The University of Notre Dames share of Fiesta Bowl revenues will be dedicated to three academic priorities, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Universitys president, announced today.

The estimated $14.5 million share will go toward undergraduate and graduate financial aid, library acquisitions and scientific instruments for the new Jordan Hall of Science that will open in mid-2006, Father Jenkins said.

Notre Dame will playOhioStatein the Fiesta Bowl inTempe,Ariz., on Jan. 2 as part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

Were, of course, pleased that our team has competed at such a high level this year and is being rewarded with this bowl opportunity, but were also very grateful that the funds from our participation will go to address such important needs for the academic mission of the University,Father Jenkins said.

He noted that over the past seven years the non-salary portions of the Universitys budget have been essentially flat in order to cope with economic pressures that have affected Notre Dame and many other colleges and universities.

These funds from the BCS are being made available at a very opportune time,he said.

Under the BCS system, Notre Dame, as an independent university, keeps its entire share of the bowl proceeds. Universities that are a part of a conference share their allotments. In future years, under a new BCS arrangement, Notre Dames share will be reduced to $4.5 million in years that it participates in the BCS, with a guaranteed payment of $1.3 million in years that it does not qualify. Under the existing system, Notre Dame receives no funds when it does not play in a BCS game.

The Fiesta Bowl revenue is the latest example of Notre Dame athletics supporting the academic priorities of the University.

Bowl game revenue has produced more than $69 million in the past 25 years. These funds, along with a substantial portion of the proceeds from the University’s television contract with NBC, have been used to support student financial aid, and together have provided more than 2,000 scholarships.

Notre Dames University Libraries include the Theodore M. Hesburgh Library and 10 other libraries on campus containing nearly 3 million volumes, more than 5,000 electronic titles, some 3 million microform units, and 21,000 audiovisual items. The Universitys most recent strategic plan calls for a commitment to building library collections that willbring the best students and faculty to Notre Dame and attract international scholars.

The Jordan Hall of Science is a 201,782-square-foot building under construction on the east side ofJuniper Road, northof theJoyceCenter. It will feature undergraduate laboratory space for the departments of chemistry, biochemistry, biology and physics, as well as two 250-seat lecture halls, a 150-seat multi-visualization room, an observatory, teaching labs, herbarium, greenhouse and departmental offices. It was underwritten with a leadership gift from University alumnus and Trustee John W.JayJordan II and is scheduled for completion next summer.

TopicID: 14825

Raymond H. Siegfried II, 62, a longtime member of the University of Notre Dames Board of Trustees and one of the most generous benefactors in the Universitys history, died Thursday (Oct. 6) in Tulsa, Okla.

A 1965 graduate of Notre Dame, Siegfried was chairman of the board of the NORDAM Group, an international aerospace manufacturer.

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Universitys president, said,The Notre Dame family today lost one of its most cherished members, a man whose wisdom, leadership and generosity will be felt on this campus for all time.We will miss his warm friendship and will be inspired by the courage he showed while tested by medical challenges in the past few years.Along with our prayers, our deepest sympathy goes to Milann, his wife, and all the Siegfried family.

For the past several years, the Notre Dame trustee had been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrigs Disease), but maintained an active schedule, including regular visits to the Notre Dame campus.

Siegfried, Milann, and their family underwrote the Siegfried Building in the Mendoza College of Business; were the benefactors of Siegfried Hall, a mens residence; and established the Ray and Milann Siegfried Chair in Entrepreneurial 91��Ƶ, which is held by Carolyn Y. Woo, Gillen Dean of the Mendoza College of Business.

Until very recently, Siegfried would annually host a dinner for the men of Siegfried Hall and reveled in the halls success in intramural sports.

In May 1995, Siegfried received an honorary doctor of law degree from Notre Dame at the Universitys 150th Commencement Exercises, and in May 2002, he received an honorary degree from the University of Portland.

He and Milann were honored in 2000 with a humanitarian award from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. And the same year, the University of Tulsas College of Business Administration gave him the Business Person of the Year Award.He was inducted into Tulsa Historical Societys Tulsa Hall of Fame in October 2002.

Last year, the International Astronomical Union (IAU)named an asteroid in honor ofSiegfried. The idea to honor Siegfried came from Terrence Rettig, professor of physics at Notre Dame, for support the Notre Dame trustee had given to Rettigs curriculum and the professors desire to recognize his courage in coping with his illness.

Siegfried has served on the board of directors for the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Oklahoma State University at Tulsa, University of Tulsa, American Boxing Federation, University of Portland, Tulsa Aerospace Alliance, Tulsa Community Foundation and the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless. He also served on the National Review Board of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Ray and Milann Siegfried have six children, Tray, Hastings, Meredith, Milannie, Terrell and Bailey.

A Rosary service will be held Sunday (Oct. 9) at 8 p.m. in St. Rita Chapel, Cascia Hall, 220 South Yorktown, Tulsa.Funeral services will be held at Holy Family Cathedral on Monday at 10 a.m. at Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. 8th St., Tulsa.On Tuesday at 2 p.m., a Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus, followed by the Rite of Committal in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Notre Dame.At 4 p.m. the University will hold a reception with the Siegfried family in the atrium and Siegfried Building of the Mendoza College of Business.All friends of the family are invited to attend.

TopicID: 13823

The University of Notre Dame is often a hot topic on bookshelves, and this fall is no exception with at least three new volumes hitting stores.

The Universitys most recent former president, Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., has written a book of legends and memories that he has gathered during his more than four decades of residence on campus.Monks Notre Dame,(184 pages,UniversityofNotre Dame Press, $15) life includes humor, nostalgia and keen perspectives on campus life.Monk, using the nickname he has carried for most of his life, also includes tributes to many of his brother priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross, including his predecessor, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.

Monk, who completed 18 years as president on June 30, 2005, wrote that he feltI had a responsibility to share with others the many tales passed on to meduring his years at Notre Dame.He also felt he had valuable insights into individuals, such as Father Hesburgh who had played significant roles in the history of the place.The topics are as diverse as remembering Junior Parent Weekends, winning the national championship in womens basketball in 2001, and a funny story about bringing a student to the health center late one night, and not being recognized as president of the University, an episode that bothered him not at all but brought a profuse letter of apology from a health center official the following day.

The Spirit of Notre Dameby Jim Langford and Jeremy Langford, father and son, with foreward by Regis Philbin, (280 pages, Doubleday, $21.95) is a compilation of contemplations and theories, some previously published but most of them original to this book, concerning the nature, origins and characteristics of the force embodied in the books title.A diverse group, ranging from University presidents to legendary Notre Dame intellectuals to rank and file alums, describe their affections for the place and attempt to articulate something about its essential characters.There are some nice glimpses of Notre Dame history included as well.Both Langfords are alums, as are many others in their extended family.Jim was a longtime director of theUniversityofNotre Dame Pressand Jeremy is executive editor of religious studies for Rowman&Littlefield publishers and its Catholic imprint, Sheed&Ward.

Finally, there isTouchdown Jesus: Faith and Fandom at Notre Dameby Scott Eden (208 pages, Simon and Schuster, $23) which will arrive at bookstores in October.The author is a 1997 graduate of Notre Dame and a free lance writer, living inChicago.The book encompasses two major themes, the passion that many Americans have for Notre Dame football, whether they attended the school or not, and a history of the recent struggles of the team, including the controversial firing of Coach Tyrone Willingham in November 2004.

TopicID: 13663

It was always presumed that Hosni Mubarak would easily win reelection as the president ofEgyptin Wednesdays polling, an election that the Bush administration has praised as a first step toward democracy. But thefar more significant outcome of the election is that over the last year a strong and significant opposition movement against Mubarak went public, according to Geneive Abdo, a fellow in the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ at the University of Notre Dame.Abdo is the author of “No God But God:Egyptand the Triumph of Islam” (Oxford University Press, 2000)

Moderate Islamic activists are the backbone of this campaign,she said.

For the first time since the 1970s, thousands of Egyptians of all political and religious persuasions joined forces in street protests demanding political reform and an end to the regime. While a fractured opposition had operated behind the scenes for many years, the election inspired secularists, leftists, and Islamists to take the unprecedented step of coordinating their campaign against Mubaraks predictable re-election.

Abdo added:The demonstrations that gathered the most protestors were those organized by theMuslim Brotherhood and supporters of an Islamic group that split from the Brotherhood, called al Wasat, Arabic for the ‘centerThe protests are significant because they illustrate the power of Islamic leaders to mobilize tens of thousands of Egyptians who are usually too terrified to confront zealous riot police. Demonstrations inEgyptare officially banned, according to emergency law that has been in effect shortly after Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. In the past, the Brotherhood and activists in al Wasat never confronted the regime directly. But now the Islamists have a strategy. The Sept. 7 presidential poll is but a dress rehearsal for parliamentary elections scheduled for November — polls in which the Islamists are likely to show their widespread popular support.

* Media contact: * Geneive Abdo, John B. Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, 574-631-6970.

TopicID: 13162

Whats on the AGENDA?

Thats a question asked often on campus with the launch last week of Notre Damesnew, unified, Web-based calendar system that lists events for all segments of the University community.

Not to be confused with Corporate Time, which is for personal schedules, AGENDA resides at and is the one place where students, faculty, staff and the general public can read about all the major events scheduled on campus.

Agenda organizes events by category, such as Arts and Entertainment, as well as by day, week, month and even year.

As great a benefit as AGENDA represents for the University community, it is a particular breakthrough for event planners, who have had no systematic way of learning if the timing of their events conflicted with one another.

In fact, it was a group of these planners, led by Dianne Phillips of the Erasmus Institute, who petitioned the Office of News and Information in January to act on this longstanding need.

AGENDA is the third generation of an all-University calendar. The original electronic events calendar, launched in the late 1990s, carried primarily academic activities and excluded student activities. The second generation, launched by the Office of Student Affairs and calledUnder the Dome,welcomed all events but was most robust in student activities.

Merging academic, administrative and student activities at a universal site became a goal of members of the calendar planning committee for two reasons. First, they shared a determination that a single, visible, multipurpose calendar would afford all event planners a one-stop calendar experience. In recent years, numerous on-campus groups had established their own calendars, requiring planners to post to multiple sites.

Planners also wanted visitors to the Notre Dame Web site to be able to see the rich cross section of academic and student activities that comprises campus life.

AGENDA is powered by software purchased by the Office of Public Affairs and Communication, and the project is cosponsored by the Office of Information Technologies. The new system allows various units of the University such as theCollegeofArtsand Letters, Student Activities, and the Department of Human Resources to use the calendar system for their own promotional purposes and audiences while contributing to the larger pool of events information.

An event planner for a campus organization can enter an event on his or her own calendar that will thenroll upto the AGENDA homepage. The Universitys new calendar editor, Jennifer Laiber, will oversee the listing of events, and other events will remain on the varioussubcalendarsof the system.

Laiber says,Weve gathered a great group of knowledgeable people from across the University to help design the calendar and give us advice on its policies. Theyve added their views from a technical aspect as well as what faculty, staff and students want as end-users.

The design/policy team members are Bob Guthrie, OIT project manager; John Buysse, OIT senior systems engineer; Jim Gosz, ND Web Group web designer; John Nunemaker, ND Web Group web developer; Peggy Hnatusko, student activities assistant director for programs; Mary Hamann, Mendoza College of Business director of communications; and Patricia Sperry, OIT manager of web developer services.

TopicID: 13102

Whats on the AGENDA?

This will be a question asked often on campus beginning next month when Notre Dame inaugurates a new, unified, Web-based calendar system that will list events for all segments of the University community.

Not to be confused with Corporate Time, which is for personal schedules, AGENDA will reside at Agenda.nd.edu and be the one place where students, faculty, staff and the general public can read about all the major events scheduled on campus.

Agenda will organize events by category, such as Arts and Entertainment, as well as by day, week, month and even year.

As great a benefit as AGENDA represents for the University community, it is a particular breakthrough for event planners, who have had no systematic way of learning if the timing of their events conflicted with one another.

In fact, it was a group of these planners, led by Dianne Phillips of the Erasmus Institute, who back in January petitioned the Office of News and Information to act on this longstanding need.

AGENDA is the third generation of an all-University calendar. The original electronic events calendar, launched in the late 1990s, carried primarily academic activities and excluded student activities. The second generation, launched by the Office of Student Affairs and calledUnder the Dome,welcomed all events but was most robust in student activities.

Merging academic, administrative and student activities at a universal site became a goal of members of the calendar planning committee for two reasons. First, they shared a determination that a single, visible, multipurpose calendar would afford all event planners a one-stop calendar experience. In recent years, numerous on-campus groups had established their own calendars, requiring planners to post to multiple sites.Planners also wanted visitors to the Notre Dame Web site to be able to see the rich cross section of academic and student activities that comprises campus life.

AGENDA is powered by software purchased by the Office of Public Affairs and Communication, and the project is cosponsored by the Office of Information Technologies. The new system allows various units of the University such as theCollegeofArtsand Letters, Student Activities, and the Department of Human Resources to use the calendar system for their own promotional purposes and audiences while contributing to the larger pool of events information.An event planner for a campus organization can enter an event on his or her own calendar that will thenroll upto the Agenda homepage. The Universitys new calendar editor, Jennifer Laiber, will oversee the listing of events on the Agenda homepage. Other events will remain on the varioussubcalendarsof the system.

Laiber says,Weve gathered a great group of knowledgeable people from across the University to help design the calendar and give us advice on its policies. Theyve added their views from a technical aspect as well as what faculty, staff and students want as end-users.

The design/policy team members are Bob Guthrie, OIT project manager; John Buysse, OIT senior systems engineer; Jim Gosz, ND Web Group web designer; John Nunemaker, ND Web Group web developer; Peggy Hnatusko, student activities assistant director for programs; Mary Hamann, Mendoza College of Business director of communications; and Patricia Sperry, OIT manager of web developer services.

An exact date for AGENDA to golivewill be announced soon.

TopicID: 12864

Christopher J. Bellairs, chief financial officer of Expedia Travel Group and a 1983 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, will become assistant vice president for university relations and associate executive director of Notre Dames Alumni Association, it was announced today by Charles F. Lennon, associate vice president for university relations and executive director of the Alumni Association.

Lennon said,I am excitedto have a person of Chris’ ability and experience joining our team. With his outstanding credentials and wide-ranging experience, he will help make our Alumni Association into an even more dynamic organization that is so integral to the University’s mission.His overseeing the daily operations of the Alumni Association will allow me to enhance our relationships and communications with alumni worldwide.Together, I think we’ll be a great team.

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., University president, said,Chrisexperience in business will be invaluable to the Alumni Association.Were fortunate to have him returning to Notre Dame, but this is evidence not only of the strong loyalty of our alums, but also the Universitys ability to attract top-level talent.

Bellairs, who earned a bachelors degree in history at Notre Dame, also earned a master of business administration degree from theUniversityofNorth Carolinain 1991.He has a wide range of experience in the business world.Before his current post at Expedia inBellevue,Wash., he was a group vice president and division CFO at Pepsico.Over an eight-year period, he held various other positions at the international food and beverage corporation before joining Expedia in 2004.He also spent five years with Procter&Gamble.A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served five years, rising to the rank of captain.

I am very excited to be coming back to Notre Dame to join Chuck Lennon’s team at the Alumni Association,Bellairs said.I look forward to undertaking and leading new initiatives at the Alumni Association that will make Notre Dame even more accessible to everyone who loves Our Lady’s University,he added.

The Alumni Association, founded in 1868, provides services to the more than 107,000 Notre Dame alumni around the world and helps coordinate the activities of all the alumni clubs.It also oversees the Universitys Eck Visitors Center on campus.

Bellairs and his wife, Jeannie, have two sons, Nigel, 10, and Graham, 9.He is expected to begin his duties late next month.

TopicID: 12482

Thomas G. Burish, president of Washington and Lee University and a distinguished researcher in the field of clinical psychology, was elected provost of the University of Notre Dame today by its Board of Trustees, acting on the recommendation of Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., University president. Burish also wasappointed professor of psychology.p. Burish, 55, a Notre Dame alumnus, has been president of one of the nations top liberal arts colleges since July 2002. Prior to joining Washington and Lee in Lexington, Va., Burish was the longest-serving provost in the history of Vanderbilt University. He served as provost at the nationally renowned research university from 1993 to 2002.p. Known as a ground-breaking researcher, award-winning teacher and gifted leader, Burish exemplifies the excellence and humanity to which Notre Dame is dedicated. Through his work, Burish has helpedtens of thousands of cancer patients better cope with the emotional and physical pain of this disease,according to John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. Burish currently serves as chair of the American Cancer Societys national board of directors.p. As provost and second ranking officer of the University, he will exercise responsibility for all academic matters. He will be the fourth person to hold the office since it was established in 1970. He succeeds Nathan O. Hatch, who earlier this month became president of Wake Forest University.p. Father Jenkins and his search committee have done a marvelous job in finding such a distinguished scholar for this important role, and we take great pride in his being a Notre Dame alum as well,commented Patrick McCartan, chairman of the Board of Trustees.p. Notre Dame is extremely fortunate to have in Tom Burish an administrator of remarkable experience and accomplishment, a distinguished scholar, and a person who understands and is committed to the Universitys distinctive mission,Father Jenkins said.As I begin my presidency, I am truly excited to work with Tom to lead Notre Dame to be a Catholic institution that is recognized as one of the pre-eminent universities in the world.p. Father Jenkins noted that Burish is recognized as a university leader who can move an institution forward.He has a track record of promoting an interdisciplinary culture within institutions, and is a great champion of the academic core,he said.p. Burish said Notre Dames Catholic character and mission played a significant role in his decision to return to his alma mater.p. Father Jenkinsarticulation of Notre Dames plan to continue its quest to be both a great research university and a great Catholic university, a vision supported enthusiastically by the members of the search committee and by trustees with whom I spoke, was exhilarating and compelling,he said.p. Addressing the difficulty of leaving Washington and Lee, he noted that McCartan had remarked to him,Welcome back home.p. Burish added,Although I am fully aware that Notre Dame has changed and improved in significant ways since I graduated many years ago, Pat nonetheless captured exactly what I was feeling. It is wonderful to be home.p. A native of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Burish was graduated from Notre Dame, summa cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1972. He earned his master’s degree in psychology from the University of Kansas in 1975 and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Kansas a year later.p. While at Kansas, Burish received the David Shulman Memorial Award of Excellence in Clinical Psychology. He moved in 1976 to Vanderbilt, becoming a full professor in 1986. He won Vanderbilt’s prestigious Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 1980, and served as chair of the Department of Psychology from 1984 to 1986. Burish became Vanderbilt’s provost in 1993. He is the co-author or co-editor of four books, and has contributed to more than 16 other books and written more than 60 journal articles.p. In accord with Notre Dame’s Academic Articles, Father Jenkins chaired the search committee elected by the University’s Academic Council and consulted with the committee before presenting his recommendation to the Trustees.p. Burish and his wife, Pamela, have two sons, Mark, a 2002 graduate of Princeton University, and now an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt, and Brent, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological science from Notre Dame in 2004 and a master of business administration from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business in May.

TopicID: 12302

Though the Class of 2005 has barely been launched from the University of Notre Dame, an outstanding group of first-year students will descend on the campus in a few weeks, bringing new spirit to old traditions and academic credentials to match any class that has gone before it.

The Class of 2009, which arrives Aug. 19-20, joins the Universitys new president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., who takes office July 1 and will be formally inaugurated Sept. 23.So it is a time of anticipation and new beginnings.The class will be welcomed by a new dean of First Year 91��Ƶ, Hugh Page, formerly associate dean and director of undergraduate studies in theCollegeofArtsand Letters.And, oh yes, theres a new football coach, Charlie Weis, who leads the Fighting Irish onto the field Sept. 3, for the season opener at theUniversityofPittsburgh.

The incoming first-year class currently numbers 1,985 from 11,318 applicants, according to Dan Saracino, assistant provost for enrollment.In a similar ratio to other recent classes, it is 53 percent men and 47 percent women.Among other characteristics, it is 84 percent Catholic, 22 percent minority, and 3 percent from outside theU.S.Twenty-two percent are the sons and daughters of at least one parent who is a Notre Dame alumnus.

The average SAT score for this class is 1,375, the average ACT score is 31, and the average class rank was in the top 6 percent.

Saracino says,This class impresses me with an academic profile among the strongest in our history; yet, an amazing wealth of diversity in experiences and individual talents to be shared with the entire campus community come fall.

Other details of the Class of 2009 include:

• 6 percent were Eagle Scouts or Girl Scout Gold Award winners

• 7 percent were student government or student body presidents

• 46 percent were involved in their high schools government

• 13 percent were editors of a high school publication

• 51 percent were active in music, art, drama or dance

• 84 percent were involved in community service

• 72 percent lettered in at least one varsity sport

• 17 percent have at least one parent who is an educator.

As if to put its best foot forward for the new president, new coach and the brilliant class of first-year students, the campus is bustling with construction and renovations.A new coat of 23.9-karat gold is being applied to the famed Golden Dome; a new, ceremonial entrance to campus is under construction on Notre Dame Avenue, new football offices and player facilities in the Guglielmino Family Athletics Center The Gug will soon be occupied; and Dillon Hall, the largest residence hall on campus, is getting a complete renovation in time for the opening of the academic year.

Ongoing projects, not to be completed this year, include Jordan Hall, a $70 million science center, which will open in May 2006, and the closing ofJuniper Roadand straightening ofAngela Boulevard/Edison Road, the Angela/Edison project being completed this year while the Juniper closing is scheduled for 2006.

As with the undergraduate student body, which changes over one-quarter of itself each year, the campus rarely remains unchanged for long.

TopicID: 12051

UniversityofNotre Dame Professor Robert Schmuhlis a contributor toThe Press,a new book published by the Oxford University Press as a joint project of The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands (Rancho Mirage,Calif.) and the Annenberg Public Policy Center of theUniversityofPennyslvania.

Schmuhl, professor of American studies and director of Notre Dames John W. Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics&Democracy, is the lead author, with Robert C. Picard, of a chapter titledThe Marketplace of Ideas.The 473-page book is the product of a series of meetings by an international panel of journalism professionals and scholars, initiated in 2003, to examine the historical and contemporary role of the press in American democracy.Picard is Hamrin Professor of Media Economics and director of the Media, Management and Transition Centre at theJönköpingUniversityinSweden.

The chapter by Schmuhl and Picard examines the history of themarketplacemetaphor for intellectual debate and traces the evolving role of the American media.

The authors note that themarketplace metaphor is somewhat dubious in the modern media environmentfor a number of reasons.Todays reality…divides people into idea and information haves and have-nots,they write,with such factors as economic status and educational background significant to whether a citizen has the wherewithal to participate fully . . .

p. Schmuhl and Picard are members of the Institutions of American Democracy project commissioned by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands to enhance understanding of the nature and function of five key institutions: the legislative branch, the executive branch, the judicial branch, the press and the public schools. Each commission is producing a scholarly volume and other educational materials to foster civic thought and action.

The book was edited by Geneva Overholser of the University of Missouri 91��Ƶ of Journalism and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

TopicID: 11803

Responding to concerns expressed by graduating seniors, the University of Notre Dame has arranged for scaffolding immediately surrounding the famed Golden Dome on the Main Building to be lowered a few days before the May 15 Commencement exercises, it was announced today (April 8) by John Affleck-Graves, executive vice president.

Though we previously were told this could not be done within the time restraints for completing the regilding of the Dome and other structural repairs, we have worked very hard over the past two weeks with our scaffolding contractor, Safway Construction of Chicago, to explore every possibility,Affleck-Graves said.Fortunately, we have now reached an accommodation.

The scaffolding will be lowered just to the bottom of the Dome itself.Some seniors had objected that the construction work would ruin opportunities for traditional Commencement photos with the Dome as the backdrop.Affleck-Graves said he had met several times with Adam Istvan, student body president, and Darrell Scott, senior class president, in an attempt to work out a compromise.

Adam and Darrell have been very helpful and constructive, and I appreciate their efforts,Affleck-Graves said.We, as administrators, have empathized with their concerns, but until this week we simply could not find a practical solution.We appreciate the willingness of the contractors to think outside the box and come up with this solution, which will still allow for the project to be completed before possible frost closes our window of opportunity in the early fall.

This is a great day for the seniors and for the University administration,Istvan said.Im very excited for the family members who have never been to the University and have never seen the Dome before.

Scott said,Although hopes were low at one point, I would like to wholeheartedly thank fellow seniors for keeping faith that an arrangement would work.Both Istvan and Scott complimented Affleck-Graves for his cooperation.

The project includes repainting and repairing of the base of the Dome as well as the statue of the Virgin Mary.Other interior, structural repairs will be made to preserve the integrity of the structure.

Later this spring, work also will begin on refinishing and repairing the spires of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Affleck-Graves said negotiations with Safway will make it possible to accomplish the temporary lowering of the scaffolding and still complete the entire projectwithin our budget.He added,The contractor worked with us long and hard on this, and we appreciate their cooperation.

There will besome riskof not accomplishing the project by its mid-September deadline, said Affleck-Graves, but he said it wastolerable.

The regilding depends on ideal weather conditions.Excessive heat and humidity make the work impossible, as do windy conditions.The regilding itself will be done by Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, Wis.

Standing 197 feet above the ground at its highest point, the Golden Dome was added to theMainBuildingin 1882 and has been regilded on nine previous occasions:1886, 1891, 1904, 1913, 1928, 1934, 1948, 1961 and 1988. The regilding process involves the application of 3,500 square feet of 23.9-karat gold leaf.

TopicID: 10585

Jannifer Crittendon, most recently assistant athletics director for student development at the University of Notre Dame, has been named director of the Universitys Office of Institutional Equity.

Crittendon, who assumed the post March 21, will be responsible for furthering diversity initiatives at Notre Dame, particularly in faculty hiring.She also will be responsible for preparing the Universitys affirmative action reports, handlingdiscrimination claims, and overseeing the Universitys three ombudspersons for sexual harassment and racial harassment.Crittendon previously served as a sexual harassment ombudsperson at Notre Dame.

We are extremely fortunate that Jannifer will be leading the Office of Institutional Equity,said University President (Rev.) Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., to whom the office reports.I have every confidence that she will move us forward in our ongoing efforts to diversify our community and to provide fair treatment to everyone.

In her athletics post, Crittendon worked at providing a balanced Notre Dame experience for student-athletes, focusing on five key areas: academic excellence, athletic success, career preparation, community involvement and personal development.Prior to joining the athletics department, she served as director of the Diversity Program in the Mendoza College of Business.

Before coming to Notre Dame in 1995, Crittendon was co-director for facilities management at Indiana University-South Bend (IUSB).Prior experience included supervisory positions with Memorial Health System inSouth Bendand U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Contracts Administrative Services, also inSouth Bend.

Crittendon was graduated from Indiana University-South Bend with a bachelors degree in business administration in 1989 and received her master of public affairs degree from IUSB in 1995.She is currently matriculating toward a doctorate in education atAndrewsUniversityinBerrien,Mich.

The Office of Institutional Equity was created in 2001 to assist the University in achieving its mission with respect to diversity among the Notre Dame community.The office is located in 414 Grace Hall and has a comprehensive Web site at .

TopicID: 10284

Sure its hard work being thepublic editorof the Chicago Tribune, but thats not why Don Wycliff is starting each week by rising at 4 a.m. at his home inEvanston,Ill.Hes allowing for the drive to Notre Dame to teach a three-hour weekly class in media criticism at 9.30 a.m. on Mondays this semester.

As public editor, Wycliff functions as the readersrepresentative for theMidwests leading newspaper.A 1969 graduate of Notre Dame and former chair of the advisory council for theCollegeofArtsand Letters, he started teaching in January as part of the Gallivan Program for Journalism, Ethics and Democracy.His seminar class meetsin the new Hammes Mowbray Hall that also houses the new campus post office and Notre Dame Security Police.

So, Don, hows it going so far?

He describes the experience asstressful.Certainly not a new experience for one whose job includes listening to the complaints ofChicago-area readers every workday.

Teaching, Ive found, is tough work if you aim to do it well,Wycliff noted.Every week I feel as if its opening night on Broadway.

As a one-time editorial writer for The New York Times, he knows Broadway as well as the Great Midway.After leaving the Times in 1990, he joined the Tribune, where he served as editor of the Tribunes editorial page for nine years, before assuming the public editors role in July 2000.During his time leading the editorial writers of the Tribune, the papers editorial page won one Pulitzer Prize and was a finalist for another.

Robert Schmuhl, chair of the Gallivan Program and professor of American studies, is pleased to have someone with Wycliffs professional credentials.

We find that students thrive with a mix of academic professors and the adjuncts who come directly from professional experiences,he said.Those connections also help in guiding the students toward professional internships, Schmuhl said.

Wycliff, who also has served on the Gallivanadvisory board, approached Schmuhl last year about possibly teaching.Ive reached the stage in life – 58 yearswhen a person feels he or she has something useful to pass along to younger people,Wycliff said.I guess Im finding out whether thats true.

He said the experience improves with time.Its getting a bit easier as I become better acquainted with my students, and they do more writing, and I am able to diagnose their needs and try to respond to them,he said.

Wycliff finds he can blend hisday jobwith the classroom responsibilities.I send along (to students), via e-mail, interesting articles that I encounter.I also use phone and e-mail encounters with readers as classroom material.

Asked for his early impressions of his students, Wycliff said,The students are without exception very bright.I wish they were more assertive, more questioning and argumentative,but he allows as how 9.30 a.m. on Monday might not be the best time to find those attributes.

The Gallivan Program for Journalism, Ethics and Democracy was established under Schmuhls direction in 1997.Endowed by the family of alumnus John W. Gallivan, after an initial grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the program blends professional training with examination of social, political, economic and ethical factors that affect journalism.

TopicID: 10002

Hilary Crnkovich, an executive in the Chicago office of public relations and public affairs firm Burson-Marsteller, was elected vice president for public affairs and communication at the University of Notre Dame by the Board of Trustees at its winter meeting on campus today.

Crnkovich (pronounced Ser-ko-vich), who will assume her duties March 2, brings to the post a wide variety of experience in marketing, including strategic positioning, crisis management, lobbying, communications, Internet strategies and media relations over a 20-year career.

“Notre Dame is fortunate to attract individuals at the top of their professional careers and certainly thats the case with Hilary,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Universitys president-elect. “Her credentials are impeccable and they match our needs in the very challenging media and marketing climate of the Internet era.”

He added, “Hilary also has a deep understanding of our academic mission, our commitment to maintaining the Catholic character of the University, and the wide-ranging constituencies that constitute the Notre Dame family.”

Though an alumna of the University of Michigan, Crnkovichs husband, Chris, is a 1978 graduate of Notre Dame.

Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., the Universitys president who will turn the office over to Father Jenkins on July 1, said, “I welcome Hilary to our administration, and, while our time together will be brief, I look forward to taking advantage of her expertise in the months ahead.” Father Malloy is retiring after 18 years as president.

“I am extremely excited and honored to be coming to Notre Dame and be associated with the finest Catholic university in the world,” Crnkovich said. “I hope to positively influence the way the world sees and experiences the University in the coming years.”

Crnkovich has been at Burson-Marsteller since 2002, but had previously worked for the firm from 1989 to 1993. From 1993 to 2002, Crnkovich was a partner in Chicago-based Designkitchen, an award-winning print and Web site design firm. Earlier in her career, she served as senior account executive at The Earle Palmer Brown Companies of Bethesda, Md., and Philadelphia, from 1986 to 1989. Over the course of her career, she has worked on a global basis with clients ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 conglomerates. Her accounts also have included not-for-profit organizations and quasi-governmental units, such as the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

She is active in the Chicago community with organizations such as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicagos Associate Board and the Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids (PEAK). “I am looking forward to being actively involved in the community of South Bend,” she said.

The Public Affairs and Communication division, which Crnkovich will oversee, includes the University offices of marketing, media relations, community relations, web and print design, photography, video, internal communications, and Notre Dame Magazine. She succeeds J. Roberto Gutiérrez, who stepped down last month.

Crnkovich earned her bachelors degree in political science from Michigan in 1983 and later studied graphic design and fine arts at the Parsons 91��Ƶ of Design in New York City.

TopicID: 9384

John W. “Jay” Jordan II, a 1969 alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and a member of its Board of Trustees, is making a $40 million gift to the University, it was announced today at the annual winter meeting of the Trustees on campus.

The gift by Jordan, the latest in a series of donations to Notre Dame by the Chicago-based businessman, is the second largest ever received by the University and establishes Jordan as the most generous benefactor in Notre Dame history. The purpose of the gift is as yet undesignated.

Jordan is also the principal benefactor for the $70 million Jordan Hall of Science, currently under construction on the eastern edge of the campus.

Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., president of the University, said, “This is an extraordinary gift from a man whose generosity will forever be a legendary part of Notre Dames heritage.”

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., who in July will succeed Father Malloy, noted the past gifts by Jordan and said, “Jays unselfish devotion to his alma mater is remarkable. The commitment and insight that he brings to our Board of Trustees is a source of inspiration to all of us at the University. He can take great comfort in considering the generations of Notre Dame students who will reap the benefits of his contributions in so many ways.”

The surprise announcement of the gift at the Board of Trusteesmeeting in McKenna Hall was greeted with prolonged applause and expressions of gratitude.

Jordan is the founder of the Jordan Company (TJC), a private investment firm that acquires, manages and builds companies for the TJC partnership account, and is chairman and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based holding company Jordan Industries Inc.

Jordan Hall, for which ground was broken in November 2003, is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2006. It will include 40 undergraduate laboratories for biology, chemistry and physics; two 250-seat lecture halls; a 150-seat multimedia lecture hall; two classrooms; 22 faculty offices; offices for preprofessional (pre-med) studies; and a greenhouse, herbarium and observatory. Jordan previously funded construction of the Jordan Auditorium in Notre Dames Mendoza College of Business and has played a leadership role in supporting numerous other initiatives on campus. He is chair of the Board of TrusteesInvestment Committee, which oversees the University endowment, and a former chair of the Finance Committee.

Jordan was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1993. Previously, he was a member of the Advisory Council for the College of Business, serving as its chair for four years.

Two of Jordans children have earned undergraduate degrees at Notre Dame. John W. Jordan III was graduated from the Mendoza College of Business in 2001 with a degree in finance. Daughter Jennifer was graduated from the College of Arts and Letters in 2003 with a degree in Film, Television and Theatre.

TopicID: 9387

Nathan O. Hatch, provost of the University of Notre Dame since 1996, will become the president of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., on July 1. His election by the Wake Forest board of trustees was announced this afternoon by Murray C. Greason Jr., chair of the board and chair of the Presidential Search Committee.

Hatch, 58, the Andrew V. Tackes Professor of History, is the third person to serve as Notre Dames provost since the position was established in 1970. The provost is the Universitys second ranking officer and, at the direction of the president, exercises overall responsibility for the academic enterprise.He had been elected the Universitys vice president for graduate studies and research in 1989 and joined the faculty in 1975.

Notre Dames academic articles specify a process for choosing a new provost.The president of the University asks the Academic Council to form a committee composed of five of its elected faculty members and one of its student members to assist in the process.The president chairs the committee that receives nominations from the faculty.Additional nominations may be received directly by the president and the University Trustees.

The president consults with the elected faculty members of the Academic Council concerning all serious candidates and then reports the results of the consultation to the Trustees, along with a personal recommendation.The Trustees elect the new provost.Notre Dames president, Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C. said the president-elect, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., who will take office on July 1, will chair this committee.

“It has been an immense pleasure and privilege to work with so many colleagues at Notre Dame to advance this university as a superb Catholic center of learning,” Hatch said. "I take great pleasure that today Notre Dame is stronger both in research and teaching, in diversity and Catholic mission, in arts and sciences and in the professional schools.

“I have been privileged to work with so many talented faculty, academic leaders, and committed administrators across the University.In coming months, there is still much to accomplish to strengthen academic life at Notre Dame and to prepare for the important transition to President-elect John Jenkins.”

Hatch, who would have completed a second five-year term as provost in 2006, said, “This is a wrenching decision given the deep ties and great affection that we share for so many friends and colleagues here. We are grateful for the support we have received over the years. We have had a great life at a marvelous institution.We love Notre Dame and our belief in Notre Dame’s critical mission could not be stronger.”

In making the announcement at Wake Forest, Greason said, “It was clear from the moment we identified him as a prospective candidate that Dr. Hatch did not simply possess the qualities and experience we were seeking, but that he is a genuine role model of the teacher-scholar, a highly valued ideal at Wake Forest.”

During his tenure as provost, Hatch focused on three areas: the pursuit of outstanding faculty; the revitalization of undergraduate education, including the creation of the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning and new opportunities in off-campus and international studies; and the enhancement of academic centers of excellence, including the Keough Institute for Irish 91��Ƶ, the Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ, the Keck Center for Transgene Research, and the Center for Nanoscience and Technology.

He made a large number of major academic appointments, including the deans of engineering, arts and letters, the Mendoza College of Business, science, the Law 91��Ƶ, and architecture, the director of libraries, and the assistant provost for enrollment. In addition, he has played an integral role in enhancing Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame through the establishment of the Erasmus Institute, a major center for scholarship informed by Catholic thought.

While provost, Hatch has overseen a 120 percent increase in funds received for sponsored research to a total of more than $73 million in the 2003-04 academic year and a 37 percent increase in full-time faculty to 1,194, also for 2003-04.

Father Malloy, Notre Dames president, said, “It has been my pleasure to work with Nathan for many years, first in his capacity as vice president of graduate studies and research and, more recently as provost.During this time he has become a trusted and good friend.Nathan is a person of deep faith and strong academic achievement.I have come to admire his integrity and high moral standards, his skill as an articulate spokesperson for the University, his capacity for building consensus, and his ability to create a productive and supportive work environment.He and his wonderful wife, Julie, have been a great gift to Notre Dame.I join all of their colleagues and friends here in wishing them well as they take on new challenges and opportunities at Wake Forest University.”

Father Jenkins, who served with Hatch for four years as an associate provost, said, “Notre Dame owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Nathan for years of truly distinguished service to the University.He is a scholar of the first rank, who, as an administrator, has consistently shown a commitment to excellence and an ability to identify and attract outstanding scholars and academic leaders. He has tirelessly fostered the University’s distinctive Catholic identity, and under his leadership Notre Dame has made remarkable progress.”

Father Jenkins added, “I am personally grateful to Nathan, for he first hired me in an administrative post and was always a wise, humane, and nurturing supervisor from whom I learned much.Along with his wife, Julie, he has been an invaluable ambassador for the University.Nathan and Julie are dear friends, and we will miss them a great deal.We wish them every success in their exciting new endeavor.”

Wake Forest, founded in 1834, is a private doctoral research university. Although it has a Baptist heritage, it has been self-governing since the 1980s. Its total enrollment for the fall of 2004 was 6,504. Thomas K. Hearn Jr. has been president since 1983 and is retiring. Hatch will be Wake Forests 13th president.

By appointment of President Clinton, Hatch is a member of the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-person advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Appointed to the Tackes Chair in 1999, Hatch regularly is cited as one of the most influential scholars in the study of the history of religion in America. His book, “The Democratization of American Christianity,” was chosen in a survey of 2,000 historians and sociologists as one of the two most important books in the study of American religion.

As vice president for graduate studies and research, Hatch instilled a vision of “small but superb” graduate programs that attracted more and better students to the University, as well as substantial new resources. He oversaw the Universitys masters degree and doctoral programs and was responsible both for the $20 million budget that supports them and for external funding of research.

Hatch served as acting dean of Notre Dames College of Arts and Letters, its largest academic unit, in 1988-89, and from 1983-88 was the colleges associate dean. Also during that time he founded and directed the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts (ISLA), which has fostered a significant increase in external funding of faculty in the humanities and social sciences.

A summa cum laude graduate of Wheaton College in 1968, Hatch earned his masters and doctoral degrees, in 1972 and 1974, respectively, from Washington University in St. Louis.

The Hatches are the parents of three children, Gregg, a 1997 graduate of Notre Dame; David, a class of 2000 Notre Dame graduate; and daughter Beth, a sophomore at the University.

Contact: Kevin P. Cox, assistant vice president, University Advancement, Wake Forest University, phone: 336-758-5237

TopicID: 9063

The 5:15 p.m. Mass on Thursday (Jan. 13) in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart will be offered for the dead and suffering and all those assisting in bringing aid to the region, it was announced today by Rev. Richard V. Warner, C.S.C., director of Campus Ministry. The December 26 earthquake and tidal waves in the Indian Ocean killed at least 140,000 people and left an estimated 5 million homeless.

Father Warner also announced that collections will be taken at all Masses on Jan. 16 (Sunday), both in the Basilica and residence hall chapels. “That will be the first Sunday of the year when our full community is back on campus and our regular Mass schedule is in effect,” Warner said.

Earlier this week, Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame, offered a prayer for the tsunami victims. It is available on the Web at .

TopicID: 8789

Tariq Ramadan, whose failure to obtain a U.S. visa prevented his teaching at the University of Notre Dame this fall, has resigned his faculty appointment, citing the stress on him and his family from the uncertainty of their situation, R. Scott Appleby, director of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, announced today.

Ramadan, whose visa was revoked by the U.S. State Department last August, acting on the recommendation of the Homeland Security Administration, had reapplied for the visa in October.Ramadan and his family have remained in Geneva, Switzerland, where they have made their home.Their furniture had already been shipped to South Bend when the visa was revoked.It has remained here and will now be shipped back to Switzerland, Appleby said.

“We are disappointed that Professor Ramadan will not be joining our faculty,” Appleby said. “Faculty and students at Notre Dame and at other U.S. universities were looking forward to engaging him productively on a variety of issues central to our times. Such dialogue, we believe, is an essential requirement to a deeper understanding of the complexity of the Muslim world.”

In a letter to Appleby, dated December 13, Ramadan said that with the Fall 2004 semester coming to a close he thought it was the appropriate time to resign as the HenryR. Luce Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding.He held a joint appointment with the Kroc Institute and the classics department.

“As you may imagine,” Ramadan wrote in his letter, “my family has experienced enormous stress and uncertainty during this period, and I keenly feel the need to resolve our situation.”He said he appreciated that “strong and permanent support” of the University.

Ramadan’s visa situation remains unresolved with no word from the State Department on his pending application.No specific information was provided to Ramadan or Notre Dame on the reasons for the previous revocation, except that it involved matters of “national security.”

Contact: Matthew V. Storin, associate vice president for news and information

TopicID: 8543

Broadband connection:

Dial-up modem:

TopicID: 8202

Academics are notoriously ambivalent about the rankings of colleges and universities.Many question their accuracy, even as they rejoice or anguish over the results. Notre Dame, which for years has made U.S. News&World Reports top 20, is no different.

For example, unlike some schools, Notre Dame does not issue a news release about its annual rating by U.S. News.Still, there are some smiles under the dome after a new and controversial ranking system boosted Notre Dame to 13th among all colleges and universities in the nation.

The 2005 U.S. News rankings had placed the University at 18th among the bestnational universities – doctoral.In the newer system, Notre Dame would be 11th if only doctoral universities are ranked.

The new rankings, developed by four East Coast scholars, describe what its creators call arevealed preference ranking.They boast that their rankings, based on actual preferences for one college over another in head-to-head competition, eliminate statistics that colleges might manipulate, such as admission and matriculation rates.

They researched how individual students made a choice, say, between Notre Dame and Northwestern, and recorded each choice as awinfor the school chosen and alossfor the school not chosen.Cumulative totals of wins and losses determined each schools rank.

The study, published recently by the National Bureau of Economic Research,tracked the college choices of 3,240 highly qualified students from 396 high schools nationwide.

The authors contend that many colleges build up applications numbers with unqualified students to improveselectivityand engage in early decision programs which, the authors contend, improve percentages of accepted students who choose that school.

The rankings are notdefinitive,according to the authors, who listed 100 schools in their survey, but anexampleof how the new criteria would work.The four researchers are Christopher Avery and Caroline Hoxby of Harvard University, Mark Glickman of Boston University and Andrew Metrick of the University of Pennsylvania.

Commenting on the new criteria, Daniel Saracino, Notre Dames assistant provost for enrollment, said,Their study just reconfirmsthe results of our research in recent years.Notre Dame is clearly one of the premier universities in the country.We are blessed each year with outstanding young men and women who want to become members of the Notre Dame community.

Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News, defended the magazines system.He told the Associated Press that U.S. News recently dropped matriculation rate as an indicator and said admissions percentage plays a small role in their assessments.Morse added that he thought it would be impractical for the researchers to get all the data they would need to make their rankings credible.

The top 20 schools in order of ranking under the new system were:
Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech, MIT, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Amherst, Dartmouth, Wellesley, Pennsylvania, Notre Dame, Swarthmore, Cornell, Georgetown, Rice, Williams, Duke and Virginia.

TopicID: 8143