Notre Dame News | Notre Dame News | News

In memoriam: Larry Cunningham, the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology Emeritus

2025-02-21T17:00:00-05:00

Larry Cunningham

In one of his many essays for Notre Dame Magazine, the renowned and prolific theologian Larry Cunningham wrote in his often self-deprecating way about his dependence on students to solve his technological trials.

“To my students,” he wrote in 2008 at age 72, “I fear I appear to be a slightly bumbling grandfather type. … I would not know how to send a text message if my life depended on it. Only last year did I realize that the same phone not only took pictures but could transmit them. When I ask students to help me with computer problems, they give me pitying glances as they punch a key or two to get me out of my computer conundrum. They all walk around with buds in their ears attached to wires … whereas the only bud that will go into my ear will most likely be attached to hearing aid.”

He then went on to describe his deep passion for his vocation. “I am a much better teacher today than I was decades ago because I have never lost my passion for learning. … Nor have I lost my passion for teaching and learning (two sides of the same coin) nor my desire to touch that place in (students’) minds and hearts for that love of learning which, even though they may not know it explicitly, is the desire for God. …

“I have never doubted for a moment that being a teacher was a rare gift given to me. To be paid to do what I do, which is to follow my passion in the company of the young, makes me feel to be among the elect who have found themselves in a place where they were meant to be. The only word that covers it is gratitude.”

Cunningham, the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology Emeritus, died Feb. 20 in South Bend. He was 89.

“Larry graced our campus for more than 35 years and was a dedicated administrator, a beloved teacher, a cherished colleague, and a most generous citizen of the University. We will always be grateful for his service, which helped shape what Notre Dame is today,” Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president emeritus, said. “Our prayers are with his wife, Cecilia, their family and his many, many friends. May God grant him eternal rest.”

Raised in Florida, Cunningham explored entering the priesthood while earning a bachelor’s degree at Saint Bernard’s Seminary in New York. He then attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a licentiate in sacred theology, followed by his studies at Florida State, acquiring a master’s degree in literature and a doctorate in humanities. Along the way he decided he “would make a better academic than a priest.”

With that, he began his more than 55-year career in academe. The first 21 years were at Florida State; in 1987, he moved to Notre Dame, where he was the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology (emeritus since 2012). He was a scholar of systematic theology and culture, Christian spirituality and the history of Christian spirituality. He was adept at explaining the complex details of Catholic Church history, liturgy, teaching, governance and spiritual life and was frequently quoted on such subjects by journalists in leading media outlets.

Chair of Notre Dame’s Department of Theology from 1992 to 1997, Cunningham was an award-winning teacher and the recipient of numerous honors for his writing from the Catholic Press Association. He received honorary degrees from Bellarmine University, Neumann College and Saint Anselm College, and the University of Portland bestowed upon him its highest honor, the Christus Magister (Christ the Teacher) Medal.

“Larry will be remembered as a beloved departmental colleague and university citizen,” said John Cavadini, professor of theology and McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. “As chair of the theology department, he laid the foundation for the flourishing undergraduate program in theology we enjoy today. As a theologian and scholar he will be remembered for his contributions, especially, to the history of spirituality and mystical theology. He was an authority on all things Catholic, universally consulted, known at once for his devotion to the Church and for his cosmopolitan spirit, for his presence in scholarly and popular theological venues, for his vocational counseling of so many ministry and doctoral students, and for his kindly soul. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing to us.”

Cunningham wrote or edited more than 25 books, his first titled “Brother Francis: Writings by and About Saint Francis of Assisi,” published in 1972. Among his many other books are “Mother of God,” “Catholic Prayer,” “Thomas Merton: Spiritual Master,” “John Henry Newman: Heart Speaks to Heart” and “Things Seen and Unseen.”

Millions of lay readers benefited from the perspectives and insights Cunningham shared in dictionaries and encyclopedias of religion and in more than 400 articles in periodicals worldwide, including The Tablet, America, The Christian Century, U.S. Catholic, Church, Spirituality (Ireland), The Bridge (Asia), The Merton Seasonal and Commonweal, for which he was the literary columnist for many years.

The citation accompanying the Christus Magister Medal read in part: “If the primary task of a committed Catholic life is to share the genius of the Word, so that many more hearts might be opened and souls saved, then Lawrence Cunningham has served well and faithfully.”

Indeed, he did.

Cunningham is survived by his wife, Cecilia, of South Bend, Indiana; daughters Sarah Mary Cunningham of New York City, and Julia Clare Cunningham (Steve Uknuis) of Los Angeles; and granddaughter Mazzy Uknuis of Los Angeles.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday (Feb. 25) in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus.

In memoriam: Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., renowned Notre Dame theologian, father of ‘liberation theology’

2024-10-23T13:44:00-04:00

In his 1971 book “A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation,” the Peruvian Dominican priest and University of Notre Dame theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez called on Christians to accompany and learn from the impoverished among us, significantly advancing the concept known as the preferential option for the poor.

Now, more than 50 years later, Father Gutiérrez’s landmark volume and the liberation theology movement he inspired has more than stood the test of time and is regarded by many as one of the 100 most important theological works of the 20th century. In 2021, Michael E. Lee, who earned Notre Dame graduate degrees under Father Gutiérrez and is now a professor of theology at Fordham University, put it this way: “In the way that it offers both a diagnosis of our world’s ills and a vision for the way that the church can help transform them, ‘A Theology of Liberation’ remains as relevant today as it was half a century ago.”

Rev. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P., professor emeritus of theology at Notre Dame and widely regarded as the “father of liberation theology,” died Tuesday (Oct. 22) in Lima, Peru. He was 96.

“Father Gustavo was a beloved member of the Notre Dame community, and we join with his family and fellow Dominicans in giving thanks to God for his extraordinary life," said University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. “His invaluable contributions as a scholar and theologian and his commitment as a priest to living out the Gospel Call are an inspiration to us all.”

Rev. Daniel Groody, C.S.C., professor of theology and global affairs and vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education at Notre Dame, said of the work of his friend and colleague: “The heart of a ‘Theology of Liberation’ is God’s love, God’s life and God’s creation. What was most important for Gustavo was not liberation theology, but the liberation of people. He combined a profound sense of the unmerited gift of God’s love with the urgency of solidarity with those society considers the least important.”

Born in Lima, Father Gutiérrez initially planned to become a psychiatrist and studied at the National University of San Marcos in Peru and l’Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Sensing a call to the priesthood, he took up philosophical and theological studies at l’Université Catholique de Lyon in France. He was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Lima in 1959 and returned to his hometown to serve in a parish and teach at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He entered the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) in 2001, and soon after began teaching at Notre Dame, where he held the title of John Cardinal O’Hara Professor of Theology. He lived for the last several years in Lima.

In addition to theology and philosophy, Father Gutiérrez examined throughout the 1960s the work of a wide range of secular thinkers. The sum of his study, as well as his understanding of the Gospel message and personal experience with poverty in Peru, influenced his thoughts on socio-economic inequality, leading to his groundbreaking book, first published in Spanish in 1971 and, two years later, in English and other languages.

In response to the God who first loved us in our poverty, Father Gutiérrez wrote that liberation theology seeks to articulate the gift of Christian faith and the corresponding demand to create a world that reflects God’s care for it. This, he said, entails reordering the world through the promotion of social justice and, especially, accompaniment of the poor and vulnerable.

That vision — which has always been at the heart of Christianity — challenged social norms and conventional theological paradigms, creating controversy inside and outside the Catholic Church. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), investigated Father Gutiérrez’s theology, and, while the resulting teachings challenged the abuses of liberation theology that some proposed, the centrality of liberation in the life of faith was reaffirmed by the Vatican and Father Gutiérrez’s writings were cleared of any doctrinal error.

While some have maintained their suspicions of liberation theology, the criticisms within the official Church had largely dissipated by 2014 when Father Gutiérrez received a warm and enthusiastic ovation when introduced at a Vatican ceremony celebrating the publication of “Poor for the Poor: The Mission of the Church,” a book to which he contributed two chapters and for which Pope Francis wrote the introduction.

Father Groody noted that the driving force behind Father Gutiérrez’s theology was not secular or political ideology, but rather a spiritual vision, flowing from God’s utterly gratuitous love for all human beings. He lamented the fact that so few people “know the profound spirituality that forged Father Gutiérrez’s theological vision.”

In part to address past misunderstanding and misinterpretation, Father Groody in 2011 selected, edited and arranged excerpts of Father Gutiérrez’s most significant spiritual works in an anthology that includes “On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent,” “We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People” and “The God of Life.”

For his part, Father Gutiérrez once said: “The theology of liberation is about God. God’s love and God’s life are, ultimately, its only theme.”

Father Gutiérrez was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Legion of Honor from France, and he was inducted in 2002 into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the nation’s leading learned society. Leo Guardado, an assistant professor at Fordham who studied under Father Gutiérrez at Notre Dame, has worked with him on the completion of his final book, to be published in coming months.

While working on the anthology, Father Groody asked his friend and colleague how he would like his life and work to be remembered.

After first demurring, Father Gutiérrez said: “I hope my life in the end tries to give testimony to the message of the Gospel: Above all, that God loves all people, especially those that the world considers most insignificant.”

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 24) in Lima. There are tentative plans to livestream the Mass on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Institutobartolomedelascasas/.

In memoriam: E. Jane Doering, professor emerita

2024-09-03T11:00:00-04:00

E. Jane Doering, professor emerita in the Program of Liberal 91��Ƶ at the University of Notre Dame, died Aug. 23. She was 91.

Born the third of four daughters in a family of Irish heritage in Bergenfield, New Jersey, Elizabeth Jane O’Connor Doering earned a bachelor’s degree at the New Jersey College for Women and a master’s of education degree from Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. To continue her study of the French language, she attended summer school at Laval University in Quebec, where she met Bernard Doering, a fellow Francophile.

The couple married in 1958 and moved to Helena, Alabama, where they taught at a private secondary school for boys. After Bernard earned his doctorate from the University of Colorado, the Doerings moved to South Bend, where Jane taught French at St. Mary’s Academy and St. Joseph High 91��Ƶ and Bernard served on the faculty of Notre Dame’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

The Doerings established the University’s study abroad program in Angers, France, two hours southwest of Paris by train, in 1966. They mentored six cohorts of Notre Dame students in a program that has offered more than 3,000 students the opportunity to become fluent in French and immerse themselves in French culture.

Jane earned a master’s degree from Notre Dame and a doctoral degree from Northwestern University, both in French literature. She joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1992, teaching 19th- and 20th-century French literature and specializing in the study of the French philosopher Simone Weil. She published three books and authored more than three dozen articles on Weil and was a member of the American Weil Society and the international Association pour l’étude de la pensée de Simone Weil. She taught in Notre Dame’s Teachers as Scholars program and the Forever Learning Institute of South Bend.

Doering was preceded in death by Bernard, her husband of more than 60 years. She is survived by four children and 10 grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Oct. 8 at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto at Saint Mary’s College.

In memoriam: Norma Dowd Krentz, mother of Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.

2024-08-13T16:22:00-04:00

Norma Dowd Krentz, the mother of University of Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., died Sunday at her home in South Bend. She was 88.

Born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Mrs. Krentz graduated from Presentation Academy in Louisville, Kentucky, and lived for many years in Michigan City, Indiana. She retired as a statistical engineer from the Northern Indiana Public Service Company after previously working as a legal secretary for the Michigan City law firm Kenefick, Brennan and Gilmore.

She is survived by Father Dowd; her daughter, Mary (Jim) Wiegand; 13 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; her brother Charles Schafer Jr.; a stepdaughter, Lynn (Sanjiv) Mittal; two stepsons, Tim (Michele) Krentz and Richard (Denise) Krentz; and many nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Krentz was preceded in death by her husband, Harvey Krentz; parents, Charles and Flora Schafer; sisters, Mary Anderson and Flora Wessel; brother James Schafer; and a stepdaughter, Sally Finck. She was also preceded in death by Robert A. Dowd Sr., Notre Dame class of 1956.

Visitation will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 16) in Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart, followed by a Mass of Christian burial. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed. A private burial will take place at Greenwood Cemetery in Michigan City at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the following:

Holy Cross Mission Center — donate.holycrossmissions.org or Holy Cross Mission Center, P.O. Box 543, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0543
The Transformational Leaders Program at Notre Dame — giveto.nd.edu/dowd-memorial
The Hospice Foundation’s Center for Hospice Care — foundationforhospice.org or Center for Hospice Care, 501 Comfort Place, Mishawaka, IN 46545

In memoriam: Dolores Warwick Frese, professor emeritus of English

2024-06-04T09:41:00-04:00

Dolores Warwick Frese, professor emeritus of English at the University of Notre Dame, died Thursday (May 30) in South Bend. She was 88.

Valerie Sayers, a Notre Dame professor emeritus of English, said of her colleague: “A creative, meticulous medievalist as well as a gifted poet and fiction writer, Dolores Frese was a model woman of letters: She contained multitudes. She was also a beloved legend, especially among the women faculty she championed, and a generous mentor who gave unstintingly of her time, experience and wit.”

Born and raised in Baltimore, Frese earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She and her husband, Jerry, entered the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1958, both receiving doctoral degrees in English.

Frese was among the first women appointed to the Notre Dame faculty, joining the Department of English in 1973. During her four decades at the University, she became regarded as a leading scholar of medieval English, with a focus on Chaucer. She was the author of two novels and published numerous short stories, volumes of poetry and scholarly articles. She also earned a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame.

Upon Frese’s retirement in 2014, Notre Dame’s English department, Medieval Institute and Center for Italian 91��Ƶ hosted a program in celebration of her “long and distinguished career.”

Frese is survived by her husband of 65 years, Judge Jerome “Jerry” Frese, three sons and their spouses, a sister, brother, in-laws and numerous nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (June 5) at Kaniewski Funeral Home, 3545 N. Bendix Drive in South Bend, and a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Thursday (June 6) at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

In memoriam: Dan Saracino, retired assistant provost for enrollment

2024-04-10T16:09:14-04:00

Dan Saracino

Daniel J. Saracino, retired assistant provost for enrollment at the University of Notre Dame and a national leader in college admissions, died Sunday (April 7) in South Bend. He was 77.

“Dan exuded the spirit of Notre Dame and was a great representative of Notre Dame’s special nature throughout his leadership years,” Don Bishop, his successor at the University, said. “He was a great man of faith with a deep sense of Notre Dame.”

Micki Kidder, Notre Dame’s vice president for undergraduate enrollment, added: “Dan will be deeply missed, both in the Notre Dame family and the enrollment industry as a whole. He was a dear friend and mentor who shared his knowledge, kindness and passion to help others. He was a trusted steward of the mission of Our Lady’s University and an admired leader of enrollment.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in government and international relations from Notre Dame in 1969, Saracino stayed on campus to serve as assistant director of admissions from 1969 to 1975 and associate director from 1975 to 1977. He earned a master’s degree in education administration from the University in 1975.

Saracino then spent the next 20 years at Santa Clara University as director of admissions, dean of undergraduate admissions and dean of enrollment management.

He returned to Notre Dame in 1997 and, during his 13-year tenure, the University experienced a significant increase in the academic quality and diversity of applicants, admitted students and enrollees, all while maintaining its longstanding commitment to students who bring multiple talents to campus and value its mission as a Catholic institution of higher learning. The average SAT score of enrolled students at Notre Dame from 1997 to 2010 increased from 1325 to 1410, and diversity enrollment improved from 14 percent to 23 percent.

“Working with Dan Saracino was a special pleasure — he had a way of making you feel like you were working with him, not for him,” Bob Mundy, a retired director of admissions, said. “His deep affection for Notre Dame was fuel for his belief that it could be an ever-better place, in large part due to the incredible students who could and would call the University home under his tenure.

“Dan had a personality of thoughtful kindness and good humor, and he understood that good will was often best generated at a very personal level. His lasting legacy for me is in the many professional colleagues and personal friends who spoke so very fondly of him, usually around a meaningful act of kindness that he directed their way. The world is a little quieter, a little less spirited without Dan, and I am among the many colleagues who called him a friend, and will miss him greatly.”

Saracino played leadership roles in numerous national professional organizations, including the College Board, National Catholic College Admission Association, National Association for College Admission Counseling (serving as president in 1992), Conference of Jesuit Admissions Directors, Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, and the National Merit Scholarship and Lilly Foundation Scholarship committees. He also traveled extensively to international schools and military bases on behalf of the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense.

“Speaking as an alum, a Notre Dame parent and an admissions colleague at the national level, I knew Dan to be a consummate professional and a man devoted to Notre Dame’s mission,” Jeffrey Brenzel, the retired dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale University, said. “Thoughtful and generous, he inspired others to be likewise.”

After retiring from the University in 2010, Saracino continued to work with the State Department as a representative of U.S. higher education. He also maintained his passion for painting, creating watercolor scenes of the Notre Dame campus that the admissions office would send as Christmas gifts to high school guidance counselors nationwide during and after his tenure.

Saracino is survived by his wife, Marcia; three children, Christina Saracino Blakey (Jack), Gena Saracino and Danny Saracino, all Notre Dame graduates; and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday (April 14) at McGann Hay Funeral Home, 2313 Edison Road, South Bend. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Monday (April 15) at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

In memoriam: Ronald Weber, American studies professor emeritus

2024-03-18T16:00:00-04:00

Ronald Weber, a professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, died March 12 in Valparaiso, Indiana. He was 89.

Born and raised in Mason City, Iowa, Weber earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Notre Dame in 1957. After working for newspapers in Illinois and Iowa, he took his master’s degree in English from the University of Iowa and a doctoral degree in American studies from the University of Minnesota.

Weber taught for two years at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and then returned to his undergraduate alma mater in 1963 as a faculty member in the Department of Communication Arts. As department chair, he directed a committee that created a program in American studies, which in 1970 merged with the communication arts department and became the Department of American 91��Ƶ. Weber served as chair of the new department for its first seven years.

Robert Schmuhl, the Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Professor Emeritus of American 91��Ƶ and Journalism, said of his longtime colleague: “More than anyone, Ron Weber was responsible for making American studies a distinctive academic entity at Notre Dame. He combined inquiry about literature, history and politics with the practice of journalism and modern communications. He’d tell new faculty members that they had to bring their subjects to life, something he did whenever he entered a classroom. As a writer, he was at home working on a book of literary analysis or history as well as a mystery or spy novel. His rare abilities were those of a rare individual, who will be long remembered.”

Weber focused his writing and research on American literature, journalism and culture and was the author or editor of 19 books of nonfiction and fiction, including murder mystery novels centered on fly fishing in northern Michigan. Two of his nonfiction titles, “Hired Pens” and “The Midwestern Ascendancy in American Writing,” drew praise from a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who called Weber “one of the finest writers on writers,” adding that “previous authors have covered the ground he walks … but no one has covered it better.”

Weber was a Fulbright lecturer in American studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal in 1968-69, and he received a second Fulbright to Coimbra as well as the University of Lisbon in 1982. He was the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Freedom Forum Media 91��Ƶ Center at Columbia University, and he received the Office of the Provost Faculty Award from Notre Dame in 1976. He was a member of the American 91��Ƶ Association, Great Lakes American 91��Ƶ Association and Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs. He was elevated to emeritus status in 1999.

Weber was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Patricia, and a daughter, Andrea Weber. He is survived by two daughters, Elizabeth Krupchak and Kathryn Weber, and three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

His family will bury his ashes with those of his wife and daughter in Cedar Grove Cemetery at Notre Dame.

In memoriam: Acclaimed history professor and Laetare medalist J. Philip Gleason

2024-01-20T23:19:00-05:00

When University of Notre Dame historian J. Philip Gleason received the Distinguished Scholarship Award from the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA) in 2019, he was cited “for the breadth and depth of his contribution to the study of the American past, for his prominence in the field of American Catholic history and beyond, for his extraordinary generosity as a scholar, (and) for the generations of students he has mentored and influenced.”

One of those students, Rev. Steven M. Avella, a Marquette University historian, offered similar praise from his perspective as a doctoral candidate under Gleason’s tutelage, writing in a published essay: “Gleason the scholar was as formidable an intellectual presence as one would find on any major university campus. … As I look back on my graduate education at Notre Dame … I have come to realize more and more how truly generous and kind he was. He did not fling back dissertation chapters scribbled with caustic comments. There were no stormy confrontations over the scope or spin of research, nor even milder moments of exasperation when we intruded on his work time or called him at home. …We all experienced from him a consistent patience, generosity, and an unflagging encouragement.”

Gleason, a Notre Dame alumnus and much-admired professor in the University’s history department for 47 years, died Wednesday (Jan. 17) in Evanston, Illinois. He was 96.

John McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost of Notre Dame and Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, was a student of Gleason’s.

“Phil Gleason,” McGreevy said, “was one of the great figures in the Department of History’s history: a genuinely distinguished historian of American intellectual and religious life who graced the department with his presence for close to 50 years, and an equally generous colleague and friend.”

A native of Wilmington, Ohio, Gleason earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton. He then worked briefly for the U.S. Air Force and as an eighth-grade teacher before coming to Notre Dame as a graduate student, earning master’s and doctoral degrees in history in 1955 and 1960, respectively.

Gleason joined the Notre Dame history faculty in 1959 and chaired the department from 1971 to 1974. He was the author of numerous journal articles and books, including what the ACHA called his “magnus opus,” “Contending with Modernity: Catholic Higher Education in the 20th Century.” Other books included “The Conservative Reformers: German-American Catholics and the Social Order,” “Catholicism in America” and “Keeping the Faith: American Catholicism Past and Present.” He chaired the Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs from 1986 to 1988, and Notre Dame’s history department presents an award in his name, the Philip Gleason Prize for the best published article by a graduate student.

As department chair, Gleason actively supported the work of his colleagues, including the creation by Professor Jay Dolan of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, whose programming Gleason enriched by his regular participation through the years.

In addition to his ACHA honor, Gleason received an honorary degree from Dayton, as well as its Marianist Award, honorary degrees from Marquette and Loyola University in Chicago, and the Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Award from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

Notre Dame has since 1883 annually presented the Laetare Medal to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church, and enriched the heritage of humanity.” Past recipients include President John F. Kennedy, Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, actresses Irene Dunne and Helen Hayes, jazz musician Dave Brubeck, and actor and activist Martin Sheen. It is Notre Dame’s highest honor and considered the most prestigious award accorded American Catholics.

The Laetare Medal has rarely been given to a member of the Notre Dame community. In 1999, Gleason was one of the exceptions. The citation honoring him read in part: “As the magisterial historian of American Catholic higher education, you have set a rigorous standard of faith-inspired scholarship; as an interpreter of American ethnicity, immigration, intellectual, and social history, you have won the praise of historians through Europe and the U.S.; for your insights into the assimilation of diverse peoples into a truly national community, (and) as a professor and alumnus of our University, you have earned and enjoyed the love of your students and colleagues and classmates.”

Gleason is survived by his wife, Maureen; four children, each a graduate of Notre Dame, Ann (Rick Regan), Dan (Susan Ansell Gleason), Margaret (Pat Loftus), and Philip (Renee Monson); and five grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 25) at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Snicker Sisters, niblicks and thirsty frogs: Changes a part of the Burke Golf Course’s colorful history

2024-01-16T14:03:30-05:00

The changes currently underway at the Burke Golf Course on the southwest corner of the University of Notre Dame campus are just the latest for the nearly century-old greensward.

Holy Cross Drive, which forms the outer ring of Notre Dame’s interior campus, will be realigned over the next several months near The Burke and Duncan Hall into a broad sweeping curve to the west and south in order open up room within the ring for two new residence halls and additional recreational space, according to Doug Marsh, vice president for facilities design and operations and University architect.

“The Burke will be reconfigured but remain a 9-hole course,” Marsh said. “When completed late this summer, it will feature four par-3 and five par-4 holes. Construction progress this winter and spring followed by the summer growing season will all guide the greenskeepers in determining when the course is ready for play.”

The latest reconfiguration of The Burke is at least the fourth in its long history.

Golf was played sporadically at Notre Dame in the early 1900s with a rudimentary “course” built on the north side of St. Mary’s Lake. Students also played makeshift games in front of Badin and Bond Halls.

The sport was more formally introduced to Notre Dame in 1922 when some students from the southern United States introduced it to their peers. Within a year, a rapidly growing group of golf aficionados — known as the Snicker Sisters — began sponsoring tournaments and organizing a non-varsity team.

The rise in the popularity of the sport led to the opening in 1929 of a 6,500-yard, par-71 course. Funds came from a gift to the University from William J. Burke, founder and president of the Vulcan Last Corp. of Portsmouth, Ohio. Vulcan was involved in a wide variety of industries, including the Vulcan Golf Company. Sadly, Burke never played a round on the course. He died suddenly of a heart attack in July 1928.

“I don’t think things will change right away; it’s strictly a man’s deal here. Professors don’t want their wives out here, I know that. And the students have just never brought it up.”

The first realignment of The Burke came in the late 1930s in order to accommodate the construction of Rockne Memorial, the western capstone to the South Quad. Dedicated in 1939 in memory of Notre Dame’s legendary football coach Knute Rockne, The Rock is one of the most comprehensive recreational facilities on campus, providing space and equipment for students, faculty, staff, retirees and their families. A putting green is adjacent to The Rock.

A second reconfiguration took place over several years in the 1950s when Fisher and Pangborn Halls were constructed at the west end of the South Quad. Ironically, both halls will be razed in the next couple of years and replaced with new residences.

The biggest transformation of The Burke came in 1995, when the back 9 was eliminated in order to make way for four new residence halls — O’Neill Family, Keough, McGlinn and Welsh Family. Duncan and Baumer Halls were added later, making for a half-dozen on the West Quad. The course has played since the mid-’90s at about 3,220 yards and par 35.

For the first four decades of The Burke’s existence, it was a men’s-only course, though not without some controversy. Soon after the course opened in 1929, women at Saint Mary’s College asked to use the new recreational facility. The University Council took up the matter and turned down the request. Notre Dame’s president, Rev. Charles L. O’Donnell, C.S.C., wrote the following to his counterpart at Saint Mary’s, Sister Eleanore:

“I have to inform you reluctantly that your girls may not swing a niblick on our golf course, at least for the present. The reason for this decision seems to be, in a general way, the same reason which Rome (i.e., the Vatican) often gives — non expedit (not expedient). The real reason, which I do not mind giving you unofficially and confidentially, is that you have never allowed our boys to go boating on your lake.”

The SMC lake (not the St. Mary’s Lake on Notre Dame’s campus) was, according to University historian Rev. Arthur Hope, C.S.C., barely big enough to “slake the thirst of two frogs and four blue gills.”

The South Bend Tribune published a story on Aug. 1, 1969, in which local women lamented the men’s-only policy on the Notre Dame golf course. The course’s manager, Rev. George Holderith, C.S.C., said of a change: “We haven’t even discussed it,” adding, “I don’t think things will change right away; it’s strictly a man’s deal here. Professors don’t want their wives out here, I know that. And the students have just never brought it up.”

Whether it was the Tribune story, further requests from women golfers or the University’s early merger discussions with Saint Mary’s, the policy changed a year later and women began to “spoil a good walk” on The Burke in 1970.

At the time of the reduction to nine holes, South Bend Tribune sportswriter and golf columnist John Fineran wrote: “There is no guarantee, of course, that those nine holes will remain for golfers. Future university needs may gobble that land up.”

Now, almost 30 years later, he was prescient in part. While a portion of The Burke’s land is being taken for residential priorities, at least the course will survive, if in a truncated form.

Originally published by Dennis Brown at ndworks.nd.edu on January 16, 2024.

In memoriam: Hesburgh Trustee Ignacio Lozano Jr.

2024-01-06T08:52:00-05:00

Ignacio “Nacho” Lozano Jr., a Hesburgh Trustee of the University of Notre Dame and the retired publisher of the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión, died Dec. 27. He was 96.

“The University of Notre Dame is proud to call Nacho an alumnus, a Trustee and a cherished friend,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. “Even as we mourn his passing, we celebrate a life well-lived as a distinguished journalist, public servant, husband and father. Our prayers are with his family and many friends.”

Lozano was born in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 15, 1927, just four months after his father Ignacio Sr. founded La Opinión. According to a Los Angeles Times profile, the young Lozano “never questioned his future. Though he considered himself neither as dedicated a publisher nor as talented a writer as his father, he knew that he would study journalism.”

That he did, matriculating to Notre Dame and earning a journalism degree in 1947.

Upon his father’s passing in 1953, Lozano took over the newspaper and built it into the largest Spanish-language publication in the nation, and second only in circulation in Los Angeles to the Times.

La Opinión evolved through the years from covering just news from Mexico and about Mexicans to coverage of issues in Los Angeles that affect Latinos. Lozano once said: “Our mission was no longer to be a Mexican newspaper published in Los Angeles, but an American newspaper that happens to be published in Spanish.”

Lozano turned over day-to-day operation of the publication to his children in the mid-1980s but remained actively involved in the business until 2004.

Throughout his tenure, Lozano stayed true to his father’s commitment to objective journalism. “Being honest with our readers, playing it straight in our dealings with the political world, not allowing influence by our advertisers, trying to present the news as honestly as we can,” he told the Times.

Lozano’s only hiatus from La Opinión came in 1976 when President Gerald Ford appointed him ambassador to El Salvador. The assignment lasted just nine months due to Ford’s loss in the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter.

After witnessing violence perpetrated against Catholic priests and liberal political figures in El Salvador, Lozano testified before a House subcommittee in 1977 about the “campaign of vilification” the government was waging against the Catholic Church. Three years later Archbishop Óscar Romero was assassinated.

Prior to his ambassadorship, Lozano was appointed a consultant to the U.S. State Department by President Lyndon Johnson, the Council of the Californias by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan and the advisory Council on Spanish-Speaking Americans by President Richard Nixon.

Lozano served on the boards of some of the most prestigious corporate, cultural and philanthropic institutions in Los Angeles and the nation, including BankAmerica Corp., the Walt Disney Co., Pacific Life, Sempra Energy, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the California Community Foundation. He was also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Knights of Malta.

The recipient of an honorary degree from Notre Dame, Lozano was elected a Trustee of the University in 1983 and became an Emeritus Trustee in 1997 and a Hesburgh Trustee in 2019. He was a generous donor to the University’s Latino 91��Ƶ Scholars Program and served on the Latino 91��Ƶ Advisory Council.

Lozano was preceded in death in 2018 by Marta Navarro Lozano, his wife of 67 years. He is survived by his daughters Monica Cecilia Lozano and Leticia Eugenia Lozano, his sons Jose Ignacio Lozano and Francisco Antonio Lozano, and nine grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 6) at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Newport Beach, California.

In memoriam: Thomas J. Schlereth, emeritus professor

2023-11-16T13:27:00-05:00

Thomas J. Schlereth, a longtime professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame and author of a widely read in-depth history of the University, died Saturday (Nov. 11) at Ernestine M. Raclin House for hospice care in Mishawaka. He was 82.

The oldest of five children and raised in the north hills of Pittsburgh, Schlereth enrolled at Notre Dame in 1959 and graduated in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He earned his master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin and his doctorate at the University of Iowa.

Schlereth returned to his undergraduate alma mater in 1972 and spent the rest of his professional career on the American studies faculty at Notre Dame, teaching and conducting research in American cultural, urban, landscape and architectural history, as well as material culture studies.

John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost of the University and former I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, said: “Tom’s innovative reviews of museum exhibits, essays and books on material culture and histories of botanic gardens — and trees on the Notre Dame campus — delighted and inspired readers. All forms of history, and the people who created them, mattered to Tom, and this commitment to the past and his own students reflected his generous spirit.”

As a student at Notre Dame, Schlereth led tours of the campus. That experience was reflected in his popular 1976 book, “The University of Notre Dame: A Portrait of Its History and Campus,” in which he used more than 430 photographs, maps, lithographs and architectural drawings to lead readers through six campus walking tours to illuminate the University’s mission, leaders, historical moments, athletics triumphs and campus traditions.

Schlereth took a similar approach in his teaching. For a course titled Building America, he walked with students across campus to help them better understand Notre Dame’s history and architecture. In a story published in 2006 by the College of Arts and Letters, he said: “It’s a dictum of my teaching. Get the students out of the classroom. If you get your students into the world, they can learn to see in a new way.”

Including his portrait of Notre Dame, Schlereth was the author of 15 books and wrote more than 80 articles for scholarly and popular journals. In observance of the University’s sesquicentennial, Schlereth published two booklets: “A Spire of Faith,” which chronicles the history, art and artifacts of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and “A Dome of Learning,” an examination of the educational, cultural and social history of the University’s Main Building. He was the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships and grants, including two National Endowment for the Humanities research fellowships.

“Through his many publications and associations with scholars across the country, Tom Schlereth helped put Notre Dame’s Department of American 91��Ƶ on the map and become nationally recognized,” said Robert Schmuhl, the Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Professor Emeritus of American 91��Ƶ and Journalism. “In addition, his work on the University’s history will be valuable to anyone in the future who plans to write about Notre Dame.”

Schlereth is survived by his wife, Wendy, the former director of University Archives at Notre Dame, as well as son Lars (Alexandra) and grandson Gustav.

He was remembered in a private service. Contributions in his name can be made to the Raclin House.

###

In memoriam: William P. Sexton, retired vice president for University Relations

2023-10-17T12:25:00-04:00

William P. Sexton, retired vice president for University Relations and professor emeritus of management at the University of Notre Dame, died today (Oct. 17). He was 85.

“Bill was the consummate gentleman — considerate, gracious and genuinely interested in the person to whom he was talking, regardless of the individual’s title or station,” Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said. “He was always kind and encouraging to me in my early years in the University’s administration. Many have contributed to our current success, but very few more than Bill Sexton, who gave his life to the University of Notre Dame. We are grateful, and we will miss him.”

President Emeritus Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., added: “Bill Sexton was a great Notre Dame person — faith-filled, family-oriented, full of energy and enthusiasm, a consummate manager, and a hugely successful fundraiser. He was also a great friend and terrific traveling companion. I will miss him deeply.”

As vice president for University Relations from 1983 to 2002, Sexton directed the University’s offices of development, international advancement, special events and communications, as well as the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Under his direction, the University conducted what at the time were the two most successful capital campaigns in Catholic higher education history. The “Generations” campaign, which ended in 2000, raised $1.1 billion, far surpassing its goal of $767 million. Previously, the “Strategic Moment” campaign, ending in 1990, raised $463 million.

Also under Sexton’s leadership, the Notre Dame Alumni Association grew to more than 200 clubs around the world, and its pioneering programs in community service and other areas became models for other colleges and universities.

Lou Nanni succeeded Sexton as vice president for University Relations in 2002.

“I came to know Bill when I worked at the Center for the Homeless in South Bend and he served as a board member,” Nanni recalled. “Bill was incredibly generous with his time and relationships, and made so much happen for the betterment of the center.

“He was an extraordinary leader as vice president for University Relations, and we continue to reap the benefits of seeds he sowed over many years.

“Bill loved people and was the ultimate optimist. He treated everyone with respect and compassion, whether you were a benefactor or someone living on the streets. He will be missed dearly, but his spirit and example will live on for many years to come.”

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Sexton earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration, his master’s degree in industrial management and his doctorate in administrative management and behavioral sciences at Ohio State University. His academic specialty was human behavior in organizations, and his research interests centered on organization, individual needs, conflict and the management of change. A four-time recipient of the Best Teacher Award in the Mendoza College of Business, he taught for more than 40 years.

Sexton in 2002 was the first recipient of a new Notre Dame award established in his name to recognize outstanding service to the University by a non-graduate. He received an honorary Notre Dame degree during Commencement exercises that same year. In 2004, the University established a $1 million endowed scholarship in honor of Sexton and his wife, Ann.

Sexton served on the boards of the Center for the Homeless, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center and the Logan Foundation. He conducted numerous management seminars for U.S. government agencies, hospitals and religious communities and served as an adviser to several not-for-profit health care systems.

He is survived by Ann; six children — four of whom are Notre Dame graduates — Amy, Tom, Dan, Tim, Jim and Mike; 19 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. A livestream of the Mass will be available here.

In memoriam: Notre Dame Hesburgh Trustee Ernestine Raclin

2023-07-14T17:22:00-04:00

It was 1905 when young Ernest Morris, an orphan with very few resources, came to then-University of Notre Dame President Rev. John W. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., seeking financial assistance to attend law school. He received a $100 loan and was accepted for legal studies.

After graduating, he went on to a career in law and finance, founding in 1917 what evolved into the Associates Investment Co. of America, a pioneer of automobile financing for the common man that grew into one of the most successful diversified finance companies in the country. He never forgot Father Cavanaugh’s generosity and, just a year before his death in May 1951, he and his wife, Ella, made a $1 million gift to Notre Dame for the construction of a full-service, on-campus hotel — the Morris Inn.

That spirit of generosity was passed down to his daughter Ernestine, who served for many years on Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees. She died on Thursday (July 13) in South Bend at age 95.

“Ernie has been a pivotal leader in the wider South Bend community, a wise and steady presence on Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees and a transformative benefactor to the University,” the University’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said. “She has also been a dear friend to me and many, and, while we grieve her passing, we celebrate a life well-lived. My prayers and those of the entire Notre Dame community are with her family and friends.”

Raised in South Bend, Raclin attended Briarcliff College in New York and Saint Mary’s College. She was married to O.C. Carmichael, also a Notre Dame Trustee who passed away in 1976, and the late Robert Raclin, both of whom joined her in numerous philanthropic and service endeavors.

The chair emerita of the board of 1st Source Corp. and 1st Source Bank of South Bend, Raclin was one of the first women elected to Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees (1976) and the first woman to run a major University fundraising campaign. She became a Trustee Emerita in 1998 and a Hesburgh Trustee in 2019.

In 2011, Raclin, the Carmichael Foundation and members of her family made a lead gift for the renovation of the Morris Inn, a project that was completed two years later.

“Our family has a long and deep emotional bond with the University and with the Morris Inn,” Raclin said at the time. “We are very pleased to have an opportunity to deepen this association and to help ensure that the inn continues to play a prominent role in the life of the University. The Morris Inn has long been a treasure, not just for the Notre Dame community, but for all of Michiana. It is where the community and the campus meet.”

Most recently, she and her daughter and son-in-law, Carmen and Chris Murphy, made possible the construction of a new community asset, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. Located on the south side of the Notre Dame campus, it is scheduled to open this fall.

She and her family were also instrumental in the construction of Raclin-Carmichael Hall, located adjacent to the campus and home to the University’s W.M. Keck Center for Transgene Research and the Indiana University 91��Ƶ of Medicine-South Bend.

Raclin was equally generous in the local community supporting many worthy causes, including the Center for Hospice Care in Mishawaka and Indiana University South Bend’s 91��Ƶ of the Arts, which bears her name. She was a founding member of WNIT and Stanley Clark 91��Ƶ; served as a director for the United Way of America, the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; and chaired the board of Project Future, an economic development agency for the region. She also served on the advisory board of Indiana University South Bend, and as a trustee of the Indiana University Foundation and Converse College, a Spartanburg, South Carolina, institution at which Carmichael served as president.

Notre Dame bestowed an honorary degree on Raclin in 1978 for her extraordinary leadership and service. She also received honorary degrees from Converse, Purdue University, Indiana State University, Vincennes University, the University of Southern Indiana, Saint Mary’s College and Indiana University.

She is survived by her four children and their spouses and families and four step children and their spouses and families: Carmi and Chris Murphy, Kathy and “Crom” Carmichael, Tina and Andy Nickle, and Cathy and Clark Carmichael; sixteen grandchildren: Chris, Sean, Kelly, Kevin, Conor, Dillon, Mike, Shelley, Olivia, Garrett, Allison, Blake, Whitney, Reid, Kristen, and Spencer, and 23 great grandchildren. The Raclin family: Jonathan and Kathryne, Jeannie and Bob Oddy, Nannette and Grier and Linda, and their children and grandchildren.

There will be a visitation at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (July 18) at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. This will be followed by a prayer service and celebration of life at 3:30 p.m.

Pulte Family Charitable Foundation makes $9 million gift to Notre Dame

2023-06-12T12:30:00-04:00

The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation entered into a $111 million partnership with the University of Notre Dame in 2019 to establish the Pulte Institute for Global Development and other associated initiatives within the Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs to develop a worldwide focus on serving people most in need, the most alienated and the most displaced.

Now, the foundation has made an additional $9 million gift to create the Pulte Platform for Policy 91��Ƶ in the Keough 91��Ƶ.

“The generosity of the Pulte family through their foundation is making a significant difference in addressing poverty,” Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said. “We remain deeply appreciative of the family’s commitment to these issues and their confidence in Notre Dame’s ability through our scholarship and research to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people in this country and around the world.”

The Keough 91��Ƶ integrates the work of academic researchers, policy experts and practitioners to generate new knowledge and elicit practical insights and solutions to the world’s most challenging problems. The Pulte Platform for Policy 91��Ƶ will expand that work through the appointment of three senior faculty who will enhance the international impact of the school on the themes of integral human development, poverty and peace.

Andrés Mejía Acosta is the first Pulte Family Professor of Policy and Practice. Acosta is the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kuster Family Associate Dean for Policy and Practice and an expert in the formal and informal political bargaining dynamics among government elites when adopting sustainable and inclusive policies in low- and middle-income countries.

“I am delighted that Professor Mejía Acosta has joined our leadership team and is already coordinating with great skill and insight our multidimensional policy and practice research, publications and outreach program,” said Scott Appleby, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough 91��Ƶ. “Andrés is an accomplished scholar of comparative political institutions, political economy, governance and public finance management in Latin America. He has led multidisciplinary, multisectoral teams investigating critical global development issues such as government investment in strategies to reduce child malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries. I am grateful to the Pulte Family Foundation and to Cheryl and Tom Kuster, whose vision and generosity made his appointment possible.”

The Pulte Platform for Policy 91��Ƶ will support two more professors with expertise in the field to further the academic excellence and policy relevance in areas that are critical to the Keough 91��Ƶ’s strategic plan, such as environmental justice, climate change, poverty and inequality.

Guided by the belief in the inherent dignity of all people, the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation works to meet the basic human needs of the most marginalized members of the human family, including socio-economically disadvantaged youth; the aged; people with physical, emotional and mental disabilities; and those with the fewest material resources. In addition, the foundation seeks to serve religious communities and correlative organizations of Judeo-Christian beliefs. To this end, the foundation strives to enact through its grantees the seven corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for captives, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and assist the mourning.

“Through our involvement with various organizations, we have witnessed firsthand that the path to achieving success ‘the right way’ in today’s world often diverges significantly from traditional approaches,” Nancy Pulte Rickard, chair of the board of directors and president of the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, said. “While change may be the key to progress, it tends to unfold at a frustratingly sluggish pace, notably when one needs more skills to navigate the complex political landscape. However, observing and absorbing the wisdom of the Pulte Institute over the past several years has enlightened our board, revealing the profound impact that dedicated organizations like the Pulte Institute and honorable politicians can have in driving positive change for marginalized communities through policy reform.

“Recognizing the potential of financially supporting the Pulte Platform for Policy 91��Ƶ, we aimed to empower the institute to recruit top-tier policy experts capable of crafting forward-thinking policies suitable for the present era. By challenging ineffective policies and outdated regulations or creating policies for new issues, this collaboration will foster the development of impactful and transformative policies in integral human development, ultimately enhancing the well-being and lives of all marginalized people worldwide.”

In memoriam: Hesburgh Trustee Donald J. Matthews

2023-06-09T14:53:00-04:00

Donald J. Matthews, a longtime member of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees, died Tuesday (June 6) in Los Angeles. He was 89.

“We are deeply grateful for Don’s generous and faithful service as a Trustee,” Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said. “His love for Notre Dame and his dedication to the University’s distinctive mission were evident. We join his family in grieving his passing and give thanks for his extraordinary life.”

After graduating from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in business, Matthews joined in management of his family’s maritime transport business. He went on to take a position as an account executive in the casualty department of Johnson & Higgins, the largest privately held insurance brokerage and benefit consulting firm in the world.

Matthews ascended through the management ranks at the company, becoming a vice president in 1975, then executive vice president and president of the firm’s Texas operations. He returned to the New York office of Johnson & Higgins in 1982 after being named senior vice president for the newly established financial institution division. After retiring from Johnson & Higgins, he co-founded and served as president of American Capital Access Holdings, a financial guarantee insurance company.

Matthews was elected to Notre Dame’s Board in 1971 after previously serving on the advisory council for the College of Engineering. As a Trustee, he served on the Audit, University Relations/Public Affairs and Student Affairs Committees. He was elected to emeritus status in 2004 and was named a Hesburgh Trustee in 2019.

A gift from Matthews in 1967 established Notre Dame’s first endowed professorship, the John N. Matthews Chair in Law, named in honor of Matthews’ father, a former ship’s master and founder of the family’s maritime cargo company.

Not surprisingly, given his father’s passion for the sea, Matthews was an accomplished sailor who served on the crew of two America’s Cup yachts — Vim, which narrowly lost out in races to select the New York Yacht Club’s defender in 1958, and Weatherly, which won the America’s Cup in 1962.

In addition to his service to Notre Dame, Matthews was active in numerous other organizations, including as president of the maritime group the National Association of Stevedores, Mercy College and the Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

Matthews is survived by his wife, Ann Bowers, and children, Therese Matthews; Kathryn “Kim” Matthews, a 1981 Notre Dame alumna; Brian Matthews, a 1983 alumnus; and Sharon Matthews.

Arrangements are pending.

Notre Dame selected to join Association of American Universities

2023-06-01T11:15:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame has been selected for inclusion in the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of the nation’s leading public and private research universities, Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., announced today.

“While Notre Dame has long been known for its undergraduate education, we have striven to be a preeminent research institution with superb graduate education, all informed by our Catholic mission,” Father Jenkins said. “We are honored to be invited to join the AAU and heartened by the AAU Board’s recognition of our progress as a research university, and we look forward to participating in this august organization.”

“This is a major milestone in the history of Notre Dame,” said John J. Brennan, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. “Much credit goes to Father Jenkins, his administration and, especially, to the University’s superb and dedicated faculty who engage in teaching and research that make a difference in our world.”

Founded in 1900, the AAU seeks, according to its mission statement, to “collectively help shape policy for higher education, science and innovation; promote best practices in undergraduate and graduate education; and strengthen the contributions of leading research universities to American society.” Membership is by invitation only and based on an extensive set of quantitative indicators and qualitative judgments that assess the breadth and quality of a university’s research and graduate and undergraduate programs.

Five other universities — Arizona State University; George Washington University; the University of California, Riverside; the University of Miami; and the University of South Florida — also were added to the AAU membership roll today, joining the association’s previous 65 U.S. and Canadian members.

“We are very proud to have these six distinguished universities from across the United States join AAU,” AAU President Barbara R. Snyder said. “We are particularly proud that two of our new members — Arizona State and UC Riverside — are designated as Hispanic-serving institutions because significant shares of their student bodies are composed of individuals from Hispanic backgrounds. We look forward to working with all of these universities to continue advancing higher education and laying the scientific foundation that helps keep our economy strong and our nation healthy and safe.”

“I’m excited to invite these six diverse institutions to AAU,” AAU Board Chair and University of Southern California President Carol L. Folt said. “AAU members are distinguished by the quality of their education and research. It is a testament to our higher education system that we have this many leading research universities in every corner of our country. Congratulations to the faculty, staff and students for this recognition of their hard work and their leadership in research and education. We look forward to our joint efforts to continue to transform lives through higher education.”

Long recognized as one of the nation’s leading undergraduate universities, Notre Dame has made significant strides in recent years as a research institution. Since 2007, research awards received by Notre Dame have grown 194 percent. Among the awards were:

● $42.4 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to form the Labs for Industry Futures and Transformation (LIFT) Network with industry, community and education partners throughout the region. The program links and enhances cutting-edge expertise, technologies and workforce development programs with local manufacturing and advanced technology sectors

● $33.7 million from Unitaid to study new approaches to preventing mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and Chikungunya

● $40 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development to improve global education outcomes

● $25 million to the Wireless Institute from the National Science Foundation to establish SpectrumX, a wireless spectrum innovation center

Additionally, Notre Dame has served as the home to several national centers supported by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, been the recipient of over $10 million in Department of Defense support for hypersonic research facilities, and over the past 20 years, has been awarded more National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships than any other private university. Other areas of research excellence include theology, philosophy, chemical engineering, astro and nuclear physics, and sacred music.

In memoriam: Hesburgh Trustee Philip Hawley

2023-05-31T13:00:00-04:00

Philip M. Hawley, a member of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees for many years and the retired chairman and chief executive officer of the Carter Hawley Hale Stores, died Thursday (May 25) in Los Angeles. He was 97.

“Phil Hawley was a visionary leader and generous supporter of the University, and we are truly grateful for his many contributions,” Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said. “The prayers of the Notre Dame family are with his family and many friends.”

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Hawley served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, and then began work with Merrill Lynch in 1946. He went on to start his own manufacturing business before entering the retail field in 1952 in both specialty and department stores.

Hawley joined the Broadway-Hale Stores in 1958 as a buyer and worked his way through the ranks to become president in 1972. Two years later, the company added his name to become Carter Hawley Hale, and three years after that he became chief executive officer.

He served as chair and CEO for 16 years, building the chain into the largest department store in the western United States. He retired in 1993.

A graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University, he was honored by Harvard as Business 91��Ƶ Statesman of the Year in 1989. He was named California Industrialist of the Year by the California Museum of Science and Industry in 1975.

Hawley was elected to Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees in 1981, serving on its student affairs committee for six years and the finance and investment committees for nine years. He was elected an Emeritus Trustee in 1996 and became a Hesburgh Trustee in 2019.

An active member of the Business Roundtable and Business Council, Hawley served on the boards of directors of AT&T, the Atlantic Richfield Co., Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, the Walt Disney Co. and Weyerhaeuser Co. He was a trustee of the Haynes Foundation, Huntington Library and Art Gallery and California Institute of Technology.

Hawley was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, and is survived by eight children, four of whom are graduates of Notre Dame, as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Arrangements are pending.

University of Notre Dame Australia confers honorary degree on Father Jenkins

2023-05-15T15:30:00-04:00

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., received an honorary doctor of laws degree Tuesday (May 9) from the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA), a Catholic institution of higher learning modeled on and founded with the assistance of its American namesake. The honorary degree was formally conferred during a visit to campus by Notre Dame Australia’s chancellor, Christopher Ellison, and executive dean of medicine, nursing, midwifery and health sciences, Rathan Subramaniam.

In recognizing Father Jenkins and the University, the UNDA leaders said: “The University of Notre Dame’s commitment and involvement was the most important single factor enabling” the creation of UNDA, adding, “it was your leadership presence and encouragement that gave the Archdiocese of Perth, the Catholic Education Commission and the state government confidence that the project (UNDA) could succeed.”

They also noted: “Rev. Jenkins has been a trustee of UNDA since 2018, and as president of Notre Dame, Rev. Jenkins has continued to lead the University’s enduring and important contribution to UNDA, including through a commitment to the study abroad relationship between the institutions.”

“The University of Notre Dame Australia has a long and close relationship with Notre Dame in the U.S., through my predecessors Fathers Hesburgh and Malloy, and their progress in the few decades of their existence is truly impressive,” Father Jenkins said. “It is a tremendous honor for me to receive this degree from UNDA, a vibrant and growing institution with which we have such a deep bond.”

Beginning in 1989, Notre Dame Australia began the process of receiving Church and government approval. The first class of students enrolled in February 1992. Rev. David Link, on leave as dean of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, served as the founding president and vice chancellor of UNDA, and Notre Dame sent 25 study abroad students to spend the inaugural semester on the Fremantle campus.

Since then, Notre Dame administrators have served on the board and provided continuing consultation. More than 1,000 Notre Dame U.S. students have participated in study abroad in Australia, and the two institutions recently expanded their partnership to give UNDA students the opportunity to study at Notre Dame’s Global Gateways in London and Jerusalem, as well as on the main campus in South Bend.

UNDA has expanded beyond Fremantle and now includes campuses in Broome and Sydney with a total student population of more than 11,000.

In memoriam: Jay Caponigro, senior director of community engagement

2023-05-13T15:00:00-04:00

Jay Caponigro, senior director of community engagement at the University of Notre Dame, died Thursday (May 11) after a more than year-long illness. He was 54.

Jay Caponigro

“Jay’s passing is an enormous loss for Notre Dame and the surrounding communities,” Tim Sexton, associate vice president for public affairs, said. “Jay approached his work with great dedication and passion and is leaving a legacy of incredible impact. A community organizer to his core, Jay provided a beautiful example of working for the greater good.

“Our prayers are with Lyn and the Caponigro family and Jay’s many, many friends.”

Caponigro earned a bachelor’s degree in government and international relations (now political science) from Notre Dame in 1991. He is on the University’s student Wall of Fame as the recipient of the 1990-91 John W. Gardner Student Leadership Award, which annually honors a student who exemplifies the ideals of the University through outstanding service beyond the University community.

Caponigro displayed that characteristic throughout his professional life.

He was the executive director from 1995 to 1999 of Chicago’s Southwest Organizing Project, a faith-based community organization that included 25 churches and schools in the racially diverse neighborhoods of the city’s southwest side. He returned to his alma mater in 1999 as director of urban programs for the Center for Social Concerns, and soon after became the inaugural director of the University’s Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC).

Located about a mile south of Notre Dame, the RCLC opened in 2001 as a partnership between the University and the Northeast Neighborhood, connecting the campus and local communities through education, the arts, civic engagement and other lifelong learning initiatives that span generations. Originally housed in an old grocery store building, the RCLC moved to new quarters on the south end of Eddy Street Commons in 2021.

Among the initiatives Caponigro instituted at the RCLC was Take Ten, a conflict resolution program that provides young people with positive alternatives to violence and builds their capacity to make more informed choices when faced with conflict.

Other RCLC programs launched under Caponigro’s leadership include the Robinson Shakespeare Company, a Lego Robotics team, a high school business development and entrepreneurship program and Teachers as Scholars. Some 500 Notre Dame students volunteer at the center each year, including more than 100 in the signature after-school tutoring program.

As senior director of community engagement, Caponigro worked with Sexton in the development, implementation and measurement of Notre Dame’s efforts to strengthen its relationship with the local community. In addition to the RCLC and Teachers as Scholars, he played a pivotal role in partnerships with area school districts, nonprofit organizations and government entities. He also served on the steering committee of the University’s Community Engagement Coordinating Council and was integral in the creation of the Moreau College Initiative for incarcerated men in Indiana and the Notre Dame Programs for Education in Prison.

Caponigro was elected trustee of the 1st District of the South Bend Community 91��Ƶ Corp. in 2010 and served two four-year terms. He also served on the board of directors for the Oaklawn mental health center, South Bend Center for the Homeless and the South Bend Mayor’s Commission for Violence Reduction. He published and presented with colleagues on the engagement work of the RCLC, taught various courses related to Catholic social teaching at Notre Dame and Holy Cross College and was honored with the 2014 Champion for Education Award from Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame, Caponigro earned a master of divinity degree from the University of Chicago, a certificate of executive management from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and a certificate in community engagement from Virginia Tech.

Caponigro is survived by his wife, Lyn, four children, Matthew (Emily), Maria (Josh), Mitchell and Monica, and one granddaughter, Camila Jayne. Jay’s youngest daughter, Monica, is a junior at Notre Dame.

Visitation will be held 4-8 p.m. Wednesday (May 17) at Palmer Funeral Home, 17033 Cleveland Road, South Bend, where a Rosary will be recited at 4 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 3:30 p.m. Thursday (May 18) at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame.

In memoriam: Frederick H. Baumer Jr., alumnus and retired comptroller

2023-05-01T13:05:31-04:00

Frederick H. Baumer Jr., a University of Notre Dame alumnus and longtime comptroller and endowment manager for his alma mater, died April 15. He was 87.

“Working alongside Fred for my first seven years was a true blessing,” Drew Paluf, associate vice president and controller, said. “His intellect, guidance, patience and overall love for Notre Dame was evident each and every day.

“Upon his retirement in 2005, we dedicated a plaque to Fred outlining the many wonderful contributions he made to the Controller’s Group and the University. That plaque hangs in the entrance to our office to this day.”

Raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Baumer earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Notre Dame in 1958. As an undergraduate, he was an Old College seminarian in the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame’s founding religious order. He continued his formation following graduation but ultimately decided to leave the seminary and enlist in the U.S. Army. Following military service, he earned an accounting degree from the University of Florida.

Baumer worked in the public accounting firm Peat Marwick (now KPMG), and then returned to Notre Dame in 1967 to join the University’s finance and accounting department. He served for 35 years, much of that time as the comptroller and manager of the endowment. He was recognized for his service with the President’s Award in 1980 and the John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Award in 1997.

Baumer was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara. He is survived by his sons, John (Mollie), Steve (Maureen) and Brian, and seven grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated April 24.