Catholic Character

Goal: Ensure that the University’s Catholic character informs all aspects of campus life

Notre Dame is committed to ensuring that the University’s Catholic character informs all aspects of campus life. Here are some notable recent achievements toward this goal:

  • ACE schools in Tucson
    Three Tucson parish Catholic schools were designated as the nation’s first Notre Dame ACE Academy schools through a 2010 partnership with the Diocese of Tucson. The goal is to achieve comprehensive excellence by implementing a unique model of Catholic schooling that boosts enrollment and enhances school leadership, curriculum, instruction, professional development, financial management, marketing and Catholic identity.
  • Geddes Hall
    Designed to meet rigorous environmental standards, this 64,000 square-foot structure next to the Hesburgh Library opened in 2009. Geddes Hall brings under one roof the many programs of the Institute for Church Life: the Center for Social Concerns, Center for Catechetical Initiatives, Church Music Initiative, Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, Notre Dame Vision and Satellite Theological Education Program.
  • ICL faith formation and vocation programs:
    Founded in 2001, Notre Dame Vision is committed to helping young people recognize God’s call in their lives and respond to that call with courage and faith. Each summer, high school students from across the nation join together with Mentors-in-Faith at the University of Notre Dame to ask important questions about life, faith, their own gifts, and the ways in which we are each called to be the change we want to see in the world.
  • Echo is a dynamic, two-year service-learning program that prepares tomorrow’s leaders in faith formation, training catechists through master’s level coursework and practical experience in parishes across the United States.
  • Institutional Statements Supporting Life
    Notre Dame in 2010 for the first time adopted institutional position statements affirming its commitment to the defense of human life in all its stages and adopting new principles for the institution’s charitable activity. The formulation and adoption of the statements and principles were among recommendations made by the University’s Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life.
  • Keough-Hesburgh professorships
    This endowment supports chaired faculty positions for scholars who are both world-class leaders in their field of expertise and demonstrate a commitment to the Catholic mission of Notre Dame. A 2006 gift from board chairman emeritus Donald Keough and his family aids the University’s efforts to identify and attract younger faculty and graduate students that will enhance Notre Dame’s Catholic character and mission.
  • Peace Studies PhD program
    Notre Dame established a doctoral program in peace studies in its Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in 2008 to prepare students for path-breaking academic work in building peace. One of the few of its kind in the world, the program is a partnership between the institute and the departments of history, political science, psychology and sociology.
  • Sandner Hall
    This new home for the Alliance for Catholic Education connects to the historic Institute for Educational Initiatives in the heart of campus and was completed in 2011. The ACE program has grown since its founding in 1994 from one part-time employee and 40 ACE teachers to 60 full-time faculty and staff and nearly 300 full time graduate students in its various academic programs annually.