Faculty Stories

Faculty at Notre Dame come from communities and cultures all over the world. They conduct research and scholarship on topics and issues that span numerous academic disciplines. They share with students not just their areas of expertise but also their questions and concerns about the enduring issues and latest developments that shape our times.

But their role in broadening and sharpening the lenses through which we understand ourselves and the world around us extend well beyond individual research projects, classroom lectures, course syllabi, or a list of academic programs.

The selection of stories below helps illustrate the many other ways Notre Dame faculty foster diversity, support inclusion, and enliven the entire Notre Dame community.

In the presence of Giants

Carrie Gates

Decades before Jackie Robinson became the first Black man to play in the major leagues, the Foundry Giants—a team of Black players working in the Studebaker factory’s foundry—were making a name for themselves as one of the strongest independent baseball teams in the Midwest. The South Bend team played in Studebaker’s otherwise all-white industrial league in the 1920s and 1930s...

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Character studies

Notre Dame Magazine

In his latest book, Narcomedia: Latinidad, Popular Culture, and America’s War on Drugs, Jason Ruiz focuses a scholarly lens on one-dimensional depictions of Latinos as the bad guys, kingpins and users in works such as Scarface and Miami Vice, up through more recent series like Narcos and Breaking Bad.

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Women Lead 2024

Office of Brand Content

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 …

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Notre Dame makes $68 million commitment to fighting mental health crisis; scalable solutions could become national model

Notre Dame News

The University of Notre Dame is making a historic commitment to fighting the national mental health crisis by bringing together a coalition of benefactors, foundations and other funders who have committed more than $68 million over the past year to develop innovative solutions and expand access to…

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Balancing act: Mechanical engineer aims to make electrically powered prostheses both smart and lightweight

Karla Cruise

Powered prostheses hold promise for improving the lives of people with limb loss. Yet despite recent, rapid development of new designs and materials, current devices are often heavy and uncomfortable. Edgar Bolívar-Nieto, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, is designing an electrically powered lower-limb prosthesis (wearable robot) with enough computational capability to make...

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From prison to employment: Solar partnership advances Notre Dame’s mission, values

Erin Blasko

When the University of Notre Dame breaks ground on a new solar project later this year, it will be a full-circle moment for Patrick Regan, whose company, Crossroads Solar, is supplying the panels for the project — and helping formerly incarcerated men and women transition from prison to employment in the process.

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Assistant professor Tarryn Chun chosen for public intellectuals program focused on US-China relations

Beth Staples

“I think there's a lot of concern in the general public right now about China, especially over issues like military buildup and cyber security,” said Chun. “And that means that those of us who have expertise in China, and Chinese culture, have all the more responsibility to contribute to knowledge and understanding on both sides.”

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