As chairman of the Special Olympics International board of directors, Shriver has played a leading role in driving the organization’s largest expansion in its history — growing the movement from 1 million athletes to over 4 million athletes in more than 200 countries and territories around the world.

Shriver is also the co-founder of UNITE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people bridge political divides, and was instrumental in developing the — a new tool to help Americans disagree without demonizing each other.

“Drawing on his deep faith, Tim has devoted his life to being a force for good. Whether through his leadership of Special Olympics, his work in education or his commitment to fostering civil discourse, he is a tireless advocate for human dignity,” Notre Dame President, said. “In awarding him the Laetare Medal, we honor his inspiring witness and his dedication to building bridges in service of a more just and compassionate world.”

Special Olympics — a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities through programming in sports, health, education and inclusive leadership — was founded in 1968 by Shriver’s mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Shriver’s father, Robert Sargent Shriver, also served as president and board chair in the 1980s and 1990s.

“My parents never retired. They loved their work. They loved the Special Olympics movement. So my mom and dad were not looking to hand off the torch; they just wanted someone to help carry it,” Shriver said. “Most of all, I think they wanted confidence that whoever was going to lead the movement into the future understood it. And we have tried to maintain that same vision — to see the dignity of every human being and to stay focused on what matters most, which is that every child who comes into this movement deserves to be treated with dignity and hope and justice and joy. Give them a chance, every one, no exceptions.”

Shriver joined the Special Olympics movement in 1996 and currently serves as chairman. During his tenure, he has broadened Special Olympics’ global reach and sought to enhance the quality of life for millions of people with disabilities by creating new initiatives in athletic leadership, health services and education development.

To date, the Healthy Athletes initiative, launched in 1997, has provided free health care screenings to more than 2 million athletes in more than 135 countries. And the Special Olympics Unified Sports initiative, which began in the 1980s and was significantly expanded under his leadership, brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities on the same playing field to promote a culture of inclusion.

“I look at the work of the last half century of the Special Olympics movement as largely shifting the lens from, ‘What’s wrong with them?’ to ‘How much can we accomplish if it’s us, not us versus them? If we’re all seen as equally gifted, as opposed to some being better than others?’” he said. “These were all lessons that were taught to me very early in life, and I’m grateful for them.”

Shriver earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree from Catholic University and a doctoral degree in education from the University of Connecticut. He began his career in public education and helped launch the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) by leading the New Haven Social Development program, which pioneered SEL strategies across K-12 classrooms. Building on that program’s success, Shriver co-founded the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) at Yale in 1994 and chairs its board of directors.

Building on his experience with Special Olympics and convinced that treating others with dignity eases division, Shriver founded UNITE in 2018 to try to bridge the political divides in the United States. Launched in 2022, the Dignity Index is an eight-point scale to gauge whether the language people use reflects contempt or respect for those with other views. The UNITE team now works with politicians, educators, faith leaders and corporations across the country to advocate for dignity as a “winning strategy” in every field of endeavor.

Shriver, who has also served as executive producer of several award-winning films, is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most” and co-editor of “The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening.”

In recognition of his visionary leadership, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the Medal of the City of Athens, Greece; 1995 Connecticut Citizen of the Year; the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero of the Republic of Panama and the Presidential Medallion from the University of Illinois. He has also received honorary degrees from Georgetown University, Fordham University and Villanova University, among others.

The Laetare (pronounced lay-TAH-ray) Medal is so named because its recipient is announced each year in celebration of Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent on the Church calendar. “Laetare,” the Latin word for “rejoice,” is the first word in the entrance antiphon of the Mass that Sunday, which ritually anticipates the celebration of Easter. The medal bears the Latin inscription, “Magna est veritas et praevalebit” (“Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail”).

Established at Notre Dame in 1883, the Laetare Medal was conceived as an American counterpart of the Golden Rose, a papal honor that antedates the 11th century. The medal has been awarded annually at Notre Dame to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”

Previous recipients of the Laetare Medal include Civil War Gen. William Rosecrans; Governor of New York Alfred Smith; actress Helen Hayes; Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day; teacher, musician, liturgist and scholar Sister Thea Bowman; novelist Walker Percy; counselor and advocate for death row prisoners Sister Helen Prejean; Cardinal Joseph Bernardin; singer Aaron Neville; actor Martin Sheen; and CEO of Feeding America Claire Babineaux-Fontenot.

“I know I don’t belong in the company of many of the people who have received this medal,” Shriver said. “I think it’s being given to me as a placeholder for the people who are doing the work every day. It’s being given to me so that the athlete who’s in a refugee camp in Tanzania running 50 meters this afternoon will somehow know that the world is paying attention, and so that his mom at the finish line will know that her son matters. I’m a good channel for people who deserve it, and I’m grateful to be able to be that channel.”

Shriver is the only Laetare Medalist in Notre Dame history whose parents were both recipients as well. His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, received the Laetare Medal in 1988 for her own work with Special Olympics, and his father, Robert Sargent Shriver, was the 1968 Laetare Medalist in recognition of his work in founding the Peace Corps. Timothy Shriver’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, received the medal in 1961.

Contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, c.gates@nd.edu, 574-993-9220

The Global Alliance was created to strengthen cooperation among universities worldwide and connect sustainability leaders in academia and beyond to advance a shared vision for transformative change. Responding to Pope Francis’ call to “hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” the partners hope their combined efforts will effectively address global environmental degradation, inequality and ecological injustice.

The alliance launched with March 9-10 at the in Castel Gandolfo, the pontifical summer residence outside of Rome. Nearly 100 researchers and institutional leaders — representing more than 60 universities across Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa, as well as major international organizations — gathered to develop a shared research and action agenda and a long-term vision for the alliance.

Speakers and participants stressed the need for collaboration that connects the natural and applied sciences with philosophy, anthropology, the social sciences and theology — building research networks that generate cutting-edge knowledge, inform public debate and contribute to the development of policies and strategies for sustainable development.

“We emerge from this first gathering of the Global Alliance with a renewed sense of purpose and hope,” said University of Notre Dame President “These interdisciplinary research and education initiatives reflect our commitment to an integral ecology that recognizes the deep connections between environmental sustainability and human dignity and flourishing. We look forward to the many ways this collaboration will serve the common good and advance care for our common home in the days ahead.”

Representatives from both Notre Dame and the Vatican attended the meeting at the Laudato Si’ Village, including , director general of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education, undersecretary of the and one of the founders of the Global Alliance, and , secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and member of the board of directors for the .

The convening will serve as a catalyst for significant positive action at the local, regional and global levels, and the insights that emerged will provide a roadmap for the alliance to follow.

“This enthusiasm must now be translated into concrete objectives through working groups that will continue beyond the conference, launching a lasting process of collaboration among research centers and institutions,” Cardinal Baggio said.

, founding director of and the Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy at Notre Dame’s , said Notre Dame’s research expertise and mission-driven approach to addressing environmental issues make it uniquely suited to help advance this effort.

“We feel that Notre Dame, a leading Catholic research university, is positioned to assist the Holy See in its objective to seek transformative change in a manner consistent with the best available science, as well as the foundational elements of integral ecology and integral human development,” Agrawal said.

., vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education and professor of theology and global affairs, said that it was important for the alliance members to gather together as a global community because the issues being faced are shared. “The environment is something that affects all of us,” he said. “We can come together as a human community before God and reflect on how we can work together to preserve our common home.”

“It’s also important to see how Notre Dame can be at the service of the Church,” Father Groody added. “We can connect the research engine of Notre Dame with the research needs of the Church, especially as we’re looking at the problems of the world and helping those who are afflicted, particularly the most vulnerable members of our human community.”

Together, the Global Alliance hopes to advance three main goals: to form a global network of leaders and institutions focused on sustainability, to create thematic working groups for developing research plans and educational curricula on sustainability, and to strengthen Catholic visibility and contributions to international sustainability dialogue.

Six interdisciplinary working groups will advance the main research areas of the Global Alliance in the coming years. Their work will focus on strategic priorities that include:

• • removing barriers to access to water, energy and food security
  • transforming economic systems toward more sustainable and just models
  • developing best practices and tools to promote collective action

“There is already so much inspiring work being done all over the world,” Agrawal said, “and the goal of the Global Alliance is not to substitute for any of that work, but rather to share, to learn, to connect and to support what is already going on and to provide a space in which anyone who is interested in sustainability and integral ecology can learn from what others have done and to build on that.”

A key element of Notre Dame’s , the JTS Initiative is the University’s far-reaching response to the urgent and cascading effects of sustainability challenges on food, energy, water and infrastructure — all of which threaten the well-being and dignity of people everywhere. The initiative brings together interdisciplinary scholars, dedicated students and action partners from around the world to advance transformative solutions for a more just and sustainable future.

“We look forward to cultivating these new relationships with other global leaders in the sustainability field and operationalizing the interdisciplinary research needed to effect this deep and lasting change in our world,” Agrawal said.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

More than 184 million people in rural sub-Saharan Africa rely on shared handpumps for clean water. However, more than 50,000 of the pumps are broken, leaving millions in jeopardy of losing their safe water supply.

New research from the University of Notre Dame studies how local nongovernmental organizations in Ethiopia, Malawi and the Central African Republic decide when to maintain and repair 3,584 community handpumps when information about pump functionality is incomplete or uncertain. The ongoing research has helped NGOs provide more consistent and safe access to water for more than a million people across the three countries.

“Our results show that well-timed preventive maintenance can substantially reduce downtime and, in many cases, lower logistics costs — an important factor for NGOs with limited budgets,” said lead author, assistant professor of information technology, analytics and operations at Notre Dame’s. Her findings in the paper, titled “,” are forthcoming in the journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management and won the 2024 Service Science Best Cluster Paper Award from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, a prestigious international research recognition.

Along with co-authors, Notre Dame’s Greg and Patty Fox Collegiate Professor of IT, Analytics and Operations, and Rodney Parker, Kurt Bretthauer and Jorge Mejia from Indiana University, Zhai examined detailed data on mechanic visits and water-point functionality from three countries that use very different approaches to water handpump maintenance.

Based on field research, Zhai and colleagues learned that the NGOs operating in the Central African Republic visit each water handpump once per year as part of a pre-scheduled rotation. The NGO in Ethiopia has an incoming call center that relies on community reporting of handpump breakdowns. The NGO in Malawi runs an outgoing call center, which contacts each community to inquire about the handpump condition so broken ones can be repaired.

The team developed a dynamic optimization model, called the Markov Decision Process, that adapts to each NGO’s current maintenance model and identifies optimal schedules for mechanics to visit and conduct the necessary maintenance and repair services, with the goal of reducing water pump downtime while balancing the logistics cost.

“Under this approach, NGOs perform both preventive maintenance and any needed repairs during each scheduled visit,” Zhai said.

Using this model, the NGO observes how many pumps are reported broken in each cluster and how long it has been since the last visit, and then decides which cluster its mechanics should visit next.

There are a number of complicating factors in determining maintenance practices. NGOs responsible for maintaining the water sources operate with limited staff and budgets. They must carefully plan their mechanics’ travel routes to keep pumps working while minimizing downtime and the costs of transportation and spare parts. At the same time, they must decide how much to invest in collecting information from communities about pump failures and whether their maintenance strategy should be more proactive (scheduled visits) or reactive (responding to reported breakdowns).

It can be tough to figure out if fixing things as they break or sticking to a strict schedule actually works best.

“If there is plenty of data and the water pumps are reliable, reacting as things break is best,” Zhai said. “But if repair demand is high, sticking to a scheduled, proactive plan works better.”

Applying their analytics model across thousands of water handpumps and multiple time periods revealed substantial reductions in downtime.

Enhanced logistics including well-scheduled preventive maintenance and repair service reduced maintenance downtime by 47 percent to 62 percent in Ethiopia, up to 53 percent in Malawi, and by 42 percent to 55 percent in the Central African Republic), with varying cost impacts ranging from savings in Malawi and Ethiopia and a 15 percent to 19 percent increase in the Central African Republic.

“This vital research offers a clear path to keeping water flowing, delivering sustainable, safe water access for underserved rural communities across Africa and strengthening health and long-term resilience,” Zhai said. “Our findings are critical for NGOs working with tight budgets and incomplete information.”

While NGOs may assume preventive maintenance increases costs, the study shows that when preventive maintenance is scheduled optimally, significant logistics savings are achievable. For organizations with limited budgets, these savings can free up resources for other critical activities. Even in cases where costs rise, the major improvements in pump uptime can justify the added expense.

“This paper is part of our comprehensive research agenda on water management in sub-Saharan Africa. We are using analytics to improve the location, allocation, maintenance and funding of water projects in countries like Malawi, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic,” said Pedraza-Martinez, who also serves as faculty director of the program. “Moreover, thanks to a collaboration with the Frontlines program at the Mendoza College of Business, MBA students are building on our research to advise NGOs and social enterprises focused on water management, helping these organizations improve their strategies and operations. This is research with a positive and tangible social impact.”

Contacts: Chengcheng Zhai, 574-631-5445, czhai2@nd.edu; Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, apedraz2@nd.edu

�ճ���� is a preeminent prize within the field of European studies. It is awarded each year to the book that best transcends a focus on any one country, state or people, stimulating new ways of thinking about contemporary Europe as a whole. This year’s award cycle considered books in the humanities published in 2024 and 2025. A of finalists was previously announced in November 2025.

2026 Laura Shannon Prize final jury statement

Each year, the prize recipient is selected by a jury of accomplished scholars. The 2026 jury included , professor and chair of the Department of the History of English and Translation 91��Ƶ at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin; , the John Stewart Bryan Professor at the University of Virginia; , professor of Spanish at the University of Notre Dame; , professor of German studies at the University of Notre Dame; and , the George Steiner Professor of Comparative Literature at the Queen Mary University of London.

In its statement, the final jury commended Calderwood for setting a “new standard for interpreting the ongoing relevance of our foundational political and cultural histories.” 

The jury also lauded Calderwood for his eloquent historiographical achievement for a range of fields, as well as the book’s ability to remain strikingly relevant to our current historical crossroads.

“It represents the very best of the critical perspectives from the peripheries of Europe: a story emerging from the Western edge of Europe, traveling around the Mediterranean, only to rearticulate its cultural and political challenges in the space-in-between Europe and its essentially migrant history,” they wrote.

“In this, it amply offers, in the words of the Shannon Prize, ‘new ways of thinking about contemporary Europe as a whole,’ decentering the continent as the provenance of any single cultural, aesthetic or religious tradition. … At a moment when powerful voices are agitating in favor of univocal, hierarchical and ultimately fictional ‘shared traditions’ of Europe, Calderwood provides a response of literal and material shared histories whose contemporary expressions demonstrate multiplicity and defy any neat historical or geographical unities,” the jury stated.

The jury concluded by saying that the book is “European studies at its best in that it aligns effortlessly and traces in admirable depth cultural, political and religious histories, while at the same time examining their relevance for a wider Europe.”

Prize lecture to be held next academic year

The prize will be officially conferred during a public lecture and award ceremony, which will be scheduled during the 2026-27 academic year. The Nanovic Institute will share this date when it has been finalized.

The Laura Shannon Prize has a 17-year history of recognizing high-quality scholarship in European studies. It was made possible by a generous endowment from Laura Shannon (1939-2021) and her husband, Michael, a member of the Notre Dame class of ’58. Laura Shannon joined the Nanovic Institute’s advisory board in 2003 and faithfully served for many years. Her professional career involved work in social services and family court mediation, and she was a frequent visitor to Europe, where she developed her French language skills. Her daughters, Claire Shannon Kelly and Katie Shannon, continue their parents’ legacy as current members of the institute’s advisory board.

In recent years, the prize has become a critical way to promote ongoing academic partnerships between the institute and leading scholars in European studies. A few key examples include:

• 2019 and 2020 recipients and joined the institute’s graduate workshop in Ireland on academic storytelling in August 2022.

• 2021 recipient keynoted the institute’s in March 2023 and returned to a seminar on storytelling from the margins in August 2025.

• 2022 recipient co-led a working group with the Nanovic Institute beginning in 2025.

• 2023 recipient served as a Nanovic Institute research affiliate and external reviewer.

• 2024 recipient returned to Notre Dame for its in March 2025 and as a visiting professor in the 2025-26 academic year.

are currently open through March 31 for the 2027 Laura Shannon Prize, focused on books within history and the social sciences published in 2024 or 2025. Authors and publishers may submit nominations.

The Nanovic Institute for European 91��Ƶ is part of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. The Laura Shannon Prize is one way it contributes to the intellectual, cultural and research aims of the school, bringing renowned scholars from around the globe to campus and integrating them into coursework, public events and research projects. It forms a critical bridge between Notre Dame and Europe, enriching the reach of this global University.

For more information about the Nanovic Institute and the Laura Shannon Prize (including ), visit .

Originally published by Keith Sayer at on March 4.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Lou Holtz, the legendary college football coach who led the University of Notre Dame to the 1988 National Championship, has passed away at the age of 89.

One of the most affable coaches of his generation, Holtz won 249 games as a collegiate head coach with 100 of those victories earned at Notre Dame from 1986 through 1996. He led the Irish to the 1988 National Championship with a 12-0 record capped by a victory over West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl. The ’88 title season began a 64-9-1 (.871) run for Holtz at Notre Dame that included a 23-game win streak, back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time in school history and a program record nine consecutive bowl game appearances.

“Notre Dame mourns the loss of Lou Holtz, a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family and devoted husband, father and grandfather,” said University of Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.

“Among his many accomplishments, we will remember him above all as a teacher, leader and mentor who brought out the very best in his players, on and off the field, earning their respect and admiration for a lifetime. In the years since leaving the head football coach position, Lou, together with his beloved wife, Beth, supported Notre Dame in innumerable ways, among them making possible the refurbishment of four residence hall chapels and the construction of the Beth and Lou Holtz Grand Reading Room on the first floor of Hesburgh Library — tangible signs of their great love for their Catholic faith and the mission of Our Lady’s University. Whenever Notre Dame called to ask for his help, Lou answered with his characteristic generosity, and he will be sorely missed. The prayers of the entire Notre Dame community are with his family and many friends in this time of sorrow. May he rest in the peace and love of Christ.”

Holtz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and instituted several traditions at Notre Dame that carry on to this day. The famous “Play Like A Champion” sign in the football locker room, which Fighting Irish players continue to honor on the way out to the playing field, was first displayed during the Holtz era. Holtz also removed names from the back of the football jerseys to emphasize the team dynamic, a tradition that is still followed today during all regular-season games.

Holtz returned to campus during the 2025 football season and presented the colors for the national anthem before the kickoff of the Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M game.

Among the legendary players coached by Holtz at Notre Dame are 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and College Football Hall of Famers Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, Michael Stonebreaker, Aaron Taylor and Chris Zorich.

Holtz’s lasting legacy at the University of Notre Dame goes beyond his accomplishments and traditions with the football program. Football student-athletes who played for him developed Holtz’s Heroes, a charitable foundation that supports former student-athletes facing financial, physical or mental hardships, provides scholarship aid to deserving youth and serves communities in need through charitable works.

In 2021 the University dedicated the Beth and Lou Holtz Family Grand Reading Room at the Hesburgh Library, made possible by a generous gift to the University by Holtz in memory of his wife, Beth, who passed away on June 30, 2020.

The Holtz family also supported the Rockne Heritage Fund, which underwrites financial aid to Fighting Irish student-athletes, and in 1991 they established the Lou and Beth Holtz Family Scholarship, which assists deserving undergraduate students with financial need. They also served as members of University President Emeritus Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.’s Cavanaugh Council; funded the renovation of the chapels in the Breen-Phillips, Morrissey and St. Edward’s residence halls; and created the Liz Holtz Endowment for Excellence for Lyons Hall to provide an annual operating budget and for future needs and enhancements for residents of the hall.

At the 2011 Commencement ceremonies, Holtz received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Notre Dame.

In 2011-12, the couple was named the University’s first “ambassadors for research” and took a prominent role in increasing awareness of Notre Dame’s research mission. They took a particular interest in cancer research after Beth was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 1997. She recovered after being given a 5 percent chance of survival.

Holtz began his coaching career at William & Mary in 1969, then moved to North Carolina State University for the 1972 season. He won 33 games in four years with the Wolfpack and claimed the 1973 ACC Championship.

He spent one season in the NFL with the New York Jets, then returned to college football at University of Arkansas in 1977. His first season at Arkansas culminated with a 31-6 upset victory over No. 3 University of Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl. That victory, coupled with Notre Dame’s dominating upset of top-ranked The University of Texas at Austin in the Cotton Bowl, allowed the Fighting Irish to move from fifth to number one after the bowl season and earn the national championship.

Holtz would finish his run at Arkansas 60-21-2 and eventually move to the University of Minnesota in 1984. He won 10 games in two years with the Gophers before accepting the Notre Dame opportunity at the end of the 1985 season.

After his retirement at Notre Dame at the end of the 1996 season, Holtz joined CBS Sports as a game commentator but still had one more coaching run left. In 1999, he took the job at the University of South Carolina and rebuilt the Gamecock program, finishing 0-11 in his first season then 8-5 in year two, which included an upset of Ohio State University in the Outback Bowl. The eight-game turnaround earned him National Coach of the Year honors. Holtz would eventually win 33 games in six years at South Carolina, which included back-to-back Outback Bowl wins in 2000 and 2001.

Born January 6, 1937, in Follansbee, West Virginia, Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, and played linebacker at Kent State University. His first coaching opportunity was at the University of Iowa as a graduate assistant in 1960, and then he served at William & Mary, University of Connecticut, South Carolina and Ohio State as an assistant coach. He was a member of the Buckeye coaching staff for the 1968 national championship season.

Holtz is survived by his four children, Luanne, Lou “Skip” Junior, Kevin and Elizabeth, with the latter three all graduating from the University of Notre Dame.

University of Notre Dame President , announced today the appointment of , as vice president for mission engagement and Church affairs, effective July 1. Father Haake, an associate professor of French and Francophone studies and the religious superior of the Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame, will succeed , who is stepping down to return to teaching in the Department of Art, Art History and Design and to his work as a sculptor. Father Collins will also serve as special adviser to Father Dowd.

“Knowing that he will build on Father Austin’s many accomplishments as vice president over the past five years, I am delighted that Father Greg has agreed to take on this important leadership role,” Father Dowd said. “Father Greg is widely admired for his scholarly achievements, his deep commitment to Notre Dame’s mission, and his pastoral gifts. He is uniquely situated to work closely with me and with colleagues across the University to steward and deepen Notre Dame’s Catholic mission and to forge strategic partnerships both at the University and beyond in service of the Church. I am truly grateful to both Father Greg and Father Austin, my brother priests in the Congregation of Holy Cross, for their unfailing support and dedicated service.”

A specialist in 16th-century France, Father Haake focuses his research on the intersection of religion, politics and literature — specifically on how discourse can be used to achieve ideological and religious goals. As the religious superior of the Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame, he has served as an ex officio Fellow and Trustee of the University and as a member of the President’s Leadership Council.

“I am honored by Father Bob’s invitation to serve as the vice president for mission engagement and Church affairs,” Father Haake said. “Notre Dame’s Catholic and Holy Cross mission contributes deeply to what makes this University special and embeds us firmly within the life and tradition of the Church. On both fronts, Notre Dame has unique opportunities, and I look forward to helping the University to fulfill its mission on campus and beyond.”

Father Haake received both a bachelor’s and a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame, a Master of Arts from Middlebury College and a doctorate from Stanford University. He was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the University’s founding order, in 2007, and he joined the faculty at Notre Dame in 2015. Father Haake is a priest-in-residence in Coyle Hall.

Father Collins was appointed vice president for mission engagement in 2021. Among many other accomplishments, he has played an important role in building relationships with Church leaders in the U.S. and around the world and developing programs for faculty and staff aimed at deepening their understanding of Notre Dame’s Catholic mission. Prior to serving as vice president, Father Collins served as religious superior of Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame and as an ex officio Trustee and Fellow of the University from 2015 to 2020, and as chair of the Department of Art, Art History and Design from 1997 to 2003. Father Collins has been a faculty member since 1985.

Contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, c.gates@nd.edu, 574-993-9220

The Reisenauer Institute for Rare Diseases will help to bridge the gaps between scientific understanding and the daily experiences of those living with rare conditions, consistent with the University’s Catholic mission and strategic framework. In doing so, it will take a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving, with connections to the University’s strategic framework — specifically, the and the subsections of the .

In the United States, a rare disease is defined as a medical condition impacting fewer than 200,000 people. However, aggregated across the landscape of the nearly 10,000 known rare diseases, ; as many as half are children.

“This extraordinary gift from the Reisenauers will enable Notre Dame to more effectively prepare the next generation of educators, patient advocates and researchers in a collaborative effort to prevent, treat and cure rare diseases,” said , the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “Such important work is central to Notre Dame’s as articulated in our .”

Notre Dame’s efforts in the rare disease space began more than a decade ago with the establishment of the Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare Diseases, and continued with the creation of the distinctive program and the .

“As Notre Dame parents and as the parents of two children with an ultra-rare disease, our hope is that this transformative gift leads to real breakthroughs in the rare disease space, in terms of research as well as patient and family advocacy, support and care.”

The new institute will build on those efforts but with a fresh approach — one that, consistent with the University’s Catholic mission and values, centers patients and their experiences and aims to make a difference for the rare disease community through intentional integration of research, advocacy and education, guided by a deep commitment to ethical engagement and to honoring the dignity of patients and their families.

To that end, the institute will invest in the people, programs and tools required to achieve positive momentum in the rare disease space, emphasizing scalability, reproducibility, collaboration and cross-functional partnerships.

As a key first step in launching the institute, the College of Science is currently undertaking an international search for its inaugural director with support from the executive search firm Spencer Stuart.

Ultimately, the institute aims to be a beacon of hope for the rare disease community, revolutionizing care by uniting patients and experts to accelerate therapy development, empower organizations and train the next generation of advocates for lasting impact.

“We are deeply grateful to Dave and Cathleen Reisenauer for their extraordinary generosity,” said , interim dean of the College of Science. “Their gift will allow us to unite research, education and patient advocacy in a way that reflects our Catholic mission and commitment to serving the most vulnerable, and to pursue this work with integrity and respect for the families who place their trust in us.”

Cathleen Reisenauer is a member of the Notre Dame College of Science Advisory Council. Dave Reisenauer, now retired, is the former director of digital transformation for Nvidia, the world’s leading artificial intelligence chipmaker.

The couple has three children: Peter, Cayla and Andrew. Peter and Andrew are both Notre Dame graduates and are now practicing attorneys. Peter and Cayla both live with Cori disease/GSD type IIIA, a genetic disorder characterized by the accumulation of glycogen in the body’s cells, leading to impaired organ and tissue function, particularly affecting the liver and muscles. Cathleen is a full-time caregiver to Cayla, who is severely disabled.

The experience of navigating Peter and Cayla’s diagnoses has shaped and inspired their philanthropy, which includes previous gifts to Notre Dame to establish and strengthen the Reisenauer Excellence Fund for GSD and Related Disease Research; support the ; endow the director of patient advocacy education and outreach position within the Patient Advocacy Initiative; and support an associate director for external engagement for the Patient Advocacy Initiative.

“Our experience working with the College of Science in support of patient advocacy has only reinforced our belief in Notre Dame’s capacity to improve the lives of those living with rare diseases,” Cathleen Reisenauer said. “As Notre Dame parents and as the parents of two children with an ultra-rare disease, our hope is that this transformative gift leads to real breakthroughs in the rare disease space, in terms of research as well as patient and family advocacy, support and care.”

Proud graduates of Gonzaga University, the Reisenauers have also made gifts to their alma mater, for both learning and athletics. Recently, they have also lent their support to a program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Reisenauer Precision Gene Therapy Fund, aimed at developing therapies for ultra-rare disorders and engaging with the patients and families affected by these diseases.

For more information, visit .

, professor and director of the University of Notre Dame’s (GC-DWC), has joined a major new Vatican-backed initiative, “From Crisis to Care: Catholic Action for Children” to position Notre Dame as a lead research and program learning partner of this global effort to transform how the Catholic Church and its partners protect and nurture the world’s most vulnerable children.

Answering the late Pope Francis’ urgent call to safeguard the rights, dignity and well-being of children, the Catholic Action for Children Initiative is co-sponsored by Holy See institutions and religious unions, including the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Union of Superiors General, International Union of Superiors General and Pontifical Academy for Life, with the participation of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Catholic Relief Services, religious congregations and lay experts. Working directly with children and families across five continents, the initiative aims to culminate in a public action plan to support church leaders, communities and partners, ensuring that every child grows up in safe, nurturing family care supported by strong, coherent systems.

The initiative held its inaugural committee meeting in Vatican City February 5. During an audience at Clementine Hall, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV met with the committee, emphasizing the “tragedy” of children being deprived of basic necessities and urging “greater harmony” among church structures to address their physical, psychological and spiritual welfare.

The GC-DWC’s involvement in this Vatican initiative is a powerful reflection of Notre Dame’s mission to be a “transformative force for good” in the world. It specifically advances the , which identifies global Catholicism, poverty and health and well-being as central priorities for the coming decade.

“As a Catholic research university, Notre Dame is uniquely positioned to lead,” Boothby said. “By helping to lead this global initiative, we are ensuring that the GC-DWC’s evidence-based research on child development is directly supporting the church’s global network of care.”

Boothby and the GC-DWC bring a wealth of experience to the “From Crisis to Care” framework. Since its inception, the center’s research and programs have spanned 26 countries, demonstrating a proven ability to translate complex developmental science into practical solutions for families and communities worldwide. A cornerstone of this global reach is the center’s “Whole Child” approach to development, which recognizes that a child’s development is inextricably linked to their environment.

This is operationalized through the GC-DWC’s Parish Activation Model, an integrated framework that leverages the three settings where children are in regular contact with caregivers: the home, school and church. By embedding developmental science into existing parish life — such as baptismal preparation, homilies and school curricula — the center strengthens the very systems that surround the child. Originally developed through the GC-DWC’s long-term work in Haiti, this model provides a unique platform for developing and pilot testing programs that can be iteratively refined and then scaled system-wide to reach hundreds of thousands of children globally.

Addressing the committee, Pope Leo XIV welcomed their commitment to develop effective ways to address the concerns of children. He identified two essential points for the committee’s mission: first, that they are “speaking on behalf of those who have no voice,” and second, the need to focus on the “transversal needs of children,” which can be overlooked when care is focused on only one area. He urged the committee to work in “greater harmony so that children receive care that is well balanced, taking into consideration their physical, psychological and spiritual welfare.”

The committee identified five priority areas for future collective action:

• Unified Advocacy and Voice: A call for a collaborative commitment from the church and society to advocate for child rights through unified policy engagement and education.

• Networking: Partnering across religious, governmental and academic sectors to dismantle the silos that obstruct the well-being of children and families.

• Centering Children in the Church’s Mission: Placing the dignity and protection of children at the heart of ministry, ensuring robust safeguarding and communities of trust.

• Formation and Capacity Building: A commitment to equipping families, congregations and institutions with the tools to support and respect the rights of every child.

• Inclusion and Engagement: Ensuring children are active participants in decisions affecting them, creating platforms to amplify their diverse voices and perspectives.

“The GC-DWC's role is to serve as a research partner, helping the Church activate the systems — families, parishes and schools — that already exist around the child,” Boothby added. “It is incredibly powerful to connect science to faith to make these pathways out of adversity actionable. This initiative is about turning a universal mandate into concrete, measurable action on a global scale.”

Originally published by Brooke Parker at .

New research conducted at the (UNDERC) suggests that upland forests harboring trees with a common and incurable fungal disease known as heart rot could actually be emitting more methane than they take in, therefore releasing more greenhouse gases than previously thought. Methane, a flammable natural gas, is more than 30 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.

“Historically, upland forests were thought to be strong methane sinks because they have organisms in their dry soils that take up methane instead of releasing it to the atmosphere,” said , an ecologist at the who supervised the research. “Heart rot disease has the potential to switch upland forests from being methane sinks to methane sources since diseased trees emit more methane than healthy trees.”

The healthy trees that Rocha and colleagues investigated in the northwoods of Wisconsin and Michigan emitted less methane than nearby trees infected with heart rot, a slow-acting, internal disease caused by fungi that results in the decay of a tree’s trunk and branches from the inside and affects hardwood trees globally. As the severity of the infection increases, so too does the amount of methane released from each tree.

The study, among the first to link methane venting to tree health, was published in , a leading international plant science journal.

To non-invasively measure the severity of the heart rot, researchers employed a technique called sonic tomography, which uses sound waves to map the location of the rot inside each trunk. Sound moves differently through rotted wood and healthy wood and, once captured by sensors placed onto the bark, is used to generate a map of disease severity.

From there, the researchers measured the carbon-based greenhouse gases flowing out of each tree. While carbon dioxide venting remained largely stable from tree to tree, regardless of disease state, methane emissions increased according to the level of heart rot severity in the tree.

Further, Chathuranga Senevirathne, a Notre Dame graduate student in Rocha’s lab who led the study, pinpointed where each type of gas was coming from by drilling into the tree at regular intervals and taking new gas measurements as he went. In doing so, he found that carbon dioxide quantities peaked just underneath the bark, a section called the sapwood, while methane emissions topped out in the very center of the trunk, called the heartwood.

“While it’s been established for a few decades that trees do give off some methane, even when in a healthy state, the connection between methane and heart rot hadn’t been explored,” said Rocha, who is an associate professor in the . “Everyone in the field had accepted that it was coming through the soil, but it turns out it’s coming from the center of the tree itself.”

To rule out soil transport, the researchers sampled the carbon dioxide and methane flows in the soil around the base of each tree studied. Regardless of the disease progression of the tree, the soils released small amounts of carbon dioxide and absorbed small amounts of methane.

Despite the apparent correlation between heart rot and gas emission, the fungi that cause the disease are not directly responsible for the elevated methane levels observed, as heart-rot fungi taken from a diseased tree did not produce methane in the lab. Instead, the fungi are aided in breaking down heartwood by methanogens, a group of methane-producing single-celled microorganisms called archaea, whose presence the researchers verified by removing samples of wood from the heart of each tree and analyzing them with genomic sequencing.

“Decomposition is a complex process which involves both the heart-rot fungi and methanogens, since methanogens ‘eat’ the wood to produce methane,” said Rocha, who is a faculty affiliate of and . “The fungi are not directly responsible for the methane emissions, but at the same time, heart rot creates an ideal microenvironment for the archaea to thrive.”

One characteristic of this microenvironment is bark fractures, which appear on the surface of the tree as the interior deteriorates. Fractures in a tree’s skin also permit the more efficient release of methane from the heartwood to the exterior. As trees become sicker and sicker with heart rot, methanogen production receives a boost, while proliferating bark fractures create methane emission “hot spots” on the surface of the tree.

“With the progression of heart rot, diseased trees become methane hotspots on the forest level, while bark fractures act as hotspots at the tree level,” Senevirathne said. “With the discovery of these new emissions, there’s a good chance that the amount of methane upland forests take in has been overestimated in ecosystem models.”

“Identifying the sources and sinks of methane is one of the biggest mysteries and hottest topics in forest science,” said Nathan Swenson, a forest ecologist and the Gillen Director of the . “The work from Rocha’s laboratory has elegantly demonstrated the important role disease plays in the carbon cycle.”

Rocha and Senevirathne’s future work at UNDERC will investigate these flows on an ecosystem level and aim to determine the tipping point where upland forests could transition from carbon sink to carbon source, which could challenge the widely accepted impact of forests on climate.

“The outstanding natural setting and scientific infrastructure at UNDERC uniquely position the center to host cutting-edge research like that performed by Senevirathne and colleagues, integrating genomic analysis to ecosystem gas flux,” Swenson said.

Funding from the National Science Foundation and NASA supported this research. Senevirathne was funded by the Merrilee Clark Redmond Endowment, and field work was supported by the Hank Family Endowment.

Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu

Originally published by Erin Fennessy at on February 25, 2026.

A collaborative project between the University of Notre Dame and the City of South Bend was recently awarded $1 million to support improvements to the city’s 311 Call Center through the .

Partnering with the University’s , the City of South Bend will use the award to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to identify emerging service needs and develop innovative human‑centered technologies to proactively deliver essential services.

By developing and testing a predictive model — a tool that uses past data to identify patterns and forecast future needs — the city hopes to be able to reach out to residents with targeted support, transforming the 311 service center from a reactive system into a data-driven proactive service that anticipates and addresses community needs before a request is made.

“The University of Notre Dame is committed to advancing data and AI for the social good,” said , the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Notre Dame and Lucy Family Director for Data & AI Academic Strategy, who leads the University’s . “Through Notre Dame’s Lucy Family Institute, and in partnership with the City of South Bend, we are developing responsible, human-centered technologies that help anticipate community needs, strengthen how essential services are delivered, and empower communities, organizations and individuals.”

South Bend was among 24 city halls from 20 countries to receive the award. More than 600 ideas were  to the Mayor’s Challenge to address public service challenges, including housing, waste management, clean water, infrastructure and social inclusion.

In the city’s press release to announce the award, Mayor James Mueller emphasized how partnerships are transforming the local community. “In partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and community partners, we are changing the way we deliver city services in South Bend,” he said. “By integrating new technologies with our frontline teams, we can spot problems earlier, act sooner and achieve better outcomes that will build greater trust with our residents.”

In 2018, South Bend received its first Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge  to support the creation of Commuters Trust, a transportation-as-a-benefit program designed to expand access to reliable commuting options.

To learn more about the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, visit .

Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame announced today that its will serve as the national evidence partner for , a new cross-sector initiative led by to stop homelessness before it starts. LEO will provide the research backbone for the initiative — working alongside pilot communities to generate rigorous evidence, measure outcomes and share what is learned to strengthen and scale homelessness prevention nationwide.

Backed by $77 million in new funding support from various benefactors, Right at Home aims to keep more than 10,000 households at high risk of homelessness stably housed in 10 pilot locations across the country over the next five years. By scaling an evidence-based prevention model, Right at Home sets out to prove that homelessness prevention works and is replicable nationwide, building the case for national prevention policy and funding.

Across the country, homelessness rates are rising, and housing costs continue to strain renters. Half of American renters are unable to afford their housing costs, and economic pressures are pushing more people into crisis every day. Once someone becomes homeless, challenges compound quickly, making prevention a critical component of any meaningful response.

Right at Home builds on a that provides and case management to support families on the brink of losing their homes, but before they become unhoused, and takes it a step further by expanding that model across the country. That model was spearheaded by Destination: Home and in Santa Clara County, California, and evaluated by LEO researchers.

“We have a moral obligation to take evidence to impact,” said , interim managing director and head of policy and impact at LEO. “When we find strong evidence that something is effective, it’s not enough to publish a result. We have to make sure that evidence gets used by replicating and scaling what works, so communities across the country can benefit.”

LEO’s study found that individuals who received financial assistance through Santa Clara County’s Homelessness Prevention System were significantly less likely to become homeless even a year later. The model also demonstrated strong cost effectiveness, with LEO researchers finding that every $1 invested saved almost $2.50 in benefits to the community.

By intervening earlier, this approach has helped nearly 44,000 people locally avoid the profound trauma of homelessness and has reduced the need for far more costly public interventions after housing has been lost — such as shelters, emergency healthcare and other crisis services.

“The single most obvious solution to homelessness is stopping it before it starts, yet our country continues to respond only after people fall into crisis,” said Jennifer Loving, CEO of Destination: Home. “We have proven that targeted homelessness prevention works locally, and now it’s time to prove that this can work all across the country. We should never let people, in the worst moments of their lives, suffer even more.”

In the U.S., most homelessness intervention programs only focus on responding to individuals and families once they have already lost their housing, with far fewer efforts aimed at targeting them early enough to prevent the loss of housing in the first place. The result is a backlog of overwhelming needs and cascading issues. Right at Home and its partners are hoping to intervene at a crucial turning point in the individual and family’s life in order to bring the right amount of help at the right time. LEO’s expertise will step in to provide evidence to impact.

The 10 pilot communities covered by the initiative include cities, counties and tribal nations, and represent areas with varied economic conditions and housing markets, including both rural and urban regions. Communities were selected based on showing urgent need, spanning diverse geographies, demonstrating strong on-the-ground and cross-sector collaboration and offering clear pathways for future local public-private investment.

So far, Right at Home community partners include Alaska (Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness); Asheville Region, N.C. (Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care); Atlanta, Ga. (Partners for HOME); Austin-Travis County, Texas (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition); County of San Mateo, Calif.; Denver-Adams County, Colo. (Metro Denver Continuum of Care); Miami-Dade County, Fla. (Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust); and Minnesota (Minnesota Tribal Collaborative Pathways to Housing), with two additional locations to come.

To stand up the Right at Home support systems locally, organizers will rely on the Homelessness Prevention System Toolkit, co-developed by LEO, Destination: Home and . This toolkit provides the technical assistance foundation for testing and adapting this model in all the selected locations. Right at Home, in conjunction with technical assistance partner , will use it to implement this approach in the new contexts while building the evidence base for national policy change.

Each Right at Home replication site will provide flexible financial assistance to address immediate needs such as rent, utilities or other urgent housing-related costs. It will also include supportive services such as legal assistance or other interventions that help remove barriers to housing stability, all of which will be delivered through local community partners and systems. Assessments will also be conducted to ensure families are connected to the appropriate Right at Home assistance and that needs are matched accordingly. Each pilot site will receive a minimum of $5 million over three years to stand up their local program.

Working with Right at Home and the pilot communities, LEO will test and rigorously evaluate the impact of rapid, flexible financial assistance, and inform the case for a national prevention policy.

“We already have strong evidence that targeted prevention can keep people housed,” said , LEO director of research. “Right at Home is a chance to take those results to impact at a national scale. By working alongside communities, we can learn what it takes to deliver strong outcomes in different places — and share what works so leaders can strengthen and sustain prevention over time. Most importantly, we can help more people stay housed before a temporary crisis becomes homelessness.”

LEO's work aligns with Notre Dame's , a University-wide effort to create a world intolerant of poverty by expanding knowledge about how to solve it.

The Right at Home initiative is supported by a coalition of cross-sector partners, including , , Notre Dame’s LEO, and . To date, Destination: Home has secured $77 million in funding to support the Right at Home initiative. Funders include — a collaborative funding initiative housed at TED that encourages the world’s greatest changemakers to dream bigger — Cisco, Sobrato Philanthropies and the Valhalla Foundation.

The Right at Home initiative anticipates all pilot sites to begin implementation by January 2027, with some sites starting as early as this fall.

, a public-private partnership working to end homelessness, leads the Right at Home initiative. Through a collective-impact model, the nonprofit convenes and collaborates with community stakeholders to address the root causes of homelessness and drive systemic change in Silicon Valley and beyond. Using a data-driven, human-centered approach, Destination: Home advocates for effective policies, incubates new programs and invests in strategies that connect more homeless neighbors to stable housing and prevent homelessness before it begins.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Fisher is currently chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, where he is Distinguished University Professor, MPower Professor, and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. At Notre Dame, he will succeed , who retired in December as inaugural director of BELS and Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

The Bioengineering & Life Sciences Initiative is a joint effort of the  and the and is a key priority in the University’s . The initiative advances human health and wellness through interdisciplinary biomedical research and training — from fundamental discoveries through detection, prevention and treatment of disease. Emphasizing accessible health care solutions, BELS brings together researchers from a variety of fields to create transformative solutions for health.

“This appointment reflects both the strength of the foundation already in place — thanks to Paul’s superb leadership — and our aspirations for the future of Bioengineering & Life Sciences at Notre Dame,” said John T. McGreevy, Notre Dame’s Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “John Fisher is a visionary leader and excellent scholar-teacher whose experience aligns perfectly with the initiative’s trajectory and Notre Dame’s ambitions as the leading global Catholic research university.”

Fisher holds bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a doctorate in bioengineering from Rice University. He joined Maryland’s Department of Chemical Engineering in 2003 and three years later became a founding member of the bioengineering department he now chairs. During his two decades at Maryland, Fisher has won a variety of awards for teaching excellence, graduate student mentorship and scholarship, including a National Science Foundation CAREER award and a Fulbright. In 2024, he was appointed Distinguished University Professor, the institution’s highest honor for a tenured faculty member, recognizing excellence, impact and significant contribution to the field both nationally and internationally.

“We are thrilled to have John, who is an extraordinary biomedical engineer, join us in the college and lead the BELS Initiative,” said Patricia Culligan, the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering. “Advancing research and training in bioengineering is among our highest priorities for the College of Engineering, and I look forward to working with him to elevate collaborations within our college and across science, engineering and other units on campus.”

As director of the , Fisher leads a research team that focuses on computational modeling and tissue engineering, bioprinting, and bioreactors for the regeneration of lost tissues. He also directs the , which aims to create a broad community focusing on 3D printing and bioprinting for regenerative medicine applications.

Fisher has served in numerous leadership positions in his field, including as the 2025 chair of the Council of Chairs, a national assembly of bioengineering and biomedical engineering department chairs, and as 2018-20 chair of the Americas Chapter of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society. Fisher is a fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He is currently a member of the society’s board of directors and co-editor-in-chief of Tissue Engineering. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the Food and Drug Administration, among others.

“What attracted me to Notre Dame is the excellence and rigor of the research,” Fisher said. “The types of questions people in science and engineering are exploring, and the execution of their research programs, is really top-notch. I’m also a big believer that we’re here to educate as well as to do research. I love teaching, and I love Notre Dame’s commitment to teaching.

“What really speaks to me is the mission — the commitment to pursue research and to educate at the highest level, but doing it in a way that positively impacts society. There are some personal things as well. I grew up in the Midwest, our family is Irish Catholic, so it’s wonderful to bring that aspect of who I am together with my work.”

Fisher joins the University at a pivotal moment for the Bioengineering & Life Sciences Initiative, as it accelerates efforts to expand research, training and shared infrastructure.

Since its launch in 2024, the . It has identified core research themes and awarded nearly $1.25 million in seed funding to support multidisciplinary teams working in areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, global health and emerging infectious threats. It has also expanded training opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and made major investments in shared research infrastructure — including the acquisition of a Glacios 2 cryo-TEM microscope, the first of its kind at Notre Dame, scheduled for installation in April, along with complementary efforts to restructure flow cytometry resources.

To learn more about the Bioengineering & Life Sciences Initiative, visit .

One of the fundamental promises of artificial intelligence is that it will strengthen human agency by freeing us from mundane, repetitive tasks.

However, a new publication, co-edited by University of Notre Dame theologian , argues that promise “rings hollow” in the face of efforts by technology companies to manipulate consumers — and ultimately deprive them of agency.

The book, “Reclaiming Human Agency in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” is the second in a series created by the Vatican’s AI Research Group for the Centre for Digital Culture. Part of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, the group is composed of scholars from across North America who represent a range of disciplines from theology and philosophy to computer science and business.

“We wanted to examine the idea of how AI affects human actions, human freedom and the ability of people to develop virtues — which we classified under the heading of human agency,” said Scherz, the Our Lady of Guadalupe College Professor of Theology and the ND–IBM Tech Ethics Lab Program Chair. “This is such an important topic right now because one of the most hyped developments that we’re hearing about right now is ‘agentic’ AI — or AI that will take action for people.

“We think it’s important to distinguish what the differences are between these AI agents and true human agents — and how the AI we have now is affecting our actions.”

In “Reclaiming Human Agency,” Scherz, co-editor Brian Patrick Green of Santa Clara University and their fellow research group members cite potentially problematic issues with the technology, including addictive applications, “surveillance capitalism” that exploits users’ personal data for profit, widespread de-skilling in the workplace as complex tasks are handed over to AI and the growth of algorithmic governance — where social media algorithms influence what people buy, how they perceive events and even how they vote.

They also assert that human agency should not be seen in terms of “freedom from” tasks, but in “freedom for” pursuing the good, seeking excellence and purpose by building flourishing relationships with others and with God.

“This book is really an attempt to look at a number of these problems that AI is raising but, at the same time, to examine the opportunities that AI could provide to improve our ability to act,” Scherz said. “We wanted to come up with a set of strategies that would enable AI to serve human agency in the best way possible and ensure that it isn’t undermined.”

For Scherz, who holds a doctoral degree in genetics from Harvard University and a doctoral degree in moral theology from Notre Dame, this research builds on his work at the intersection of religion and science. While researching the Human Genome Project for his 2024 book “The Ethics of Precision Medicine,” Scherz began exploring the ways that precision medicine used data analytic technologies.

“When I was invited by the Vatican to be part of this group in 2020, I was already looking at the problems that were arising around AI in that framework, how it was affecting physicians and how it might affect patients’ actions and their views of themselves,” he said. “It felt like a natural next step to begin looking at AI’s impacts more broadly in relation to the Catholic understanding of a human person.”

Notre Dame of the AI research group and Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, last summer. The session, hosted by the , not only allowed the researchers to work together on forthcoming publications, but to engage with Notre Dame faculty and students.

The University — which recently received a $50 million grant to further develop a faith-based approach to AI ethics — is an ideal place to explore the field, Scherz noted, because of both its Catholic character and academic excellence.

“As one of the world’s leading Catholic universities, Notre Dame brings the resources of the Catholic tradition to bear on this issue — which Pope Leo XIV has said is one of the defining issues of our time,” Scherz said. “And with our expertise in computer science, theology, philosophy and the history and philosophy of science, we are well-positioned to be a leader in these conversations.”

The AI research group is now working on a book focused on AI and education and will be looking next at AI’s effects on labor and the philosophies and ideologies that are active in Silicon Valley.

Contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, c.gates@nd.edu or 574-993-9220

About one quarter of inmates have a serious mental illness and 63 percent struggle with drug dependence or abuse, often coinciding with behavioral problems. Those awaiting trial for serious offenses may tend toward violence, making jail time dangerous for both inmates and jail employees. In addition, the county jail system, which is often viewed as a short-term, transitional time period for inmates, is typically overlooked for providing meaningful therapy opportunities and other interventions.

A new study by University of Notre Dame researchers shows that introducing a unique and low-cost cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for longer-term jail inmates teaches lifelong skills and reduces violent behavior — making the jail safer in the long run.

“Despite the fact that most people are in jail for a short time, many spend months serving a sentence or even years awaiting trial,” said , an assistant research professor in the who works in Notre Dame’s .

“These inmates often come into the jail system with traumatic pasts and with much higher rates of mental illness and substance use disorders than the general population,” she said. “Violence is an issue in jails, as are behavioral problems, with suicide and homicide rates much higher than you’d think, considering that this population is confined and surveilled.”

In their working paper, Batistich’s research team reported that inmates who participate in CBT programs experience a 49 percent drop in behavioral incidents and a 50 percent drop in physical assaults on other inmates or officers.

Batistich, along with co-authors , the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics at Notre Dame and co-founder of LEO, Tyler Giles of Wellesley College and Rebecca Margolit-Chan of Cornell University, examined , a CBT program administered to inmates at the Lubbock County Detention Center in Lubbock, Texas. Designed for individuals with violent backgrounds or tendencies, the program uses a combination of group classes, one-on-one counseling and a structured workbook to help participants recognize and manage emotions.

Through a self-paced 14- to 21-week curriculum, participants learn how to identify their emotions and the physical sensations that accompany them. The goal is for the inmates to learn to recognize their emotions and change their way of thinking — from making negative behavioral choices to adopting rational and constructive behaviors — as a way to peacefully resolve conflict.

“The underlying philosophy of the program is that although individuals experience negative events (such as an unpleasant confrontation with another person), it is one’s interpretation of the event, rather than the event itself, that leads to negative reactions such as anger and violence,” the researchers wrote.

Typically within a jail system, authorities will respond to more serious behavioral infractions by placing the inmate in solitary confinement, where it is estimated that about 4.4 percent of the incarcerated population is held at any point in time, according to the study.

“There's been research suggesting that solitary confinement can actually be very harmful to the individual, both psychologically and physically,” Batistich said. “This form of discipline may not even be making the institutions any safer. What we're doing in this paper is offering an alternative by promoting therapy over punitive measures.”

And this alternative is not only replicable on a national scale, but cost effective as well, according to the researchers.

“There is a real intersection between the criminal justice system and poverty, homelessness, mental illness and substance use disorders. Incarcerated individuals are often dealing with several of these issues and also tend to be overlooked and underserved. These are the people in most need of our care and attention.”

The cost of implementing the Step Up program — including supplies, curriculum books and personnel — is an average of $618 per participant. Leveraging existing jail space and staff capacity, along with instruction by graduate students at nearby Texas Tech University, have made it possible to keep costs down.

The researchers concluded that therapy designed to reduce violent behavior in jails works well when implemented during incarceration, while participants are kept to a consistent and intensive treatment regimen as they await trial or extended incarceration. Such treatment can “improve one’s behavior in the near term, increase safety within institutions and potentially benefit public safety as well,” they wrote.

“There is a real intersection between the criminal justice system and poverty, homelessness, mental illness and substance use disorders,” Batistich added. “Incarcerated individuals are often dealing with several of these issues and also tend to be overlooked and underserved. These are the people in most need of our care and attention.”

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Members are selected by their peers for pioneering advancements in their fields and for leadership in major engineering endeavors, including the development and implementation of innovative approaches to engineering education.

“I am honored and humbled to have been elected to such a distinguished group of scholars,” said , who also serves as an associate vice president of research. “I am grateful to my colleagues and students here at Notre Dame who I have had the privilege to work with in the development and application of molecular simulation methods to help tackle some of the most challenging problems in energy and sustainability facing society.”

Maginn is a globally recognized leader in research linking the physical properties of materials to their chemical composition. The NAE is recognizing him “for development and application of molecular modeling and simulation of complex systems involving slow dynamics and long-ranged interactions.”

Maginn’s research has had a major impact on chemical engineering by enabling engineers to design and optimize materials and processes at the molecular level for energy and environmental applications. By developing widely used computational tools and design methods, his research allows engineers to predict material performance before materials are synthesized, reducing development time, cost and risk. These advances have helped move molecular simulation from a specialized research tool into a practical engineering approach used in academia, industry and national laboratories worldwide.

A pioneer in the use of molecular simulations to investigate ionic liquids, Maginn developed new algorithms and open-source simulation tools that made predictive modeling of charged fluids both accurate and broadly accessible. He holds nine patents in this field, and his work led to the development of the open-source Monte Carlo package Cassandra, most commonly used to compute the thermodynamic properties of fluids.

“Ed Maginn’s foundational research in molecular simulation has helped shape modern chemical engineering,” said , the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering. “His election to the National Academy of Engineering is a fitting recognition of his scientific leadership, innovation and lasting impact on the field.”

Maginn’s work has directly informed the development of new materials for carbon capture, energy storage, separations and sustainable refrigeration. He is to the , a National Science Foundation-funded Engineering Research Center, alongside 11 other Notre Dame faculty members. He also participates in two Energy Frontier Research Centers supported by the Department of Energy: and .

Maginn has published more than 270 peer-reviewed papers with more than 34,000 citations. He has written 10 book chapters. Maginn has been a senior editor of the and served on the editorial boards for leading publications in his field, including the , and the .

“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Ed on the remarkable achievement of election to the NAE,” said , the John and Catherine Martin Family Vice President for Research and professor in the . “He is both a top researcher and highly respected administrator and educator — such an outstanding recognition for his tremendous research impact and national leadership is well-deserved.”

Since joining the Notre Dame faculty in 1995, Maginn has served as chair of the , as well as associate dean for academic programs in the . Maginn is also recognized for his excellence in teaching, having received Notre Dame’s highest honors for faculty instruction: the James A. Burns, C.S.C., Award for Distinction in Graduate Education in 2018 and the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2022. In addition, Maginn has mentored more than 35 doctoral students and over 20 postdoctoral scholars. He is a trustee and executive director of the nonprofit , which promotes the use of computational methods in chemical engineering.

Maginn was in 2023. He was recently honored with the Ernest Thiele Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2021 and the Iowa State University College of Engineering Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering (PACE) award in 2020. Maginn is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Maginn graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, followed by a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

With his election to the NAE, Maginn joins a distinguished group of Notre Dame colleagues who have also received this honor, including , the Robert M. Moran Professor of Engineering; , professor emeritus of chemical and biomolecular engineering; , the Clifford and Evelyn Brosey Professor Emeritus of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Steve Walker, professor of the practice; and , the Huisking Foundation, Inc. Collegiate Research Professor.

Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu

This intricate communication network is built of billions of neurons connected by synapses and managed and modified by glial cells. When neurons die, this communication network is disrupted and since this loss is irreversible, neuron death causes sensory loss, motor impairment and cognitive decline.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame is investigating the mechanisms of neuron death caused by chronic compression — such as the pressure exerted by a brain tumor — to better understand how to prevent neuron loss.

Published in the , their study found that chronic compression triggers neuron death by a variety of mechanisms, both directly and indirectly. The research is helping lay the groundwork for identifying therapies to prevent indirect neuron death.

“The impetus for this project was to figure out those underlying mechanisms. In cancer research, most researchers are focused on the tumor itself, but in the meantime, while the tumor is sitting there and growing, it’s damaging the organ that it’s living in,” said , the Jane Schoelch DeFlorio Collegiate Professor of at Notre Dame and co-lead author of the study. “We fully believe that these growth-induced mechanical forces of the tumor as it expands is part of the reason we see damage in the brain.”

As an engineer who leads the , Datta studies the mechanics of tumors and the microenvironment, specifically for glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer. She had found in prior work that tumors damage the surrounding brain. But to understand the mechanisms by which tumors kill neurons from compression alone, Datta needed a “hardcore neuroscientist.”

That neuroscientist is , the John M. and Mary Jo Boler Assistant Professor in the at Notre Dame and co-lead author of the study. Patzke utilizes induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are either obtained from external sources or generated directly in . Unlike cells derived from fetal tissue, iPSCs are created by reprogramming a donor's blood or skin cells — often collected during a routine medical visit.

These cells function like embryonic stem cells and can be differentiated or changed in the lab into any cell type in the body, including neurons.

For this study, iPSCs were used to create neural cells and develop a model system of neurons and glial cells that behave as a neuronal network would in the brain. Researchers grew the cells and then applied pressure to the system to mimic the chronic compression of a glioblastoma tumor.

After compressing the cells, graduate students Maksym Zarodniuk and Anna Wenninger, from Datta and Patzke’s labs respectively, compared how many neurons and glial cells died versus lived.

“For the neurons that are still alive, many of them have this programmed self-destruction signaling activated,” Patzke said. “We wanted to understand which molecular pathway was responsible for this; is there a way to save neurons from going down the drain to this cell death mechanism?”

By sequencing and analyzing all messenger RNA from the living neuronal and glial cells, the researchers found an increase in HIF-1 molecules, signalling for stress adaptive genes to improve cell survival, which leads to inflammation in the brain. The compression also triggered AP-1 gene expression, a type of neuroinflammatory response.

Both neurological reactions are indicators that neuronal damage and death is underway.

An analysis of data from the shows that glioblastoma patients also reflect these compressive stress patterns and gene expression changes as well as synaptic dysfunction in line with the experiment’s results. The researchers confirmed these results by mimicking force via a live compression system applied to preclinical models of brains.

Overall, the findings may help explain why glioblastoma patients experience cognitive impairments, motor deficits and elevated seizure risk. Additionally, the signaling pathways offer opportunities for researchers to explore as drug targets to reduce neuronal death.

“Our approach to this study was disease agnostic, so our research could potentially extend to other brain pathologies that affect mechanical forces in the brain such as traumatic brain injury,” Datta said. “I’m all in on mechanics. Whatever it is that you’re interested in when it comes to cancer, above your question of interest, mechanics is sitting there and many don’t even know they should be considering it.”

The mechanics of compression and its effect on neuron loss is key for future research.

“Understanding why neurons are so vulnerable and die upon compression is critical to prevent excessive sensory loss, motor impairment and cognitive decline,” Patzke said. “This is how we will help patients.”

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the (Harper) at Notre Dame. Additional funding and research support from Notre Dame was provided by the (Berthiaume), the , the , the and the . Both Datta and Patzke are affiliated with Notre Dame’s and the .

Datta is a concurrent faculty member in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and faculty advisor for Notre Dame’s graduate programs in and . She is affiliated with Harper, the , Berthiaume, and the .

Patzke is a faculty advisor for Notre Dame’s graduate programs in and as well as affiliated with the .

Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu

, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been selected for the ’s , an initiative that brings emerging leaders into NASEM’s advisory work. Selected through a merit-based, open competition, Colón is one of just 20 early- and mid-career scientists, engineers and medical professionals nationwide chosen for the 2026-28 cohort.

Operating under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, the National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering and medicine.

NASEM’s New Voices program was created to incorporate emerging experts into the National Academies’ efforts to address pressing global challenges. During his two-year term, which began Jan. 30, Colón will contribute to the Academies’ policy-relevant studies and convenings, develop interdisciplinary projects and collaborate with a national and international network of rising STEM leaders shaping the future of science and engineering.

“I’m honored to be selected for the New Voices program,” Colón said. “This opportunity allows researchers to help inform decisions on critical issues, and I hope to use my expertise in computational modeling and artificial intelligence to address issues in energy and sustainability. I also hope to promote global collaborations in science, as I believe these are necessary to address some of humanity’s most pressing issues.”

works at the intersection of the molecular sciences and artificial intelligence, focusing on the study, discovery and design of porous materials for targeted applications. Because fluids confined within microscopic pores exhibit complex, dynamic interactions, these materials offer opportunities to address challenges in water, energy and environmental sustainability. By developing computational and data-driven tools to predict how gases and liquids move, are stored and interact within these pores, his work accelerates the discovery of materials for applications including water harvesting and humidity control, efficient gas storage and separation, and ion transport.

His lab also develops efficient algorithms to understand how material structure influences performance, allowing researchers to quickly identify the most promising materials for real-world use without relying on costly calculations.

In 2022, Colón received a to develop a universal model that accurately predicts gas adsorption. The project has resulted in multiple publications showcasing how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be combined with molecular modeling of adsorption in porous materials. The project has also resulted in curricula around machine learning and artificial intelligence for middle and elementary schools.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2009, Colón spent a year at the University of Santiago de Compostela doing research with a Fulbright scholarship. He completed his doctorate at Northwestern University in 2015 and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory. Colón joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2018.

Contact: Brandi Wampler, associate director of media relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu

, the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame, died Wednesday (Feb. 4) after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by his wife and three sons. He was 54.

Morrell was a renowned literacy studies scholar who advocated for a radical reimagination of the relationship between students and texts. His work positioned literacy as a means of social justice, empowering young people to access information, exercise informed citizenship and participate fully in civic and cultural life. His scholarly interests also included critical pedagogy, postcolonial studies and global youth popular culture.

“On behalf of the entire Notre Dame community, we mourn the passing of Ernest Morrell, a beloved faculty colleague, dedicated administrator and cherished friend to many,” said University President “As a renowned scholar who made significant contributions to his discipline, a superb teacher who inspired and challenged his students, and a visionary administrator, he enriched the Notre Dame community and all who knew him.

“Ernest’s life reflected a deep integration of the life of the mind and matters of the heart. Our prayers are with his family, especially his wife, Jodene, and their three sons, Skip, Antonio and Tripp, and all who grieve his passing. We are grateful to God for Ernest’s life and presence among us, and his example will continue to inspire us.”

Father Dowd also announced that Morrell will posthumously receive the 2026 — which recognizes pioneering and visionary achievements in research, public impact, or creative endeavors that advance the University’s goals — in honor of his intellectually ambitious, socially consequential work centered on a humanistic vision of education.

At Notre Dame, Morrell was a faculty member of the and departments and the director of the Center for Literacy Education in the (IEI), and he served five years as the ’ associate dean for the humanities and faculty development.

Acclaim for Morrell’s work was widespread in academic circles. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest learned societies, in 2024, and he was also an elected member of the National Academy of Education and an elected fellow of the American Educational Research Association.

For the past decade, he has been included in the , an annual listing published by Education Week that highlights academics with the greatest impact on educational practice and policy. Last year, he , a prestigious honor from the National Council of Teachers of English given only 31 times since 1967, for his long-lasting impact on English language arts education.

“Ernest lived his vocation with extraordinary generosity and purpose,” said , the Hackett Family Director of IEI. “His scholarship, leadership and friendship shaped our institute in profound ways. He believed deeply in the power of education to transform lives, and he modeled that belief through his teaching, mentorship and unwavering commitment to the common good.”

Morrell came to Notre Dame in 2017 after faculty appointments at Columbia University’s Teachers College; the University of California, Los Angeles; and Michigan State University. Before pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, Morrell worked as a high school English teacher in Oakland, California, an experience that and shaped his lifelong commitment to supporting educators and students, particularly those historically underserved by educational systems.

Revered as a teacher and an adviser, Morrell approached mentorship as a collaborative partnership, frequently publishing with his doctoral students to help launch their careers before they even defended their dissertations.

“Ernest cultivated a true ‘family tree’ of scholars whose work began with his guidance,” said , a professor of the practice in Africana studies and education, schooling and society. “His former doctoral students are a testament to his efficacy as a mentor, as he allowed them to quickly become his peers, continuing the work of critical education studies and pedagogy at institutions across the country. They learned his lessons well about the importance of building and strengthening communities that support equity and justice.”

He is the author of more than 100 articles, research briefs and book chapters and he wrote or edited 17 scholarly books, including “Educating Harlem: A Century of 91��Ƶing and Resistance in a Black Community” (Columbia, 2019), “Stories from Inequity to Justice in Literacy Education: Confronting Digital Divides” (Routledge, 2021), “New Directions in Teaching English: Reimagining Teaching, Teacher Education and Research” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) and “Critical Media Pedagogy: Teaching for Achievement in City 91��Ƶs” (Teachers College Press, 2013), which was awarded Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine. His work has garnered more than 11,000 scholarly citations.

“Frederick Douglass said that ‘education means emancipation, it means life and liberty. … It means the uplifting of the soul to the glorious light of truth.’ I can think of no one whose life better reflected those words,” said , the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law. “Ernest was a truly exceptional scholar and a tireless advocate for policies that would benefit kids most in need of the light of learning. But, more importantly, he was a beautiful soul. His deep faith and love for his family, his friends and colleagues and Our Lady’s University touched so many.”

Morrell is survived by his wife, , a teaching professor and associate director of the Center for Literacy Education, and their three sons, Skip, Antonio and Tripp.

A wake will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at Kaniewski Funeral Home, 3545 N. Bendix Drive, South Bend. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus, with Father Dowd presiding.

Condolences may be sent to the College of Arts & Letters Dean's Office, 100 O'Shaughnessy Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to literacy nonprofit .

“,” a colloquium celebrating Morrell’s scholarship, will be held April 7 at the UCLA James West Alumni Center in Los Angeles. The event’s title references a quote from Morrell’s latest book, “,” published last month with Nicole Mirra, Antero Garcia, Cati de los Ríos and Jamila Lyiscott

“We want to be engaged in revolutionary love and practice with beautiful and brilliant minds,” Morrell and his co-authors wrote, “that are in front of us to do something that is eternal.”

The University of Notre Dame has been awarded nearly $4 million in a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to fund a new initiative that will incorporate tools and strategies for teaching critical thinking into college classrooms around the country.

Supporting a project called Integrating Civil Discourse into the Curriculum at Public, Private, Community, and Historically Minority-Serving Colleges and Universities (ICDC), the grant comes out of the DOE’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Special Projects Program, which focuses on, among other priorities, protecting and promoting civil discourse in higher education.

In support of that mission, ICDC brings together a team of faculty from universities and colleges around the country with nonprofit leaders to integrate two online technologies that teach critical thinking into undergraduate curricula.

“We’re going to ask this question, ‘Can we expand the reach of effective critical thinking strategies in ways that could impact how we dialogue with each other on a national scale?’” said , an assistant teaching professor in the and director of the . He and North Carolina State University professor Gary Comstock are leading ICDC as co-primary investigators.

Blaschko has been using ThinkArguments, one of ICDC’s two technological tools, for over three years to teach philosophical argumentation in the signature Notre Dame class . Produced by nonprofit ThinkerAnalytix, ThinkArguments is an online course with 10 lessons that train students in argument mapping, a method of informal reasoning that visualizes the structure of an argument. The course has thousands of LSAT-inspired practice questions targeting different critical thinking skills.

“Teaching is a core part of Notre Dame’s mission, so to have an institutional stake in education in this country on a broader scale can be one crucial way we live out that mission.”

Blaschko noticed the impact of ThinkArguments in his classes the first time he used it.

“The arguments students were offering — it just seemed like something was clicking that hadn’t been clicking before,” he said.

To quantify that change, Blaschko started measuring students’ critical thinking gains with pre- and post-tests. He recorded an average growth rate of 16% — a significant improvement. It was something he wanted to replicate.

That’s where ICDC comes in. The grant, administered by , will fund summer workshops that convene faculty from around the country to train them in the basics of ThinkArguments and how to effectively integrate the technology into their courses. They’ll also use the tool Sway, an AI chat platform that coaches students with differing perspectives through difficult discussions. Disagree Wisely, a Florida nonprofit, leads research on Sway's educational impact and supports its deployment across institutions. The impact of incorporating those technologies into hundreds of classrooms will be measured in the same way Blaschko did it.

The project has the potential to break new ground in higher education. While critical thinking skills are often touted as a key outcome of a humanities education, Blascko said, actually teaching and assessing critical thinking competence is challenging, especially in larger classes. ICDC’s strategies confront this issue by narrowing in on a concrete set of skills that can be applied in any situation involving a search for truth.

“Students are gaining habits of mind that they can apply in reading comprehension, writing, and verbal argumentation and dialogue, both in the classroom and outside of it,” Blaschko said.

Blaschko and the other members of ICDC’s steering committee estimate the project will reach more than 100,000 students just within the grant’s lifetime, with an even greater impact beyond the next four years as their research advances critical thinking education in the U.S.

“It’s really meaningful to be working with the Department of Education on the front lines of pedagogy, research, and practice,” Blaschko said. “Teaching is a core part of Notre Dame’s mission, so to have an institutional stake in education in this country on a broader scale can be one crucial way we live out that mission.”

Originally published by Adah McMillan at on February 03, 2026.

Twenty-two Notre Dame students, including 18 undergraduate students and four graduate students, were awarded Fulbright Scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year, ranking 12th among U.S. doctoral institutions. Slightly more than 30 percent of the Notre Dame students who applied to the program were accepted, exceeding the respective rates for the 11 schools ahead of Notre Dame in the rankings.

Notre Dame has been a top producer of Fulbright students 13 times since the 2009-10 academic year. Full results are available online at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“Last year's Fulbright process was unusually challenging due to shifting federal funding priorities. Many countries lessened the amount of awards they offered halfway through the process,” said Elise Rudt-Moorthy, associate director of national fellowships with Notre Dame’s . “However, our students worked incredibly hard to earn their placements and then displayed great patience amid uncertainty. It was a pleasure and honor to serve them alongside my colleagues Mathilda Nassar, Emily Hunt, Michael Skalski and Veronica Vos.”

, a professor of biology and associate dean for professional development at the , offered similar praise.

“Fulbright awards are highly competitive and recognize academic excellence, leadership potential and a strong commitment to global engagement and public service,” McDowell said. “The continued success of Notre Dame students earning Fulbright awards reflects their remarkable talent, dedication and drive to make a meaningful difference in the world. I am sincerely thankful to the exceptional teams in the Graduate 91��Ƶ’s Office of Grants and Fellowships and the Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, whose guidance and expertise are instrumental in supporting students throughout the Fulbright application process.”

Established in 1964, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship educational and cultural exchange program, offering students the opportunity to study, teach or pursue research or other projects abroad.

For more information on this and other scholarship opportunities, visit (undergraduate students) or (graduate students).