News

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

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

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

Watch Video

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

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

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

Mallory Meter, a psychology major from Beverly Hills, Mich., has been named valedictorian of the 2013 University of Notre Dame graduating class and will present the valedictory address during the University Commencement Ceremony on May 19 (Sunday) at Notre Dame Stadium.

Meter, who has achieved continuous Dean’s List honors each semester, currently has earned a 4.0 cumulative grade point average.

The Commencement invocation will be offered by Shawn Steurer, an electrical engineering major from Batavia, Ill., who currently has a 3.982 grade point average.

The University of Notre Dame is among seven leading academic institutions that will participate beginning this fall in Semester Online, the first education consortium to offer online, for-credit courses from top colleges and universities.

Notre Dame joins Boston College, Brandeis University, Emory University, Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Washington University in St. Louis in the consortium, in partnership with 2U, an industry leader in creating online academic experiences for top universities.

“Semester Online provides a new educational experience of the highest quality, as rigorous as traditional on-campus instruction,” said Thomas G. Burish, Notre Dame’s provost. “The consortium offers innovative undergraduate courses from world-class research universities along with small discussion groups, personal engagement with leading professors, and full credit towards one’s degree. Notre Dame is pleased to join 2U and the outstanding consortium schools in this exciting venture."

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, joined other national leaders of higher education calling for reforms in United States immigration policies on Friday (April 19), the National Immigration Forum Campus Day of Action for Immigration Reform.

“Notre Dame is proud of a long history of educating immigrant communities,” Father Jenkins said, “and our Catholic tradition urges us to provide welcome to the stranger among us. While recognizing the complex legal, economic, social and political questions surrounding immigration in our nation, we join others in calling for just and effective immigration reform. We urge particular attention to reform that will allow deserving, academically qualified young men and women who were brought to the United States as children to have access to higher education in the United States and opportunities following from educational achievement. By educating these young people, we will improve their lives, enrich our nation and live up to our values.”

The University of Notre Dame and NBC Sports have reached agreement on a new 10-year contract giving NBC the rights to televise Irish home football games from 2016 to 2025 and extending the partnership between the University and network to 35 years.

A joint announcement of the extension was made April 18 by Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group, and Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

Five distinguished figures in business, civil rights, education, literature and physics will join principal speaker Cardinal Timothy Dolan as honorary degree recipients at the University of Notre Dame’s 168th University Commencement Ceremony May 19 (Sunday).

The ceremony will be held in the morning at Notre Dame Stadium in order to accommodate as many guests as possible. Undergraduate diploma ceremonies for each college and school will be held the afternoon of May 19, and the Law School, Graduate Business, and Graduate School ceremonies will take place May 18.

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, will be recognized as an Honorary Navy Chaplain in a special ceremony at 5:45 p.m. April 17 (Wednesday) in the William J. Carey Auditorium of the Hesburgh Library.

Rear Adm. Mark L. Tidd, the 25th and current Chief of Navy Chaplains, will preside at the ceremony, which will honor Father Hesburgh both for his multifaceted career in higher education and public service and as “a distinguished leader who long wanted to serve his country in just that role — as a Navy chaplain.”

Dublin, Ireland

Watch Video

The close connection between the University of Notre Dame and Ireland was proudly represented when the Fighting Irish played Navy on the football field in Dublin in September 2012. Notre Dame’s president, John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and Enda Kenny, prime minister – or taoiseach – of Ireland, join together in encouraging Irish-Americans to carry on the spirit of collaboration to celebrate their Irish roots in a meaningful way.

The fifth annual CommUniversity Day, a day of community service hosted by the University of Notre Dame Student Government, the Robinson Community Learning Center and the Center for Social Concerns, will take place throughout the day Saturday (April 6).

The goal of CommUniversity Day is for Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, Holy Cross and Ivy Tech students to get out into the community and help residents with various projects. This year, projects will include painting fire hydrants, spring cleaning at local parks, constructing chicken coops for the LaSalle Square Unity Garden and installing a rain garden at Potawatomi Zoo. A food drive to benefit local pantries will also be held at the Robinson Center, 921 N. Eddy St.