In recognition of his exemplary U.S. Army service spanning over 30 years, retired Col. D.J. Reyes, class of 1979, was presented with the Rev. William Corby, C.S.C., Award, which is bestowed upon Notre Dame graduates who have distinguished themselves in military service. The award is named for the University’s third president, who served as chaplain of the Irish Brigade during the U.S. Civil War.

A proud Asian/Pacific Islander and son of a Korean War and Vietnam War veteran, Reyes served in both military intelligence and special operations assignments worldwide, commanded at the detachment through brigade and joint site levels, and led troops in support of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa, Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti and Korea.��

“‘God, Country, Notre Dame’ served as the foundation, and later a moral compass, that helped me navigate through times of uncertainty and deal with human conflict and suffering while deployed in other parts of the world,” Reyes said. “This is what the Corby Award means to me, and for this reason I am truly humbled and honored to receive this award.”

Reyes also earned a law degree from Temple University and a Master of Arts from the U.S. Naval War College. Upon retirement in 2013, he helped establish the Veterans Treatment Court in Tampa, Florida, a nationally renowned program focused on rehabilitation of veterans suffering from mental health and substance use disorders acquired as a result of their military service and who find themselves in the criminal justice system. He is a national veterans’ rights spokesman who continues to successfully advocate at the state and national levels for veteran legislation and funding.��

Reyes’ social advocacy also extends to assisting those most in need. He is a Tampa mayoral-appointed member on the Citizens Review Board (overseeing local police actions and procedures within the community), actively supports Heartdance Foundation (anti-human trafficking operations in Tampa), and with his wife, Julie, supports programs for the disabled and military special needs population.

While an undergraduate student, Reyes fought in Bengal Bouts, Notre Dame’s annual charity boxing tournament to support the Congregation of Holy Cross missions in Bangladesh. Upon commissioning in 1979, he received the Patrick Dixon Award, presented annually to a distinguished Notre Dame senior Army ROTC Cadet.��

The Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., Award, named in honor of Notre Dame’s 14th president, celebrates an alumnus or alumna who has performed outstanding service in the field of government or public service. The 2021 recipient of the Cavanaugh Award is John N. Gallo, class of 1983.

Gallo serves as CEO and executive director of Legal Aid Chicago, the largest civil legal aid organization in the Midwest. Legal Aid Chicago seeks to ensure that poverty is not an impediment to justice, making the legal system accessible to clients. Its advocacy results in victims of domestic violence or trafficking breaking free and beginning new lives; children receiving the education services they deserve; families avoiding homelessness by preventing unfair evictions or foreclosures; and seniors keeping their life savings by ensuring they are not victims of fraud.��

Prior to joining Legal Aid Chicago, Gallo was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP for 21 years. He was co-chair of Sidley’s White Collar Practice from 2010 to 2017, and head of litigation in Sidley’s Chicago office from 2014 to 2017. In 2005, in partnership with Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative, he created Sidley’s Capital Litigation Project, designed to ensure that inmates incarcerated on Alabama’s death row had effective legal representation.��

From 2000 to 2017, Gallo served as trial counsel to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, the body responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by Illinois judges. From 1989 to 1996, he served as a criminal assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, and from 1994 to 1996 as a deputy chief.��

Gallo is a 1986 graduate of Harvard Law 91��Ƶ. Following law school, he clerked for the Hon. Ann C. Williams, a 1976 Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ graduate, in federal district court in Chicago. He also served as an adjunct professor at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ from 2002 through 2017. He and his wife, Jeanne, have been married for 36 years and have four adult children and three grandchildren.

“It was as a student at Notre Dame that I first learned the inextricable connection between my faith and social justice,” Gallo said. “I am both humbled and grateful to receive this award from an institution so close to my heart.”

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The Lennon Life Prize is part of the Chuck and Joan Lennon Gospel of Life Initiative, a set of programs aimed at activating the University’s robust clubs network to be forces of good in upholding the value of life at all stages.

The winning clubs will receive $5,000 each to execute projects that support vulnerable populations.��

Five clubs will receive $500 honorable mention awards: Atlanta, Boca Raton, Williamsport, Greensburg/Uniontown and Hilton Head.

The Lennon Gospel of Life Initiative was co-created with Chuck and Joan Lennon. Chuck Lennon, who served as executive director of the Alumni Association and associate vice president of University relations for 31 years, retired in 2011 and died in 2019.

As a result of donations to the Lennon Gospel of Life Initiative in his memory, the Alumni Association was able to expand the Lennon Life Prize from three to four winners this year.

“Even during challenging times such as these, we continue to be inspired by the initiative and creativity of so many of our clubs, especially in this sacred work of protecting the vulnerable in the world,” said Dolly Duffy, class of ’84, executive director of the Alumni Association and associate vice president of University relations. “While we all miss Chuck dearly, it is wonderful to witness his legacy living on through this initiative and to see it expand this year due to funds donated in his memory.”

Chicago

The Notre Dame Club of Chicago will be working with underserved mothers who are pregnant or have recently had a child. In conjunction with St. Bernard Hospital in inner-city Chicago, the club will work to educate and assist mothers during the crucial times of their pregnancies and the early years of raising their children, reducing infant mortality and creating a network of support.

Dallas
The Notre Dame Club of Dallas plans to focus on victims of domestic violence along with a local organization, The Family Place. The club plans to develop a number of projects such as care kits, site improvements and food and linen drives. The overall goal is to further the outreach of caring for families affected by violence, especially as they transition from abusive situations to points of recovery.

Los Angeles

The Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles seeks to aid women experiencing homelessness or abusive situations. The club’s strategy is to provide networking, skills training and job opportunities as women rebuild their lives and help their children. Hosting a number of events throughout the year, the club hopes to develop best practices that can be shared across the clubs network.

St. Louis

The Notre Dame Club of St. Louis aims to serve disadvantaged youth in need of additional educational access. The club plans to work with Claver House, a local organization that normally works with Notre Dame students through the Center for Social Concerns Summer Service Learning Program. The club and the students will eventually offer transportation, mentorship and educational opportunities to at-risk youth in the area.

Honorable Mention

The five clubs earning honorable mentions will perform a diverse array of projects that include outreach to those with disabilities, expectant mothers and babies, and those lacking food, educational or medical access.

Celebrating its 152nd year in 2020, the Notre Dame Alumni Association furthers the University’s mission of faith, learning and service by facilitating more meaningful, lifelong relationships within the global Notre Dame family.

For more information, visit .

Contact: Erin Blasko, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-4127, eblasko@nd.edu

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The debut program, “,” is led by Professor of English and the Donald R. Keough Family Professor of Irish 91��Ƶ .��

“With the closing of the campus in March, I decided to offer an online mini-course on literary works and films set in pandemic or quarantine. My hope was to give students who had suddenly found themselves back home some bearings to help navigate the strange silent waters of life in lockdown,” said McCrea. “It is hard to get a mental handle on a situation that seems to have no precedent. But plagues have always occurred. Our literature is rich in precedents and full of strategies to get through the experience psychologically. I hope our Kylemore Book Club participants will be helped by gaining a deeper understanding of the present by exploring the past.”

Literature and Film in Lockdown includes book excerpts, film viewings, short explainer videos from McCrea, a LinkedIn discussion group and weekly interactive Zoom sessions. The program is free and open to all and it is hosted exclusively on , Notre Dame’s open, online learning community.��

“One of our core values at the alumni association is helping our Notre Dame family thrive in learning,” said Dolly Duffy, executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association. “We are thrilled to have ThinkND as the exclusive home for the Kylemore Book Club and share the outstanding offerings from Notre Dame with our alumni, parents and friends around the world.”��

The program offers unique opportunities to learn from Notre Dame’s expert faculty, to engage with Irish culture and landscape through the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre in Ireland and to exchange thoughts and ideas with fellow participants in a virtual format.��

“Even as we remain physically confined and isolated, the liberal arts are essential to opening our minds to worlds past, present and future," said Sarah Mustillo, the I.A. O'Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. “Literature and film — and engaging in conversation about them with others — are sustaining and revitalizing forces, especially in challenging circumstances. As an esteemed literary studies and linguistics scholar, Barry McCrea is the ideal person to form a community that will help us better understand the times in which we live.”

The first week of Literature and Film in Lockdown is an introduction of works from previous times of lockdowns and plagues, with the initial Zoom discussion on Wednesday, June 17. The topics for the remaining weeks include “The DeCameron” by Giovanni Boccaccio, Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Rear Window,” and “The Plague” by Albert Camus. While the Book Club is presented as a four-week experience, participants are invited to join for any session.

Partners for the Kylemore Book Club include the , , the , the , , and the .