“,” a movie nominated for 12 Oscars including for best picture and best actor, is a film inspired by the true story of mountain man Hugh Glass. According to the lore, Glass was severely wounded in a bear attack in the wilds of South Dakota. After his expedition party left him for dead, Glass crawled back to the Fort Kiowa trading post, looking for revenge.

The film, directed and co-written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass and Tom Hardy as one of the men in Glass’ party who abandon him. After the hardships of filming the movie in the Alaskan wilderness made news, the movie now is generating award season buzz, already winning three Golden Globes and cementing its spot Thursday (Jan. 14) as the most-nominated film of the 2016 Academy Awards.

, professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and author of “” praised the movie’s beauty, ambition and creativity with its source material.

“The movie has some amazing historical moments, even if some of the story was make-believe,” Coleman said. “But in a way, that’s the most historical part: The Hugh Glass legend was part art from the beginning.”

Coleman has studied mountain men, those fur trappers and explorers who lived in the wilderness, and their place in building the concept of the Wild West. The suffering of men like Glass was a tale held on a pedestal to show American exceptionalism. “People like Glass helped Americans define their nation as different and exceptional. They wanted the nation to sprout from the soil and to be ingrained in people. This naturalizing process, however, wasn’t pleasant. People close to nature — working people — suffered.”

At the same time, far from accepting such tales as gospel, readers in Glass’ day questioned all the stories from the West. “The mountain men were seen as shifty liars even as people celebrated them as environmental Americans,” Coleman says. “That’s how cultural appropriation worked. They needed men like Glass to establish American exceptionalism, but they also wanted to quarantine them on the frontier. No one wanted Glass to come back.”

Coleman’s research and teaching at Notre Dame focus on early American history and the American West. He is also the author of “Vicious: Wolves and Men in America” (Yale University Press, 2004), winner of the W. Turrentine Jackson Award from the Western History Association and the John H. Dunning Prize from the American Historical Association.

Contact: Jon Coleman, 574-631-5071, jcolema2@nd.edu

Gameday events on the University of Notre Dame campus for the upcoming weekend offer visitors their choice of activities, whether academic or athletic. Highlights from the weekend include:

Friday (Sept. 25)

• Free campus tours, 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Eck Visitors Center. These 90-minute walking tours will take visitors to, among other sites, the Grotto, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Main Building and the Hesburgh Library.
• , 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Alumni, parents and fans are invited for food, performances, music, a photo booth and prize giveaways.
• Nolan Ladewski, a musician and member of Irish music group Kennedy’s Kitchen, will perform from noon to 2 p.m. on the ND Live Stage at the Eck Center.
• “Planet Earth’s Changing Climate,” 2-3 p.m. at the Eck Visitors Center. Part of the Alumni Association’s lecture series, this talk will be delivered by Philip Sakimoto, director of the in First Year of 91��Ƶ at Notre Dame.
• , 4:10-4:30 p.m. in the Main Building Rotunda. The Notre Dame Trumpet Section will play “Notre Dame Our Mother” and the Victory March.
• Morris Inn Football Friday, 5-6 p.m. The inn offers live bagpipe music on home football Fridays.
• UMass Pep Rally, 5:45-7 p.m. at the Compton Family Ice Arena.

Saturday (Sept. 26)

• Midnight Drummer Circle, 12-12:45 a.m. at the front steps of the Main Building, featuring cadences and cheers led by the .
• “Thomas Merton: The Contemplative as Activist,” 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Andrews Auditorium in Geddes Hall. This presentation, part of the Institute for Church Life’s , features a talk from , O’Brien Professor of Theology Emeritus.
• Game Day Rosary, 10:30-11 a.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
• “Pain Management,” 11-12 a.m. in Room 105 of the Jordan Hall of Science. This lecture from , from Johns Hopkins Medicine, is part of the Dooley Society Lecture Series.
• “What’s Posterity Ever Done for Us?: Literature and the Future,” noon-1 p.m. in the Annenberg Auditorium at the Snite Museum of Art. Delivered by , Mary Lee Duda Professor of Literature, this lecture is part of the College of Arts and Letter’s .
• “Science, Religion and Environmental Change: A panel discussion about the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si’ and the University of Notre Dame,” noon-1 p.m. in Room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science. Part of the College of Science’s , this panel discussion features , director of the ; , managing director of the ; , John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of International Business Ethics; , assistant professor, civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences; and , William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science, as moderator.
• Pregame Concert, 12:40-1:05 p.m. near the Reflecting Pool at the Hesburgh Library.
• Marching Band Concert, 2-2:30 p.m. at Bond Hall, followed by the Marching Band March Out at 2:40 p.m.
• Post-game Mass, 8 p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

For a complete list of events and for more information, visit .

During his historic visit to the United States, on Thursday morning (Sept. 24) Pope Francis delivered the first-ever papal address to members of Congress and an audience that included , president of the University of Notre Dame.

The pope called on the politicians to rise above partisan politics and drew attention to the plight of immigrants, the environment, the death penalty and other heavily debated issues.

Father Jenkins, who traveled to Washington, D.C., to greet Pope Francis at the White House, said that the pontiff called on Americans to challenge themselves to live up to their ideals.

“Pope Francis spoke with a moral and religious voice, calling our Congress and, through them, all of us to live up to the highest ideals of our nation, ideals embodied in the lives of Lincoln, King, Day and Merton,” Father Jenkins said. “At a time when our nation faces serious challenges and we are mired in polarization, I hope we hear and respond.”

Father Jenkins, along with Notre Dame Vice President for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs , was among the pope’s concelebrants Wednesday (Sept. 23) at the Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Visitors who want a break from tailgating on football weekends have a variety of options for around campus this fall. From science to the humanities to faith, these events will explore a range of topics of interest to the University of Notre Dame community.

On Fridays, the will host the hour-long “,” a lecture series that features faculty sharing their insights about and experiences of Notre Dame and its place in the world. Each talk, geared for a general audience, allows the speakers to share their expertise, followed by a Q&A session. These talks take place at the Eck Visitors Center. For more information, visit the .

The 15th annual , sponsored by the , provides a lineup of lectures by leading faculty members on each home football game weekend. The lectures address a variety of issues and offer an opportunity to meet and interact with some of the University’s faculty.

The lectures, which will take place in the Annenberg Auditorium of the , are free and open to the public. Topics include:

• “The Changing American Voter in 2016 and Beyond,” 4 p.m. Sept. 5, with , Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership, professor in the Department of Political Science and co-director of the Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ.
• “Sparkle: Contemporary Girls’ Media Culture,” noon Sept. 19, with , associate professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre and director of the Gender 91��Ƶ Program.
• “What’s Posterity Ever Done for Us?: Literature and the Future,” noon Sept. 26, with , Mary Lee Duda Professor of Literature, Department of English.
• “Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., Among the Notre Dame Presidents,” noon Oct. 10, with , professor emeritus of history; Nancy Haegel, center director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado; Father Edward A. “Monk” Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus; and , professor, Department of Theology, and co-director, Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ.
• “How Our Siblings Shape Us: Evidence from Economics,” 4 p.m. Oct. 17, with , Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics.
• “1916: Screening the Irish Rebellion,” noon Nov. 14, with , Thomas J. and Kathleen M. O’Donnell Professor of Irish 91��Ƶ, Department of Irish Language and Literature, and concurrent professor, Department of Film, Television, and Theatre.

The will offer its Saturday Science Exploration Series in Room 101 of the Jordan Hall of Science before every home football game. Topics include:

• “New Views of the Solar System: The Latest from Pluto and This Year’s Robotic Explorers,” noon Sept. 5 in the Digital Visualization Theater (DVT), with , director of the DVT and concurrent assistant professional specialist in the Department of Physics.
• “Notre Dame and the God Particle,” noon Sept. 19, with , professor of physics.
• “Science, Religion and Environmental Change: A Panel Discussion about the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si’ and the University of Notre Dame,” noon Sept. 26, with , director of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative and Ludmilla F. and Stephen J. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences; , managing director of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index; , associate professor of management; , assistant professor civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences; and , William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science, as moderator.
• “Tissue Microenvironment: Friend or Foe for Cancer Metastasis?” noon Oct. 10, with , Nancy Dee Professor of Cancer Research at the Harper Cancer Research Institute.
• “Compassionate Care in Medicine,” 1 p.m. Oct. 17, with Dominic Vachon, director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine.
• “Stem Cells: A Vision for the Ethical Treatment of Disease,” noon Nov. 14, with , Rev. Howard J. Kenna, C.S.C., Memorial Director of the Center for Zebrafish Research and director of the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine.

The is continuing its annual series, offering sessions from 10:30-11:30 a.m. each Saturday in the lower level of Geddes Hall. The theme for these talks this semester is “Saints who spoke up and spoke out!” For more information, visit .

Visitors are also invited to join the Dr. Tom Dooley Society every football Saturday for the , which explore different medical topics. Topics include:

• Medical mission stipend awardees’ presentations, 2 p.m. Sept. 5, Room 101, Jordan Hall of Science.
• The : “Rules of Engagement: The Principles of Underserved Global Health Volunteerism,” 11 a.m. Sept. 19, Raclin Carmichael Auditorium, Indiana University 91��Ƶ of Medicine-South Bend, with John Wilson, associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic.
• “Pain Management,” 11 a.m. Sept. 26, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Paul Christo, Johns Hopkins Medicine.
• “Lingering Effects of Ebola,” 11 a.m. Oct. 10, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Fred Angulo, epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• “Bariatric Surgery,” 2:30 p.m. Oct. 17, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Matt Hubbard, Yale Bariatric Surgery Program.
• “Disabusing Disability,” 11 a.m. Nov. 14, Room 105, Jordan Hall, with Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, Memorial Hospital of South Bend.

The annual in July is remembering , with its first-ever theme, “Honoring Father Ted through participating: An event deeply rooted in his values.”

The camp invites alumni families to campus to spend a week doing volunteer work at community partner sites and to reconnect with the University of Notre Dame and each other. Children ages 9 and older come with their parents to participate in service projects while learning about the University’s commitment to giving back. After Father Ted passed away at the age of 97 in February, the camp’s organizers wanted to honor his legacy of service by dedicating this year’s camp to him.

Molly Butler, service programs director for the Alumni Association, said, “We have a lot of young kids who have experienced Father Ted through their parents. It’s really neat that they come do this.”

The Family Volunteer Camp is a popular event among alumni, this year bringing 74 families from 23 states to South Bend to volunteer at 25 community partner sites. The camp is so popular that the Alumni Association added a third week this year, and instituted a lottery for spots, ensuring that a variety of families would be able to experience it. The first week is July 5-10, the next is July 19-24 and the third week takes place July 26-31.

Each week, about 25 families come to Notre Dame to work with community partners including , , , , and many others. Projects include a range of work from changing light bulbs to serving lunch to taking Corvilla residents on an outing to the Potawatomi Zoo.

Families also have the opportunity to experience Notre Dame and South Bend by staying in residence halls on campus and attending a game, ice skating and having an ice cream social, among other activities.

Registration for this year’s camp is closed. Information for the 2016 camp will be made available in January.

Contact: Molly Butler, Alumni Association, 574-631-6723, mbutler2@nd.edu

London Global Gateway to host on behavioral ethics experts from 12 countries.

The University of Notre Dame is hosting its ninth (FLTA) orientation for the upcoming academic year. Sixty teachers from 28 countries, representing 15 languages, are staying on campus Aug. 9-13 (Saturday-Wednesday) and will attend a series of workshops designed to enhance their teaching in the United States.

The prepares the teachers, most of whom have never been to the U.S., for the academic year ahead, when they will go to an American college or university. will cover topics ranging from academics, including successful language teaching methods, to cultural introductions such as shopping and tipping in America. The Fulbright teachers’ experience on campus will include dinner at Legends and lodging in Ryan Hall.

“The stay in Ryan Hall gives them a sense of what American students are experiencing,” said , director of the Notre Dame and orientation director.

The FLTA program brings foreign language teachers from more than 50 countries to the United States. Notre Dame is one of only seven universities chosen from a highly selective process from the to be a host institution. After the five-day orientation, FLTA teachers will leave to attend their host schools across the U.S. for the upcoming academic year. Six will stay at Notre Dame.

“The University of Notre Dame is a great campus. Getting a feel of what it’s like to be on a U.S. campus is really represented here,” said Marsha Frith, assistant director of the Foreign Fulbright Programs Division in the Fulbright FLTA Program. “Notre Dame has done a wonderful job of hosting a summer orientation program for Fulbright FLTAs for more than nine years. We appreciate the opportunity the FLTAs have to learn from faculty, staff and administrators and the tremendous benefit they gain from being at an institution with Notre Dame’s vast understanding of international students and foreign languages.”

The teachers at the Notre Dame orientation come from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay.

The orientation is organized and funded by the Fulbright Commission, a program of the , which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s .

Contact: Brian Ó Conchubhair, 574-631-0499, oconchubhair.1@nd.edu

The tradition of community service continues in July with the annual , a weeklong program at the University of Notre Dame that invites alumni to reconnect with the University and introduce their children to Notre Dame’s mission of service to others.

The camp, organized by the , brings Notre Dame graduates to campus to participate in local service projects. The 2014 camp will be held for two week-long sessions, July 20 through Aug. 1. Molly Butler, Alumni Service Program Director, said families signed up in record time for the camp this year. The Alumni Association made the camp about 20 percent larger than last year, allowing for more families to participate and more organizations to benefit.

The camp this year will bring families to 17 community partners including Reins of Life, REAL Services, La Casa de Amistad, Courtyard Healthcare and Camp Millhouse. Service projects include packing backpacks for kids and hosting a picnic at St. Margaret’s House, refurbishing and refreshing homes with REAL Services, making a meal at Hannah’s House and hosting a picnic and awards ceremony at the YWCA.

The Family Service Camp has been taking place in one form or another for 15 years. Some families return to the camp each year. The youngest daughter in one family that has been coming back for 12 years started participating when she was in kindergarten, and is now 17 and graduating high school. Additionally, six Notre Dame students will serve as leaders of the camp. These students are chosen by the association based on their personal commitment to community service.

Campers will stay in Ryan Hall and go out to do service work during the day. The Alumni Association arranged for evening entertainment for the children in the camp, including skating and a talent show at the Compton Family Ice Arena and a sending-off ceremony in the Notre Dame Stadium Press Box.

Registration for this year is closed. Information for 2015 camp registration will be available in January.

Contact: Molly Butler, Alumni Association, 574-631-6723, mbutler2@nd.edu

The , in South Bend’s Northeast Neighborhood, is inviting community members to celebrate Valentine’s Day at its 13th anniversary celebration, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 14).

University of Notre Dame President , and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will speak at the event, where awards will be presented to adult and youth learners as well as to community partners and volunteers. Live music will be provided by the Indiana University South Bend String Trio. Light refreshments will be provided.

Lydia Moss and Paul Ferguson, members of the , will recite the monologues they will present next month at the Indiana in Indianapolis. Ferguson, who has more than four years of acting experience in the company, finished as second runner-up and the only high school freshman to place in the 2013 state competition.

The Robinson Community Learning Center is located at 921 N. Eddy St., South Bend. Founded in 2001 as a community-driven education center sponsored by Notre Dame in partnership with school, religious and civic leaders, the center offers innovative tutoring, violence prevention, youth entrepreneurship and performing arts projects for adults and children in South Bend’s Northeast Neighborhood. RCLC programs have grown to involve about 500 participants of all ages each week, who take part in programs such as the RCLC Afterschool Program, the Shakespeare Company, the conflict resolution program and RCLC .

Contact: Jennifer Knapp Beudert, RCLC manager, 574-631-2686, knappbeudert.1@nd.edu

, president of the University of Notre Dame, will preside at a prayer service to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday (Jan. 20) in the Rotunda of the Main Building. The public is invited to participate in the prayer service and the reception that will immediately follow.

Other community events will take place to honor King’s legacy both on and off campus.

The MLK Study of Race Series will present “The Politics of Play in Latino America,” a lecture by Albert Laguna, assistant professor of American studies and ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University, at 7 p.m. Jan. 23 (Thursday) in Nieuwland Science Hall, Room 123. Laguna will discuss the lack of study of comedy in race and ethnicity scholarship. The MLK Series continues at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 (Monday) in the Montgomery Auditorium in the LaFortune Student Center with a screening of “Vincent Who?” The film, about a murder that ignited the Asian-American civil rights movement, will be followed by a discussion with the director, Curtis Chin. For more information on these free, public events, call 574-631-6841 or email msps@nd.edu.

Also in honor of the holiday, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center will present the Kenny Barron Trio at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 18). For more information, visit .

Notre Dame’s Office of Community Relations and , in partnership with community institutions, have events scheduled to honor King as part of their yearlong initiative, “The Africana World.” Events include “I Am From: Telling Stories of the Past and Present,” a workshop on how to capture family stories and history conducted by Stuart Greene at 9 a.m. Feb. 22 (Saturday) in the Center for History auditorium, 808 W. Washington St., South Bend, as well as a photo exhibit called “How We Got Here,” featuring images and stories of community members who migrated to the area. The exhibit will be open through April at the Center for History. Other upcoming events include a lecture by Wil Haygood, author of the book “The Butler,” and a panel discussion of the book “The Warmth of Other Suns,” moderated by Richard Pierce. For a complete list of events, visit .

Additionally, the University is a co-sponsor of “Rekindle the Dream,” a daylong celebration on Jan. 20 presented by the South Bend Heritage Foundation and the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation of St. Joseph County. Events include a Community Service Recognition Breakfast, a memorial march and a celebration concert. For more information, visit .

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will take place on campus on Jan. 20. Organized each year by a committee of students, faculty and administrators, the invitation-only dinner features discussion on topics such as compassion and equality. This year’s theme is “50 Years Later: Still Marching Ahead.”

Molly Hayes, a 2008 graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s , has been awarded a 2014 .

Awarded to only 12 people every year, the George Mitchell Scholarship is sponsored by the . The nationally competitive award is named after the former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who served as chairman in the Northern Ireland peace process. The scholarship is designed to connect future American leaders with Ireland, and provides tuition, accommodations, and living and travel stipends.

Hayes, who studied English and Arabic while at Notre Dame, will use the Mitchell Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Irish literature at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. She is the first Mitchell Scholar from Notre Dame since 2007.

A native of St. Paul, Minn., Hayes is currently the Kenya Desk Officer at the U.S. Department of State, where she led the Washington-based crisis response management for the September terrorist attack at Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya. She was a deputy coordinator for the Egypt Task Force during the Arab Spring. Hayes has also served as desk officer for Morocco, Western Sahara and Tunisia; as North Africa adviser to the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs at the U.N. General Assembly; and as staff assistant to the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. While an undergraduate at Notre Dame, she studied abroad in Cairo in the 2006-07 academic year. With the help of the , in 2008 she co-founded the initiative, which aims to promote security and dignity abroad through education in true cultural sensitivity. Hayes also was a part of restructuring Notre Dame’s orientation and re-entry programs, and she created a documentary on sexual assault and gender issues. She created a support group for students who experienced trauma while abroad.

Hayes’ Mitchell Scholarship was made possible in part through her participation in Notre Dame’s (CUSE). CUSE provides undergraduate students in all the University’s colleges opportunities for research, scholarship and creative projects. The center also assists students in finding faculty mentors and funding and venues for the publication or presentation of their work, promotes applications to national fellowship programs and prepares them in their application process.

More information on CUSE is available online at .

The preschool years are the most formative for young brains. University of Notre Dame psychologist sees both the promise and vulnerability of children at this stage of life.

That’s why Valentino, the William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families Assistant Professor of , developed an intervention program designed to improve communication between mothers and maltreated preschoolers and, ultimately, lead to happier, healthier families.

Initial trials proved so effective that Valentino was recently awarded a $3 million grant from the to continue the project.

“This work has the potential to advance scientific knowledge and enhance policy efforts to improve the welfare of maltreated children and their families,” Valentino said. It also has the potential to impact the local community in a more immediate way, she noted.

Titled “Fostering Healthy Development Among Maltreated Preschool-Aged Children,” Valentino’s project evaluates a program to help parents and children learn effective communication techniques.

“The intervention involves six weekly home-based sessions focused on enhancing mother-child communication and emotional support,” Valentino said. “We hypothesize that improvements in mother-child communication will lead to improvements in child cognitive, emotional and physiological domains. We also hypothesize that the intervention will lead to improvements in maternal parenting and sensitivity, and decreased re-involvement with the Department of Child Services (DCS).”

Valentino developed a manual and employs four family coaches who work with local families and report back to her.

“My family coaches are trained on the intervention and have a lot of experience working with at-risk families. They’re also really familiar with the community,” she said. “Several of the families are working with DCS already. The department has been referring families who seem pretty excited about the project.”

The work can be challenging, but the potential for positive results inspires Valentino to pursue her research.

“I feel really passionate about trying to use science to improve the lives of maltreated children and families,” she said. “These families are some of the nation’s most vulnerable, so I really hope to develop practical intervention programs that can improve the trajectories of these children.”

Over the course of her research, Notre Dame and the have proved an invaluable source of support for Valentino. “The pilot research I conducted provided the justification to apply for this grant, and Notre Dame’s provided support for the pilot research,” she said. “I have also received really excellent mentoring from some of my senior colleagues.”

The $3 million grant will fund Valentino’s work through the next five years.

“It’s pretty big,” she said. “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to conduct this type of research.”

Originally published by Eileen Lynch at on Nov. 15, 2013.

The University of Notre Dame ranks fifth nationwide in percentage of undergraduate students participating in study abroad programs among U.S. doctoral/research institutions, according to the released Monday (Nov. 11) by the (IIE).

The report focused on study abroad activity during the fall 2011 and spring and summer 2012 semesters. The IIE reports a 65.9 percent participation rate at Notre Dame, a 6.2 percentage point increase over the 2012 results. Notre Dame jumped four spots from last year’s ninth place ranking. The University has ranked in the top 10 in the last 12 consecutive years.

Among doctoral/research institutions, the University also ranks 15th in the nation for the number of students participating in long-term (full academic year) study abroad programs and 18th for the number of students participating in mid-length (semester) programs. These rankings are calculated by the size of institution, with New York University coming in first with 388 students in long-term programs and 2,039 students in mid-length programs. Notre Dame reported 75 students and 738 students, respectively.

Participation percentages for the purpose of the Open Doors report are calculated by dividing the number of undergraduate students involved in a study abroad program by the number of bachelor degrees conferred in the time period. The IIE’s report, titled “Open Doors 2013,” showed an overall 3 percent increase from the previous year in the number of U.S. students participating in international study programs.

The Open Doors report is published by the Institute of International Education, an independent not-for-profit organization that has conducted an annual statistical survey of international students in the U.S. since its founding in 1919 and in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs since 1972.

offers international study programs in more than 20 nations: Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Uganda and the U.K., as well as a program in Washington, D.C.

, a national event to celebrate and promote international education and exchange, will take place at the University of Notre Dame Nov. 8-17 (Friday-Sunday).

Coordinated by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education and , the week starts at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8 with a showing of the film “Après Mai (Something in the Air)” at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. The film is a part of the Department of Romance Language and Literature’s , which will sponsor showings of several French films throughout the week, including “Elza,” “La Pirogue” and “Le Chat du Rabbin (The Rabbi’s Cat).”

The hosts its annual Asian Allure at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 and 4 p.m. Nov. 9. This year’s event, “Speak,” showcases traditional Asian culture through acting and dancing. Asian Allure is sponsored by the Asian American Association, in collaboration with the Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese culture clubs and .

Other events open to the public include:

• Lecture: “Electricity and the Developing World,” 6-7 p.m. Nov. 12, Hayes Healy Room 129. This lecture, presented by , program director for the , will focus on the importance of electricity for development and discuss the problems and potential solutions of electricity infrastructure. Free.

• Brazilian Cultural Fair, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 12, LaFortune Ballroom. The Brazil Club will celebrate aspects of the Brazilian culture and Portuguese language, including samba lessons at 8 p.m. Brazilian snacks will be provided.

• Lecture: “Twitter, Buffett and Darwin: India and the United States Relationship,” 4-5 p.m. Nov. 13, Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza College of Business. This free lecture from Timothy Roemer, former ambassador to India and U.S. Congressman, is presented by the and the .

• Lecture: “Still Waiting for Snow in Havana,” 7 p.m. Nov. 13, Hesburgh Center Auditorium. Notre Dame’s invited Carlos Eire, professor of history and religious studies at Yale, to speak at this free event.

• “Cabaret,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13-16, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 17, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. This winner of the 1967 Tony Award for Best Musical is presented by the , the and , the largest student-run musical theater company on campus. For ticket information, go to .

• Film screening and discussion: “Girl Rising,” 7 p.m. Nov. 14, Geddes Hall Auditorium. Presented by the , the , the and the . Free.

• “The Connemara Five,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14-16, Washington Hall. This will be the play’s first performance outside of Ireland. Presented by the Farley Hall Players, (CSLC), , and the Breac Digital Journal of Irish 91��Ƶ. Tickets are $6.

• Lecture: “‘As you are brothers of mine’: Thoreau and the Irish,” 3-4:30 p.m. Nov. 15, Flanner Room 424. , William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English, will present. Free.

• Diwali Celebration, 7 p.m. Nov. 17, LaFortune Ballroom. Celebrate the Indian Festival of Lights with dinner and dancing, as well as prayers to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi. Free.

Additional events are planned for students and the Notre Dame community. For more information and a complete schedule, visit .

A woman’s work is never done — or so the saying goes. Though women still do about two-thirds of household chores, the division of labor may depend on what her mate does for a living.

New research by University of Notre Dame Sociologist shows that married or cohabiting men employed in heavily female occupations — such as teaching, child care or nursing — increase the time they spend doing housework, while their wives or partners decrease the time they spend on housework.

Examining data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for the years 1981-2009, McClintock found that not only do men in heavily female occupations increase the amount of time spent on housework, but that the same is true for their wives or partners: married or cohabiting women in traditionally female jobs spend more time on housework while their husbands or partners decrease the amount of time spent.

“Importantly, occupational sex composition is largely unrelated to housework for single men or women, suggesting that occupation influences housework through interactions and negotiations between romantic partners,” says McClintock.

McClintock presented the study, “Gender-Atypical Occupations and Time Spent in Housework: Doing Gender or Doing Chores?” at the annual meeting on Aug. 13 (Tuesday).

Contact: Elizabeth Aura McClintock, 574-631-6463, emcclint@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame is hosting its eighth annual (FLTA) orientation for the coming academic year, bringing foreign language teachers from 28 countries to campus Aug. 5 through 8 (Monday through Thursday) for a series of workshops designed to enhance their teaching in the United States. The program also will introduce them to important features of American culture in preparation for their teaching experiences across the country.

Most of the scholars participating in this year’s orientation have never been to the U.S. and will participate in workshops covering everything from how to prepare a syllabus to the rules of American football. See the for a complete list of workshops as well as other orientation details.

Notre Dame is one of only five universities selected by Fulbright and the U.S. State Department to host such an orientation. Upon completion, the teachers will travel to their host institutions, where they will teach undergraduate foreign languages.

“Hosting this event not only places Notre Dame at the center of Fulbright’s foreign language program, but it underscores our leadership and accentuates our expertise and reputation as foreign language teachers,” said Brian Ó Conchubhair, orientation director and associate professor in the University’s . “Notre Dame will serve as the gateway to their American experience and will shape how they perceive the United States.”

The FLTA participants come from Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Senegal, Spain, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and Yemen.

The orientation is organized and funded by the Fulbright Commission, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Institute of International Education.

Contact: Brian Ó Conchubhair, 574-631-0499, oconchubhair.1@nd.edu

In response to threats of possible al-Qaida attacks, the U.S. State Department extended for one week the closure of many American embassies in the Middle East.

Though there is broad agreement on the legitimacy of these terror plots, University of Notre Dame Political Scientist Michael Desch questions whether the American response is proportionate to the threat.

“There are grounds for wondering how much of this is based on rock-solid intelligence as opposed to bureaucratic, vested interest, and also whether our reaction was really proportionate to the threat or driven by domestic politics,” says Desch, an expert on international relations and national security.

“It might be just coincidence that this plot was uncovered primarily through communications intercepts by the National Security Agency (NSA) at the time during when the NSA is under increasing scrutiny by Congress for being too aggressive in its efforts to monitor global communications,” Desch says.

“Or it could be that the current threat is getting greater attention because it changes the debate.”

With the specter of the events in Benghazi, Libya, last year, Desch questions whether the current response goes too far.

“While some response to this threat was prudent, it’s hard not to view the wholesale closing of U.S. embassies and other diplomatic facilities in the Middle East and North Africa as an overreaction rather than a judicious response,” Desch says.

Desch points out that since the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. has done a good job of diminishing al-Qaida’s ability to hurt Americans directly, but not without sometimes overreacting.

“What we tend to lose sight of in all of this is that terrorists seek to not only to hurt Americans but also to provoke us to overreact in response to this threat. We need to recognize that such overreach advances their objectives as well.”

Contact: Dr. Desch’s comments may be used in whole or in part; he can be reached at 574-631-2792 or mdesch@nd.edu

It’s generally understood that people with college degrees earn more money than those who did not attend college, and now shows that a college degree also boosts health. According to a study from the University of Notre Dame, college graduates experience long-term health effects not seen in non-college grads. The study, titled “The Effect of College Education on Health,” is part of the National Bureau of Economic Research .

Notre Dame Economists Kasey Buckles, Abigail Wozniak and , together with Melinda Sandler Morrill from North Carolina State University and Ofer Malamud from the University of Chicago, examined the completion of college on adult mortality and found a 28 percent reduction in early mortality for college graduates.

Using variation in college completion induced by draft-avoidance during the Vietnam War, the researchers were able to identify the effect of increased higher education on the later health status of men who were eligible to be drafted into the war. They focused on the cumulative mortality rate between 1981 and 2007, taking into account factors such as better health insurance and higher wages enjoyed by college graduates, as well as the relationship between college completion and various health behaviors such as smoking, exercise and obesity. Much of the decrease in mortality was driven by fewer deaths from cancer and heart disease.

Contact: Abigail Wozniak, 574-631-6208, awozniak@nd.edu

For two weeks beginning July 21 (Sunday), University of Notre Dame alumni and their families are coming back to campus to take part in the , a weeklong program that invites alumni to reconnect with the University and introduce their children to the University’s mission of service to others.

The Family Volunteer Camp, organized by the , brings Notre Dame graduates to campus to participate in service projects in the area, stay in one of the dorms on campus and connect with other families. The camp has been offered in one form or another since 1996, said Angie Appleby Purcell, spirituality program director for the Alumni Association, and for the first time this year the association arranged two consecutive weeklong camps to meet demand. Each week, about 25 families will stay in Ryan Hall.

The purpose of the camp is to engage the whole family in community service. “It came from a desire from both the Alumni Association and the University, but also from the alumni themselves, to provide an opportunity in which families do service together as a way of living the mission of the University within the local community,” said Appleby Purcell.

Service projects include working with to organize a carnival for residents of the Courtyard Healthcare Center in Goshen, helping to sort food at , teaming up with to develop urban gardens around South Bend, meeting with residents of the , and a variety of other projects with the YWCA, St. Vincent de Paul society, Hope Ministries and Crooked Creek Ranch.

Though the community service projects are the main draw of the camp, the Alumni Association also plans for activities for the kids in the evenings. Families will have opportunities to ice skate, swim, tour Notre Dame Stadium, and go bowling and go-kart racing.

“People come from all over,” said Appleby Purcell, including from the East Coast and from as far away as California. “A lot of these families come back because their children have become friends. It’s a little family reunion through the camps. Even if they’re brand-new, it takes no time for them to jell.”

The 2013 camp is full and registration has closed.

Contact: Angie Appleby Purcell, 574-631-6724, AngieApplebyPurcell1@nd.edu

In order to effectively program robots that ultimately could be used to aid seniors, researchers at the University of Notre Dame and University of Missouri studied the type of language older adults used when describing the location of a desired object to either a robot or human-like avatar. It turns out that seniors become tongue-tied when talking to robots.

The objective of the study was to see how well these natural directives (e.g., “My glasses are on the table next to the couch in the living room.”) can be translated into robot commands, which would help program robots to navigate and find the target.

Using a simulated home environment that resembled an eldercare setting, 64 seniors in the study addressed either a robot or a person named Brian, giving instructions to fetch the target. The study found that when talking to the robot, participants preferred to use fewer words and to adopt a speaker’s perspective, whereas when talking to Brian, participants used more words and preferred an addressee perspective.

“This research is important for the development of assistive devices for use in eldercare settings,” says , Notre Dame professor of psychology and co-principal investigator of the study along with Marjorie Skubic of the University of Missouri.

“Older adults report wanting assistance from robots for fetching objects, and prefer to speak naturally to these devices, rather than use a more constrained interface. Thus, detailing how older adults speak to robots and identifying how that conversation may differ from the way in which they speak to each other is necessary so that these preferences can be built into the programming of these devices.”

There are two ways in which the location of the target can be indicated by the speaker: One can describe how to find it, as in this directive: “Go to the room on your right and go straight ahead and the book is right there in front of you,” or one can describe where it is, as in this description: “The book is in the room on your right on the table at the far side of the room.”

In the study, “how” descriptions were longer, contained more detail and were dynamically structured as compared to “where” descriptions. However, results showed that “where” descriptions were found to be more effective in conveying the target location.

The results of the study show that seniors prefer more streamlined communication with a task-oriented robot and do not necessarily want to speak to robots the same way they speak to other people.

“This study is an important first step to developing a system that adapts to the elderly users’ language preferences instead of requiring them to adapt to the robot,” says Carlson.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the study will be presented next month at the 35th annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Berlin, Germany.