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 spring 2021, the University of Notre Dame will hold a Diversity and Inclusion Conference for the Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College campuses to come together for a day of learning, conversation, and community-building. While the conference is months away, conference organizers offer selected resources for education, reflection, and action.
'Aunt Jemima' name change decades overdue, expert says
James O’Rourke, professor of management at Mendoza College of Business, says this move by Quaker Oats, while welcome, is decades late in coming.
Video: Race, violence, protest, and the ongoing struggle for justice
A June 4 virtual conversation on systemic racism, the current calls for justice for Black Americans, and ways to get engaged drew over 600 attendees. The event was hosted by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.
Father Jenkins: “We have to pray, but we also must act”
In response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., joined other local clergy, elected officials and community leaders at an interdenominational prayer rally today at the Jon R. Hunt Memorial Plaza in downtown South Bend.
THRIVE! continues to thrive in spite of coronavirus and working remotely
Thrive! is an employee resource group focused on increasing opportunities for women to be recruited, retained and advanced as leaders at the University
McGrath Institute to examine pandemic-related Church life renewal in virtual seminar series
With special attention to how the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the typical rhythm of dioceses, parishes, schools and home life, this series will examine how the laity and the clergy might together commit to renewing the life of the Church.
Mexico City Global Center to launch new virtual lecture series
A new series of virtual lectures will launch in May, highlighting the current work and partnerships between the University of Notre Dame and Mexico. Lecture topics include economic development and public finance, medicine and culture, and the spread of vector-borne diseases in Mexico.
Notre Dame’s wide-ranging Irish studies programming to expand
The University will expand its study of the Irish with the creation of a center to study modern Ireland, made possible by a leadership gift from Brian and Deidre Clingen.
Pulte family’s $111 million partnership provides Notre Dame with resources to fight poverty
The University of Notre Dame has developed a variety of tools to address the problems of the poor and to develop and measure the impact of anti-poverty programs. Now, thanks to a $111 million partnership between the University and the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation — the largest of its kind at Notre Dame — the University is positioned to enhance...
I am ND: Meet Rashied Omar
At the start of his interview with NDWorks, Rashied Omar, a research scholar of Islamic studies and peacebuilding, mentions he has been up since 5 a.m. “I’ve already run 10 kilometers (6 miles) at the gym and read my…
Supreme Court DACA decision confirms executive branch action not absolute, expert says
Erin Corcoran, executive director of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, says the Supreme Court decision issued by the chief justice today on DACA is significant for two important reasons.
Statement from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., on Supreme Court’s DACA decision
“The Supreme Court ruled on technical grounds what we applaud on moral ones. It invalidated the heartless cancellation of the DACA program, which needlessly put at risk thousands who entered the U.S. as minors and who knew America as their only home. "
Research on HBCUs and racial bias in the bond market receives award
University of Notre Dame research that found historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) pay higher fees to issue tax-exempt bonds than non-HBCUs was recently recognized as a “best paper” by the Journal of Financial Economics.
Notre Dame community gathers in support of unity and racial justice
With the image of “Christ the Teacher” on the south façade of Hesburgh Library as a backdrop, University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., urged members of the campus community Monday evening (June 1) to recommit to and pray for unity and racial justice in our nation.
Through research and teaching, Notre Dame historian and gender studies scholar-in-residence explores how archives shape narratives
What Karen Graubart didn’t find in archives in Spain and Peru was, in some ways, as valuable as what she did. An associate professor in the Department of History, Graubart has spent more than 15 years conducting archival research on women and non-dominant communities in the Iberian Empire for her first two books. But she is also considering how the archives themselves...
ILS scholars release new book on Latinos and the 2016 election
In a series of essays, researchers working at the intersection of Political Science and Latino Studies analyze issues ranging from Latino voter turnout in battleground states to the influence of gender on voting behavior.
Retracing the Route of Freedom: Notre Dame group rides a bus to civil rights landmarks across the South
Goose pimples broke out on a student’s skin in the pitch-black cellar of a Tennessee stop on the Underground Railroad. A visceral sadness seeped into a faculty member in the Memphis hotel room where Martin Luther King was shot on the balcony. The physical presence of the souls of black leaders overwhelmed…
Department's math circles program stretches young brains in fun ways
Amanda Serenevy, Ph.D., executive director of the Riverbend Community Math Center, has committed herself to improving math accessibility through her work at Riverbend. She wants to empower all students, regardless of family income and background, so the center provides its unique STEM opportunities, including math circles, free of charge.
Anthropologist's new book explores generational preconceptions in post-war Sierra Leone
In Catherine Bolten’s recently published book, Serious Youth in Sierra Leone, she presents findings on generational preconceptions and their impact on young men in Makeni, Sierra Leone. Her research has implications for everything from development to post-conflict reconstruction to how millennials are perceived and engaged around the world.
ILS' Hispanic Heritage Month 2019 Events
This month is comprised of diverse and unique events and scholarly activities aimed to acknowledge the importance and educate the campus community about the intellectual richness that Latino communities provide to the U.S.
Notre Dame Law School establishes Religious Liberty Clinic
With the receipt of a transformational gift from Matt and Lindsay Moroun and family, Notre Dame Law School will put its rich tradition of religious liberty scholarship into practice by creating the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic.
Mary Galvin: It is more meaningful to ask what we can do to end intolerance
Mary E. Galvin, William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science, addressed the issue of inequality with the students, faculty, and staff of the college.
Message from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. -- "We have work to do"
We were all horrified by the video of the terrible killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis as he pleaded with one of them to take his knees off his neck so he could breathe. As heartrending as the video was in itself, it has evoked anger and frustration among the black community—and all people of goodwill—over the...
Statement by Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame, on racial justice
“George Floyd’s tragic death cries out for justice and a recommitment to fight racism. Recalling the image of Father Hesburgh and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. locked hand-in-hand in 1964, we pray, on this Feast of Pentecost: Come, Holy Spirit, inspire us to work for justice, solidarity and a healing…
Pulte Institute researchers find connections between improved cookstoves and reduced domestic violence in Uganda
In 2014, the Hilton Foundation engaged a team of researchers from the Pulte Institute for Global Development to measure the impact of clean cookstove interventions in the Apac District of Uganda.
Supreme Court likely to agree with schools in closely watched religious freedom cases, expert predicts
Both “very important” cases involve the First Amendment right of religious institutions, including schools, to select their own leaders, teachers and ministers, and the justices are likely to agree with the schools, according to Notre Dame Law School Professor Richard Garnett, director of the University of Notre Dame’s Program on Church, State & Society.
Women’s judiciary panel and 19th Amendment exhibit to be held at ND Law School
Notre Dame Law School will host a panel discussion, How Women Have Shaped the Judiciary, to commemorate the 19th Amendment centennial of women’s right to vote on Friday, January 24 at 4 p.m. in McCartan Courtroom.
Through video and book projects, French professor explores why global women writers are gravitating toward Paris
Alison Rice, an associate professor of French and Francophone studies, conducted 18 filmed interviews in Paris over eight years with authors originally from Iran, Korea, Senegal, and Bulgaria, among other countries. She compiled, edited, and translated the interviews to create an online archive, accessible to scholars and students worldwide, and is now completing a book project based on the interviews.
Catholic and Muslim leaders champion interfaith dialogue, learning at Notre Dame event
The conversation, which featured Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, and Daoud Casewit, president of American Islamic College, continued a meaningful dialogue begun by a pair of pioneering religious figures some 800 years ago, Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt and St. Francis of Assisi.
Notre Dame Jewish studies scholar forges connections between ancient Mesopotamian texts and modern theology
Abraham Winitzer, the Jordan H. Kapson Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Notre Dame, is one of two Notre Dame theology faculty that have a focus on Jewish studies, an area in which the department is giving new emphasis.