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New On Purpose immersion experiences help Notre Dame students hone their moral compasses over spring break

2025-03-31T13:00:00-04:00

On Purpose participants attended Mass together at San José de la Laguna Mission Church, built in 1699. The interior of the church includes original Laguna art, such as symbols of a rainbow, the sun, moon, and stars.

This year, the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) launched On Purpose, a new education and formation opportunity. Inspired by the 2024–25 Notre Dame Forum theme of “What do we owe each other?”, the On Purpose program creates immersion experiences that allow undergraduates to engage with practitioners who demonstrate profound commitments to human dignity in challenging situations. Over spring break, two groups of Notre Dame students took part in these inaugural On Purpose immersions at two separate sites: Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles and in the Pueblo communities of New Mexico.

On Purpose: Striving to become a force for good

An essential part of Notre Dame's University-wide Ethics Initiative, ECG focuses on cross-disciplinary ethics research, undergraduate course development, the moral formation of students and faculty, and engaging the public in meaningful dialogue around ethical issues. Shaped by the powerful and enduring contributions of the Catholic philosophical tradition, the Institute draws support from its complimentary roots of faith and reason.

“At ECG, we believe that our capacity to make positive change in the world is directly connected to the kind of people we are becoming—individuals inspired by, and rooted in, the kinds of virtues that have shaped the mission and culture of Notre Dame from its beginning,” said Adam Gustine, the institute’s associate director of Signature Course fellowships, education, and formation. “On Purpose helps students hone their moral compasses and cultivate a resilient hope as they strive to become forces for good.”

Doris Cruz-Mestizo, a junior majoring in history and Latino studies who was part of the Notre Dame group in Los Angeles, credits the experience with giving her new insight on her connection to others.

"This immersion made me realize that my story is one of many and can reach people in different ways. In the words of Fabian Debora [artist and executive director of Homeboy Art Academy], 'being open to others is being open to the world.'"

Engaging with 'the Homeboy Way'

Working in partnership with Becky Czarnecki at Notre Dame’s Campus Ministry, a group of 12 On Purpose students spent spring break in the heart of Los Angeles at Homeboy Industries. Founded by Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest and a native of Los Angeles, Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry organization in the world. The organization provides more than basic services: The core of its work is building a community rooted in profound human dignity and fueled by unconditional love.

Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, meets with On Purpose students in Los Angeles.

While in Los Angeles, the Notre Dame team met with Father Greg, visited some of Homeboy’s social enterprises such as Homeboy Electronic Recycling and Homeboy Threads, spent time at Homeboy Headquarters, and shared a meal with community members at Dolores Mission, where the ministry began in 1988.

“We were all inspired by ‘the Homeboy Way,’ said Jeff Tolly, ECG’s assistant director of educational initiatives and one of the staff leaders who accompanied the students for On Purpose. “The clients who work with Homeboy need to choose to be part of the program, to commit to being actively engaged with it—but once they choose the Homeboy community, the Homeboy team walks with them every step of the journey. They never abandon anyone or stop giving second chances.”

This was the first time that Homeboy has hosted a week-long immersion for college students, making it possible for the On Purpose participants to engage with the ministry on a deep and impactful level.

During On Purpose, students had the opportunity to listen to and engage with the stories and experiences of Homeboy clients and trainees.

"This experience challenged me to meet people where they are, to listen without preconceived judgments, and to recognize the dignity in every person,” said Annelise Demers, a sophomore majoring in global affairs. “It has reminded me that being a force for good starts with small, intentional choices.”

An immersion in the experiences of Indigenous peoples

A second group of 11 On Purpose students went to the American Southwest to engage with the historic and modern experiences of Indigenous peoples in the Pueblo communities of New Mexico—their rich cultural traditions, the injustices and tragedies of the past, and the paths forward that the resilient Indigenous peoples have carved out for themselves.

In partnership with Will Newkirk and Collin Gortner at the American Indian Catholic 91��Ƶs Network (AICSN), part of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program, the team visited four community schools: St. Joseph Mission 91��Ƶ and St. Anthony’s Indian 91��Ƶ, both small Catholic elementary schools in San Fidel and Zuni, respectively, that are members of AICSN; Keres Learning Center, a Montessori Keres-language revitalization school in Cochiti Pueblo, and Santa Fe Indian 91��Ƶ, a boarding school in Santa Fe that serves middle-school and high school students.

These four schools were unified by their commitment to nurturing Indigenous history, languages, and culture while providing high-quality education and a stable environment for their students and their families, the majority of whom are experiencing poverty.

“Our first visit of the trip was to St. Joseph Mission 91��Ƶ,” said Megan Mancini, ECG’s program administrator and part of the On Purpose team. “It’s small—only 45 students—but mighty. Education, confidence, and an embrace of their culture are St. Joseph’s top priorities. We were amazed by the commitment of the school staff and the way the children found a second family within the halls of St. Joseph’s.”

Alice O’Brien, a sophomore majoring in business analytics, was moved by her interactions with the teachers.

On Purpose participants with students and staff of St. Joseph Mission 91��Ƶ.

“A common thread amongst all the schools was how many staff members did not foresee their future endeavors involving teaching,” said O’Brien. “Moreover, those same teachers assured us that God always leads you to the place in which you need to be.” Read Alice O’Brien’s personal reflection on her On Purpose experience here.

On Purpose participants also experienced the history and culture of the Indigenous communities, exploring the traditions of the Acoma people at the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum; engaging with Alex Seowtewa’s life-sized kachina mural, which blends Catholic and Zuni traditions; and attending Mass at San José de la Laguna Mission Church, which was built in 1699 and dedicated to Saint Joseph.

Processing and reflecting as a community

During these two experiences and in follow-up meetings after returning to campus, all of the On Purpose participants reflected on the question of what we owe each other as members of a community.

For junior Bjorn Mauritsen, a double major in political science and business, this experience prompted him to think deeply about how to express solidarity with others.

"While it certainly feels good to feel as though we're helping," he said, "getting bogged down in seeing ourselves as 'the helper' and those we are serving as 'the people who need help' prevents us from being present to experience their reality together. It's enough to allow them to share their lives with us and for us to join ourselves together with them in stories of tragedy and triumph." Read Bjorn Mauritsen’s personal reflection on his On Purpose experience here.

In conversation with group leaders, students discussed the importance of listening, relationship building, flexibility, and the gift of time—and how choosing to engage in heart-felt, authentic interactions is essential to becoming a force for good in the world.

ECG plans to create similar On Purpose immersion opportunities in the future. For more information, visit ethics.nd.edu/onpurpose.

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The Institute for Ethics and Common Good is at the heart of the Ethics Initiative, a University-wide effort to establish Notre Dame as a premier global destination for the study of ethics. Under the leadership of Meghan Sullivan, Ethics Initiative director and Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy, the Institute focuses on cross-disciplinary ethics research, undergraduate course development, the moral formation of its students and faculty, and engaging the public in meaningful dialogue around ethical issues.

Notre Dame receives Lilly Endowment grant to support development of faith-based frameworks for AI ethics

2024-10-10T11:00:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame has been awarded a $539,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support Faith-Based Frameworks for AI Ethics, a one-year planning project that will engage and build a network of leaders in higher education, technology and a diverse array of faith-based communities focused on developing faith-based ethical frameworks and applying them to emerging debates around artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI is a field of research aimed at developing and deploying software with the ability to rival human capacities for self-organized learning, creativity and generalized reasoning. This project will be led by the Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG).

“This is a pivotal moment for technology ethics,” said Meghan Sullivan, the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy and director of ECG and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative. “AGI is developing quickly and has the potential to change our economies, our systems of education and the fabric of our social lives. We believe that the wisdom of faith traditions can make a significant contribution to the development of ethical frameworks for AGI.

“This project will encourage broader dialogue about the role that concepts such as dignity, embodiment, love, transcendence and being created in the image of God should play in how we understand and use this technology. These concepts — at the bedrock of many faith-based traditions — are vital for how we advance the common good in the era of AGI.”

Notre Dame has the conviction that faith-based ethical frameworks are vital to the ethical development and deployment of these new technologies, Sullivan added. Faith-Based Frameworks for AI Ethics will seek to establish a unique and influential network of scholars, technology industry leaders and faith leaders to create, study and disseminate complementary faith-based ethical frameworks to meet this era of profound disruption.

This project will include asset mapping to identify and recruit key participants across the three sectors, focus groups to determine common faith-based and ethical commitments and priorities, and a landscape analysis to inform subsequent steps for coordinating participants and catalyzing this work. The project will culminate in a major conference in September 2025 that will focus on the most pressing faith-based issues relating to the proliferation of AGI and provide training and networking opportunities for leaders who attend.

“We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for this support, which will enable us to convene a diverse group of technology experts, scholars and religious leaders for important conversations about artificial general intelligence and all the ways it could impact our society,” said David Go, vice president and associate provost for academic strategy. “As a leading global Catholic research university, Notre Dame has a special obligation to address the most significant ethical questions of the day through scholarship, education and public engagement, and this conference will enable our University-wide Ethics Initiative to engage others in doing just that.”

The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good facilitates interdisciplinary research in foundational and applied ethics, coordinates projects that cross departments and units and supports ethics-related education and public engagement efforts. ECG is a signature element of the Ethics Initiative, which aims to establish Notre Dame as a premier global destination for the study of ethics, offering superb training for future generations of ethicists and moral leaders, a platform for engaging the Catholic moral tradition with other modes of inquiry and an opportunity to forge insights into some of the most significant ethical issues of our time.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

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

Transformed Institute for Ethics and the Common Good advances Notre Dame’s commitment to excellence in study of ethics

2024-07-25T10:30:00-04:00

The University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Advanced Study is now the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, launching its website today at ethics.nd.edu. The transformed, expanded institute will play an essential role in advancing the University-wide Ethics Initiative emerging from “Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework.”

“The world today is changing rapidly, and with those changes come a host of challenging ethical questions,” said Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy Meghan Sullivan, who directs both the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Ethics Initiative. “We need a place where people can weigh these questions, discern the good, and find the inspiration to keep our most fundamental values at the center of all the decisions we make. With its deep, complementary roots of faith and reason, the University of Notre Dame can be that place.”

Building on a rich history

Founded in 2008, the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) has worked to foster research focused on significant questions and enriched by interdisciplinary collaboration. More than 350 faculty, graduate students and undergraduates have served as NDIAS fellows, generating research and publications that advanced knowledge, inspired new undergraduate courses and opened channels of dialogue across disparate fields.

Building on this rich history, the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) will facilitate interdisciplinary research in foundational and applied ethics, coordinate projects that cross departments and units, and support ethics-related education and public engagement efforts.

It will continue its highly competitive and successful fellowship programs for faculty, graduate students and undergraduates, creating opportunities for fellows to develop cutting-edge ethics research and deepen personal formation.

With the support of a major John Templeton Foundation grant, the institute will expand its popular Signature Course Fellowship program. This program, which in the past has supported faculty at Notre Dame in developing undergraduate “signature courses” focused on student flourishing, will now be open to faculty at other colleges and universities who wish to learn from Notre Dame’s successful model and create similar courses to benefit students on their campuses.

Enhancing research endeavors

ECG will be the home of the new Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Center for Virtue Ethics, recently established in honor of University President Emeritus Father Jenkins. The Jenkins Center will support preeminent scholars whose research advances human flourishing in both moral and spiritual contexts, facilitate the development of undergraduate courses exploring topics such as justice and the common good, and deepen the ethical formation of Notre Dame students and faculty. The work of the Jenkins Center will bring renewed vigor to the study of virtue ethics, continuing the long history of Catholic thought leadership in this field.

The Notre Dame-IBM Technology Ethics Lab will now be a key element of the institute. The lab promotes broad-based, far-reaching interdisciplinary research, thought and policy leadership in artificial intelligence and other technology ethics by engaging with relevant stakeholders to examine real-world challenges and provide practical models and applied solutions for ethical technology design, development, and deployment. The lab is sponsored by IBM through a 10-year, $20 million investment.

As the institute grows, it will focus attention on other pillars of applied ethics, including environmental ethics and the ethics of business and governance.

In this work, the institute and its team will strive to fully integrate intellectual and moral development, guided by the vision of Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Supporting the Ethics Initiative

ECG is a signature element of the Ethics Initiative, one of several University-wide strategic efforts that will draw on expertise from multiple colleges, schools, centers and institutes to make the most meaningful contributions to questions of national and international concern.

The Ethics Initiative aims to establish Notre Dame as a premier global destination for the study of ethics, offering superb training for future generations of ethicists and moral leaders, a platform for engagement of the Catholic moral tradition with other modes of inquiry, and an opportunity to forge insights into some of the most significant ethical issues of our time.

To advance these goals, the initiative will make strategic hiring investments in key departments and area groups, grow opportunities in ethics for Notre Dame graduate students, and foster collaboration and coordination among the many departments and academic units on campus that focus on ethics issues.

“The launch of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good is an exciting milestone for the Ethics Initiative,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. “As the only formally religious institution in the Association of American Universities, Notre Dame has the capacity to make a unique and strongly needed contribution to understanding the ethical challenges we face today. The work of the institute, together with the related activities of the initiative and its many current and potential partners, will play an important role in advancing Notre Dame as a leading global Catholic research university and a powerful force for good in the world.”

Originally published by Laura Moran Walton at ethics.nd.edu on July 25, 2024.