The Alumni Association will offer two to three Big Questions micro-courses per year. The first course, “” was introduced this week and is led by , the Rev. John A. O’Brien Collegiate Chair and Professor of and director of the . The course features content from Sullivan’s innovative “” class, a popular undergraduate philosophy course that focuses on how we live and what makes our lives meaningful, among other topics.
“In our fast-paced and always-connected world, we sometimes fail to take time to contemplate the issues and topics that really matter to us,” said Dolly Duffy, executive director of the Alumni Association. “We are thrilled to partner with our world-class faculty to bring some of these important questions to life in an engaging way, and to help our alumni and friends thoughtfully consider how they live and how they want to live.”
At 7 p.m. Nov. 21 (Thursday), Sullivan will host a live, online session to provide course participants with the opportunity to ask questions and engage in conversation. Registration is now open on the .
The second Big Questions course, set to debut in early 2020, will be titled “What to Believe in These Uncertain Times” and will be led by , assistant director of research and outreach at the Institute for Advanced Study.
ThinkND launched in September and includes videos, podcasts, articles and other learning resources from Notre Dame faculty and experts. Content includes topics from business and career development to global affairs, the arts and science. For more information, visit .
Contact: Erin Blasko, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-4127, eblasko@nd.edu
]]>The Young ND Board will represent the interests of and steer programming for Notre Dame graduates who are 32 and younger. The new 16-person body will meet on campus twice a year and hold regular digital meetings.
The board will work closely with the Alumni Association’s network of Notre Dame clubs, developing and disseminating best practices for young alumni engagement for the 270 Notre Dame clubs spread out across the country and around the globe. Twelve members will serve as regional directors and collaborate directly with the young alumni coordinators of the clubs within their regions.
Outside of the club network, the Young ND Board will craft on-campus and digital initiatives to help young alumni celebrate Notre Dame. The board will strive to support and reach out to all members of the young alumni community with a focus on diversity and inclusion. It will also assist students as they transition to young alumni by serving and inspiring them throughout their time on campus.
“Our young alumni are so passionate about the University, and they are eager to stay connected with Notre Dame and their friends and classmates,” said Dolly Duffy, the executive director of the Alumni Association. “This board will dramatically increase our ability to deliver our young graduates the opportunities they crave online, on campus and in their local communities.”
More than 200 young alumni applied to serve on the board. A task force of five young alumni evaluated the applications and selected the first class of board members. In future years, the board’s membership will solicit applications for open positions and choose the new representatives.
In its first year, the Young ND Board will be led by Chair Molly Cronin, class of 2011. A Chicago native and resident, Cronin is entering her third and final year as a young alumni director on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.
Meghan McMahon Cox, who earned her undergraduate degree in 2010 and her J.D. in 2013, will succeed Cronin as chair in 2019-20. Cox is beginning her second year as a young alumni director on the national board. After Cox’s one-year term as chair, the Young ND board will elect a chair every two years. The Young ND chair will serve concurrently on the Board of Directors as the sole young alumni representative.
The Alumni Association also has boards in place representing a number of affinity and diversity groups: ND Women Connect, Notre Dame Senior Alumni, the Notre Dame Alumni Diversity Council, Asian Pacific Alumni of Notre Dame, Black Alumni of Notre Dame, Hispanic Alumni of Notre Dame and Native American Alumni of Notre Dame.
The Young ND Board will join these boards on campus Sept. 6-7 for the Alumni Association’s annual All Groups Meeting. It will be the first on-campus meeting of the new board.
The 16 members of the new Young ND Board are:
Contact: Bill Gangluff, senior director of marketing communications, University of Notre Dame Alumni Association, 574-631-2474, bgangluf@nd.edu
]]>In concert with the Catholic Church's longstanding defense of all human life, the Gospel of Life Initiative seeks to provide support to vulnerable populations around the world. Groups such as the unborn and their families, the elderly and terminally ill, immigrants and refugees, the disabled, the imprisoned, the poor, and all whose human dignity is at risk may be served by this initiative.
A portion of the Chuck and Joan Lennon Endowment for Excellence is funding the initiative. The endowment was established by Chuck Lennon's family and friends in 2007 at his 25th anniversary of leading the association and further strengthened in 2011 by his classmates during his 50-year Reunion. The fund will continue to support other alumni programming for years to come.
“We in the association are so thankful that Chuck and Joan’s legacy of service to the vulnerable in the name of Notre Dame continues to blossom,” said Dolly Duffy, executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association and associate vice president for University Relations. “The Chuck and Joan Lennon Gospel of Life Initiative is a beautiful testament to Chuck and Joan’s commitment to upholding the sanctity of human life.”
It is fitting that the initiative’s outreach is dependent upon the vast network of Notre Dame clubs in cities and towns around the world. Under Lennon’s direction the number of clubs almost doubled during his tenure — growing from 151 to 276 at his retirement in 2011.
“Joan and I have been blessed by our involvement with Notre Dame,” Lennon said. “Our Lady’s University is truly our home, and we are grateful to be helping those in most need in her name. This model of empowering our alumni and friends in Notre Dame clubs worldwide to further act to support life in their local communities is so gratifying to us.”
Two programs will launch in 2018 under the initiative’s umbrella.
With the Lennon Life Prize, Notre Dame clubs are invited to develop ideas tailored to the needs of their communities in support of a wide range of pro-life causes and organizations. A panel of campus partners will review submissions, and the Alumni Association will provide monetary awards for a number of winning submissions.
“We are excited to engage the ingenuity of our club partners,” said Dan Allen, the association’s spirituality program director. “We hope to recognize a variety of worthy ideas that actively give witness to a consistent ethic of life in many situations. Projects such as a fundraising dinner for a local crisis pregnancy center, support groups for those affected by crime, a lecture series on an emerging life issue, or regular visits and volunteer assistance to the elderly are only some of the many possibilities.”
A call for submissions is planned for April 2018 with the first monetary prizes being awarded in October 2018, which is also Respect for Life Month.
A second program within the initiative is called Project Mom. The intent of the effort is to support expectant mothers in need of material and relational support. Clubs, utilizing funding from the Alumni Association, will partner with churches, crisis pregnancy centers, and community organizations to host baby showers for these mothers. The program will begin in January and aims to support as many mothers and families as funding allows.
Lennon earned his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame in 1961 and played for three seasons and received two monograms in baseball. He earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from the University in 1962 and served in the Notre Dame athletics department from 1961 to 1966 as an assistant basketball and baseball coach and an assistant ticket manager.
After an early career leading a number of South Bend community organizations, Lennon led the Notre Dame Alumni Association from 1981 to 2011. He received the Alumni Association’s Armstrong Award in 1989, the Notre Dame Presidential Award in 1993, and an honorary doctor of law degree in 2011.
Joan Lennon was named an honorary alumna of the University in 2008. In 1976, she co-founded Shamrock Pre-91Ƶ, which remains in existence today. Joan’s experience with treatment and survivorship of breast cancer in 1994 was the impetus that motivated her to become a leader in the fight against it. In 2001, Lennon founded the Women’s Task Force of Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, a volunteer group that provides support for cancer patients in St. Joseph County in Indiana. She served as both director and an active participant.
Lennon and his wife, Joan, have five children: Kevin, Brian, Sean, Colleen and Molly. They also have 16 grandchildren.
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