A Letter to the Notre Dame Community - August 2026

August 26, 2026

Dear members of the Notre Dame community,

To those who are new to campus, I offer a warm welcome. To those returning to campus after a summer away, we are delighted to see you again. I look forward to the year ahead with excitement and enthusiasm, and I hope you do as well.

At the beginning of this academic year, it is good for us to rededicate ourselves to our mission. That mission brings together the life of the mind and the heart, scientific discovery, and moral wisdom, as we seek to advance human knowledge. Most fundamentally, we remain committed to being, as our University Mission Statement describes, a “Catholic academic community of higher learning, animated from its origins by the Congregation of Holy Cross . . . dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of truth for its own sake . . . enriched by the presence and voices of diverse scholars and students.” In the words of Pope John Paul II, our goal as a Catholic university is to learn to “think rigorously, so as to act rightly and to serve humanity better.”

As I announced last spring, our Notre Dame Forum theme for this academic year is “What Does It Mean to Live a Good Life?” This question has long animated the work of philosophers, theologians, artists, and scientists, and it is more timely than ever amid dramatic social, political, economic, and technological change.

In considering what it means to live a good life, we might ask ourselves the following: How can we cultivate meaningful lives and build a more just and humane world? How do we find meaning and joy, nurture close relationships and connections, build community, seek the common good, and support human flourishing? What does it mean to cultivate resilience and innovation in the face of adversity and challenge? And what wisdom does the Catholic tradition offer on these critical questions?

We will host a series of events as part of the Forum this year, and I invite you to join us for as many of these events as possible. Beyond your attendance at these events, I hope you will seek out the opportunities available to each of us—whether in the classroom, lab, studio, residence hall, workplace, or athletic field—to explore these questions. Let us use the conversations we will have this year to grow in understanding of our shared humanity and to deepen our capacity to be a force for good in the world.

As we begin a new academic year, I draw your attention once again to our Statement on Freedom of Expression, which articulates the University’s unwavering commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression, and the rights and responsibilities that accompany those freedoms. We seek to build a community that combines passionate pursuit of truth through inquiry and dialogue with respect and charity toward anyone with whom we disagree. Speech that incites violence, involves threats, or constitutes harassment will not be tolerated. In addition, compliance with Notre Dame’s policy regarding the time, manner, and place for free expression is essential so that the work of the University—the teaching, learning, research, and intellectual exchange that are at the core of our mission—can continue even as we grapple with important issues.

At Notre Dame, we walk together as a community of faith, hope, and love, and none of us need walk alone. Whether you are new to the University or have been part of it for some time, know that you belong here. At this time in history, with many challenges facing our world, it is more important than ever that we devote ourselves to being seekers of truth, sustainers of hope, and builders of bridges, extending and expanding the gifts we’ve been given to others and to the world. May we draw our inspiration from Mary, Notre Dame, on the Dome, arms and hands open, always ready to receive, always ready to embrace.

Be assured of my prayers for each of you as we seek to exemplify the spirit of Notre Dame and pursue the truth in love.

Sincerely yours in Notre Dame,

Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.
President