News » Archives » December 2011

The calendar year 2011 was filled with numerous moments of accomplishment, celebration and reflection at the University of Notre Dame. Here are some of the highlights.

It appears early each Advent season, the massive crèche mounted on a platform of hay bales at the western edge of Notre Dame’s Grotto. Vibrantly colored, oversized figures of Mary, Joseph, an adoring shepherd, the oncoming Magi, some eerily well-groomed livestock and a girlish angel overhead, all symmetrically arranged around an empty patch of stable floor. All the figures, even the animals, have credulous and startled faces. The Baby is not yet where their apprehensive gazes fall.

While it is unlikely to be mistaken for a great work of art, this Grotto nativity scene is nevertheless irresistible, and not just for those small children whose parents bring them there to marvel and gawk and wonder where the Baby is. Naivete is commendable in this season.

The Main Building Christmas Tree brings festive cheer to all as student continue to complete their final semester examinations.

David Murphy, former president and chief executive officer of Better World Books, a for-profit social venture initially created and spun out of the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed associate dean for entrepreneurship for the Colleges of Science and Engineering and director of Notre Dame’s Engineering, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Masters (ESTEEM) program.

A one-year master of science collaborative program between the Colleges of Science and Engineering and the Mendoza College of Business, ESTEEM augments the scientific and technical skills of individuals who have already earned their bachelor’s degree by providing the opportunity to obtain the unique skills required to take science and/or engineering inventions and translate them into commercial ventures.

Archbishop of Cap-Haitien Louis Kébreau will be awarded the 2011 Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America at a ceremony in Cap-Haitien on Dec. 8 (Thursday).

Presented annually since 2000 by the University of Notre Dame with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, the Notre Dame Prize recognizes the efforts of visionary leaders to enhance the region’s welfare by strengthening democracy and improving life for its citizens.