edu/">McGrath Institute for Church Life</a> at the University of Notre Dame has partnered with the National Catholic Partnership on Disability to offer six online educational seminars for Church leadership on disability and inclusion in the Church.</p>
<p>The series, “<a href="https://ncpd.org/incommunion">In Communion: Advancing the Full Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the Church</a>,” has been created to help inform a new pastoral statement on people with disabilities being developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.</p>
<p>Pastoral statements are teaching tools used by bishops to communicate official Church teachings on important issues.</p>
<p>The webinars, which are free and open to the public, will begin Thursday (March 7) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. EST. Future sessions will take place on March 14 and 21 and April 11, 18 and 25.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/561029/clare_kilbane_300.jpg" alt="Clare Kilbane, director of research and development for the McGrath Institute for Church Life's Digital Education Program" width="300" height="366">
<figcaption>Clare Kilbane (Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Convening a cross-disciplinary group of experts, including people with disabilities, theologians, clergy, lay people and professionals in the field, each session will explore foundational and aspirational concepts important to the pastoral statement and how to enhance the involvement of people with disabilities in the Church.</p>
<p>The seminars will also address the role of the Church in advocating for people with disabilities in society.</p>
<p>“One important goal is to help leaders understand what is required to welcome Church members who experience disability more fully into the life of the Church,” said <a href="https://mcgrath.nd.edu/about/faculty-staff/clare-kilbane-ph-d/">Clare Kilbane</a>, director of research and development for McGrath’s Digital Education Program. “We also plan to explore how methods of inclusion and intentional efforts to promote belonging can transform opportunities for relationship and faith development for all.”</p>
<p>Another emphasis of the seminars will be to equip the authoring committee with a robust understanding of the experiences of people with disabilities, Kilbane said, as well as a recognition of the many and varied barriers they face and an appreciation for the gifts they have to offer the Church.</p>
<p>“We will look at how, through the development of this new pastoral statement, the Church can welcome all members into greater communion and sharing of Divine love, and each individual into a deeper relationship with God,” she said.</p>
<p>The series will begin with an exploration of the impact pastoral statements have on the Church and larger society and an analysis of the existing pastoral statement written in 1978. Participants will also consider how the new statement might advance and deepen the past statement’s teachings.</p>
<p>Subsequent sessions will analyze the concept of disability in general and how it is uniquely experienced by individuals, outline a vision of “full participation” in Church life and explore what it takes to create a Church where all are not only welcome, but also supported in ways that enable full participation.</p>
<p>“Through these seminars, we hope to help Church leadership understand that when persons with disabilities are welcomed — and invited to participate in all aspects of Church life — the Body of Christ is more complete,” said Charleen Katra, executive director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability.</p>
<p><a href="https://ncpd.org/incommunion">Additional information and online registration are available here.</a></p>
<p><em><strong>Contact:</strong> Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, 574-631-4313, <a href="mailto:c.gates@nd.edu">c.gates@nd.edu</a></em></p>
<p> </p>Margaret Scroopetag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1602952024-03-06T08:00:00-05:002024-03-06T15:20:44-05:00New Center for Liturgy initiative aims to foster children’s participation in worship<p>The University of Notre Dame has received a grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to create a three-year research and education initiative intended to foster children’s participation in worship in the context of late modernity. Lilly Endowment made the grant through its Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative.</p><p>The University of Notre Dame has received a grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to create a three-year research and education initiative intended to foster children’s participation in worship in the context of late modernity. Lilly Endowment made the grant through its Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative.</p>
<p>Situated within the McGrath Institute for Church Life’s <a href="https://mcgrath.nd.edu/about/centers-initiatives-and-programs/notre-dame-center-for-liturgy/">Notre Dame Center for Liturgy</a>, the initiative, called Contours of Wonder: Childhood and the Liturgical Imagination, seeks to renew liturgical formation in the Church by identifying the proper dispositions necessary for children and adults alike to worship God. Contours will then develop pastoral programming that cultivates a liturgical-sacramental imagination in dioceses and parishes.</p>
<p>Contours of Wonder is inspired by Romano Guardini’s scholarship on the liturgical formation of the child and adolescent. Commenting on Guardini’s importance to the initiative, Timothy O’Malley, academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, noted: “Romano Guardini understood that if we were to develop a humane culture in an age characterized by technology, the abuse of power and frenetic activity, we need to remember what it means to be a liturgical creature. The formation of the child in the proper dispositions for worship will not only be good for the child but also for the entire human family.”</p>
<p>Through Contours, Notre Dame will partner with Villanova University to host three scholarly gatherings, culminating in three research volumes. Based on this research, a series of workshops and a leadership cohort will be piloted in partner dioceses across the United States. Cohort participants will spend a year exploring new ways to approach the liturgical formation of children and will develop implementation plans for their own churches, schools and dioceses. The initiative will culminate in a capstone conference in the summer of 2026.</p>
<p>To promote ongoing scholarship in this area, Contours will also host lectures and webinars throughout the three-year initiative and offer academic research fellowships to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Notre Dame. An undergraduate course at Notre Dame will also be created, introducing Notre Dame students to contemplative and sacramental practices necessary for human flourishing.</p>
<p>“We are engaging with scholars from across disciplines as well as parents, catechists, pastors and children themselves. Essential to this initiative is ensuring that our research contributes meaningfully to the academy while remaining accessible to the wider Church in a way that inspires a transformation in how children are both understood and formed,” said Lesley Kirzeder, program director of the initiative.</p>
<p>O’Malley concluded by saying: “We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for enabling us to participate in this initiative. Since its founding in 1970, the Center for Liturgy has had a special focus on the formation of children for participation in the liturgy. This grant, therefore, is a natural outgrowth of our mission to renew the liturgical and sacramental imagination of the Church. It’s a gift to engage in this kind of pastorally informed research and teaching that allows us to directly serve the Church in the unique way that a University can.”</p>
<p class="attribution">Originally published by <span class="rel-author">Margaret Scroope</span> at <span class="rel-source"><a href="https://mcgrath.nd.edu/news/contours-of-wonder-childhood-and-the-liturgical-imagination/">mcgrath.nd.edu</a></span> on <span class="rel-pubdate">Feb. 28</span>.</p>Margaret Scroopetag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1603592024-03-05T09:00:00-05:002024-03-11T15:33:29-04:00Land donation supports new approach to affordable housing in South Bend<p>The University of Notre Dame has donated three plots of land to the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization (NNRO), the nonprofit community development organization serving the increasingly popular Northeast Neighborhood south of campus. The land, along Turnock Street, will be used to build affordable, single-family homes as part of a newly formed community land trust, the first of its kind in Indiana.</p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/560538/fullsize/bj_2.29.24_712_turnock_st._1412.jpg" alt="Aerial view of a vacant, dirt-covered lot surrounded by single-family homes. Barren trees cast long shadows across the lot. It is late winter." width="1200" height="675">
<figcaption>Notre Dame has donated land in the 700 block of Turnock Street for affordable housing. The land is part of newly formed community land trust.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The University of Notre Dame has donated three plots of land to the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization (NNRO), the nonprofit community development organization serving the increasingly popular Northeast Neighborhood south of campus.</p>
<p>The land, along Turnock Street, will be used to build affordable, single-family homes as part of a newly formed community land trust, the first of its kind in Indiana.</p>
<p>A fourth lot, also along Turnock, will be used to develop affordable rental housing. Plans call for a small, four-unit apartment building. The building will fit with the existing character of the neighborhood, which includes a mix of owner-occupied and rental homes, townhomes and apartments.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is technically returning the land to the NNRO after previously purchasing it from the organization for redevelopment — specifically, for the University’s long-running <a href="https://treasury.nd.edu/acquisitions/northeast-neighborhood-redevelopment/notre-dame-avenue-housing-program/">Notre Dame Avenue Housing Program</a> for faculty and staff.</p>
<figure class="image image-right"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/560536/bj_2.29.24_705_st._louis_boulevard_1415.jpg" alt="A newly constructed bungalow — gray with white trim — sits between two other houses in a residential neighborhood." width="600" height="338">
<figcaption>The Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization recently finished construction on this one-story home on St. Louis Boulevard in South Bend — it's first community land trust home.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From a strategic perspective, the land trust aligns with Notre Dame’s Catholic values, which regard decent, safe and affordable housing as a human right. Additionally, the University’s <a href="https://strategicframework.nd.edu">strategic framework</a> lists engagement with South Bend and the surrounding community as a priority along with undergraduate education and formation, graduate education, research and scholarship, and Catholic identity.</p>
<p><a href="https://publicaffairs.nd.edu/people/tim-sexton/">Tim Sexton</a> is associate vice president of <a href="https://publicaffairs.nd.edu/">public affairs</a> for Notre Dame.</p>
<p>“As a founding member and key financial contributor to the NNRO, Notre Dame is fully committed to advancing community and economic development in the Northeast Neighborhood for the good of all residents,” said Sexton, a past president of the NNRO. “This includes preserving access to affordable housing in the neighborhood through innovative programs and partnerships such as the community land trust. To that end, we are pleased to contribute to the trust and look forward to working with the NNRO to ensure its success long into the future.”</p>
<p>Jessica McCrea, president of the NNRO, said, “The NNRO is honored to meet the need of preserving affordability in the Northeast Neighborhood by implementing the state’s first CLT home, and we’re not stopping there. Together with support from legislators, funding partners and our board, we were able to make history in 2023 and we look forward to continuing to do so.”</p>
<p>Community land trusts are nonprofit corporations that hold and lease land on behalf of a community-based place, such as a city or neighborhood, for the purpose of maintaining access to affordable housing — even and especially in the face of rising property values.<iframe width="1200" height="673" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iWzmZjym8d4?si=l9OYsbQisNe7L5IH" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Here, the NNRO worked with the Grounded Solutions Network to establish the land trust. Notre Dame law students, led by James Kelly, clinical professor of law and director of the <a href="https://law.nd.edu/">Law School’s</a> <a href="https://law.nd.edu/academics/experiential-courses/clinics/community-development-clinic/">Community Development Clinic</a>, provided legal support for the trust.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, this is how it works:</p>
<ul>
<li>A family or individual buys a house that sits on land owned by the community land trust.</li>
<li>The purchase price is affordable because the homeowner is buying only the house, not the land.</li>
<li>The homeowner leases the land from the community land trust as part of a long-term, renewable lease — typically 99 years — at a nominal fee.</li>
<li>The homeowner agrees to sell the home at a restricted price to keep it affordable in perpetuity, excluding the value of any improvements they make while living in the home.</li>
</ul>
<p>By excluding land from the cost of construction, the trust offers lower-income individuals the opportunity to take advantage of homeownership as a pathway to long-term security and stability — both personal and financial — while promoting social and economic diversity around campus.</p>
<p>The NNRO is partnering with South Bend Heritage Foundation (SBHF), its longtime operations manager, to develop the parcels, which sit side-by-side along the east side of Turnock between Corby Boulevard and South Bend Avenue, six blocks south of campus.</p>
<figure class="image image-left"><img src="https://news.nd.edu/assets/560537/bj_2.29.24_712_turnock_st._1413.jpg" alt="A view looking north across a vacant, dirt covered lot. It is late winter. Single-family homes can be seen in the background." width="600" height="338">
<figcaption>Notre Dame has donated land in the 700 block of Turnock Street for affordable housing. The land is part of newly formed community land trust.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A nonprofit affordable housing provider, SBHF previously partnered with NNRO on the Triangle Neighborhood, a mixed-income neighborhood adjacent to Eddy Street Commons. The organization is involved in single-family infill development in the Northeast Neighborhood as well, along Hill Street and elsewhere.</p>
<p>On Turnock, SBHF will build one detached, single-family bungalow and two side-by-side duplexes. It will use a set of pre-approved building plans — developed by the city of South Bend with input from the <a href="https://civicinnovation.nd.edu">Notre Dame Center for Civic Innovation</a> — for the duplexes. Work on the bungalow will commence this spring.</p>
<p>The NNRO recently sold its first land trust home — a single-family home on St. Louis Boulevard, a block west of Turnock — for $105,000, including a mortgage subsidy and other discounts. The home was appraised at about $500,000. The home next door recently sold for about $700,000.</p>
<p>“So (the community land trust is) doing exactly what we want it to do, which is maintain housing affordability in the Northeast Neighborhood,” said Marco Mariani, executive director of SBHF.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, buyers must earn less than 80 percent of the area median income, or about $66,000 per year for a family of four, and agree to the conditions of the trust. As a privilege of ownership, they get to sit on the NNRO committee that manages the trust.</p>
<p>“So that’s the community part of the overall land trust operation,” Mariani said.</p>
<p>This is the second time in as many years that Notre Dame has donated land near campus for affordable housing, responding to rapidly rising real estate prices.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-joins-with-habitat-for-humanity-to-increase-access-to-affordable-housing-in-south-bends-northeast-neighborhood/">The University donated four lots along Turnock to Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County</a> in January of last year. It also facilitated a pass-through donation of $250,000 to the organization to build as many as seven new homes on those lots as well as elsewhere in the neighborhood over the next five years.</p>
<p>The first two — <a href="https://news.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-alumni-assist-with-university-backed-habitat-project/">built with support from the Notre Dame Alumni Association and its Family Volunteer Camp</a> — are nearly finished. The owners are both single fathers from South Bend. One is a Notre Dame employee.</p>
<p> </p>Erin Blaskotag:news.nd.edu,2005:News/1603672024-03-05T08:00:00-05:002024-03-05T14:49:43-05:00Through experiential learning, students explore poverty solutions in Nigeria<p>Communities across northern Nigeria are chronically stressed by conflict and climate change, with many residents living below the international poverty line. How can policymakers help them prepare for economic shocks? Notre Dame global affairs students students have researched answers, providing insights that can inform poverty-fighting policies.</p><figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://conductorshare.nd.edu/assets/560388/1200x500/ilab_feature_photo.jpg" alt="Notre Dame global affairs students worked on a research project that can inform global poverty-fighting policies." width="1200" height="500"></figure>
<p>Communities across northern Nigeria are chronically stressed by conflict and climate change. In 2018, for instance, 40 percent of residents lived below the international poverty line, making less than $2 per day, and another 25 percent were vulnerable to poverty. How can policymakers help them prepare for economic shocks?</p>
<p>University of Notre Dame students have researched answers, providing insights that can empower households and communities and inform global poverty-fighting policies.</p>
<p><a href="https://keough.nd.edu/students/emma-hokoda/">Emma Hokoda</a>, <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/students/colleen-maher/">Colleen Maher</a> and <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/students/nancy-obonyo/">Nancy Obonyo</a> recently completed a project through the Keough School of Global Affairs’ <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/master-of-global-affairs/practicum-internship/integration-lab/">Integration Lab</a>, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services. In June and July of 2023, these <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/master-of-global-affairs/">Master of Global Affairs</a> students, who are pursuing concentrations in <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/master-of-global-affairs/sustainable-development/">sustainable development</a>, surveyed more than 1,000 households to evaluate the impact of the $17.6 million USAID-funded Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project.</p>
<p>The program, which aimed to strengthen agricultural-based livelihoods, was implemented by Catholic Relief Services from 2013 to 2018. Team members finished their project in February by presenting key findings and recommendations at the Keough School’s Washington Office. They briefed an audience that included representatives from Catholic Relief Services, USAID and the International Food Policy Research Institute.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the team found that some interventions were more successful than others, and the program can make improvements through strategic investments.</p>
<p>Key recommendations included:</p>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p>Embracing a holistic, systems-strengthening approach focused on foundational interventions that facilitate the success of future interventions.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p>Incorporating resilience measurement in development projects and future resilience studies in Nigeria.</p>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">
<p>Strengthening monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning systems for future projects.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The team evaluated program interventions, which focused on four areas: 1) agriculture and livelihoods, 2) income diversification, 3) government-strengthening activities and 4) nutrition alongside water, sanitation and hygiene.</p>
<figure class="image image-default"><img src="https://conductorshare.nd.edu/assets/560390/1200x700/fieldwork1.jpeg" alt="Notre Dame global affairs students worked on a research project that can inform global poverty-fighting policies." width="1200" height="700">
<figcaption><br>As part of their project, Nancy Obonyo, Colleen Maher and Emma Hokoda worked with Catholic Relief Services partners in northern Nigeria to study and strengthen household resilience.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students found that during economic shocks, program beneficiaries relied most heavily on agriculture and income activities to survive. Additionally, they confirmed that diversifying income streams beyond agriculture helped households better weather adversity. And they found that government-strengthening activities had the most substantial and statistically significant positive effect on household resilience.</p>
<p>Ultimately, students said the experience helped prepare them for policy-relevant careers.</p>
<p>For Hokoda, it was a window into how development projects unfold. “We wrote a proposal, prepared the institutional review process, created a financial plan, conducted field research and wrote recommendations based on our findings,” she said. “Being an active contributor from start to finish helped me understand the big picture and gain insight into how humanitarian projects are developed and assessed.”</p>
<p>For Maher, it was a master class in qualitative research. “Through this project I discovered a really deep appreciation and enjoyment of qualitative research,” she said. “This past fall, I went on to attend the American Evaluation Association’s conference in Indianapolis, where I had the opportunity to network and discuss this kind of research in depth.”</p>
<p>And for Obonyo, the experience reinforced the importance of holistic thinking in solving problems.</p>
<p>“Through my experience in Nigeria, I learned that people struggle or succeed as part of larger, interconnected communities, and there are many factors that help them prepare for and adapt to economic shocks,” she said. “So we can’t talk about household resilience without talking about foundational interventions such as education and health care as well as peace and security. And we can’t talk about household resilience without talking about community resilience. Having access to things like good roads and adequate drainage in these communities affects each person’s ability to thrive as well as the success of future interventions.”</p>Josh Stowe