President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., Inaugural Address

Published:September 13, 2024

Author:Media Relations

A Catholic university, according to my predecessor and brother in Holy Cross, Father Ted Hesburgh, "should be a bridge across all chasms that separate modern people from each other."

Now, when I reflect on those words, I see a problem and an opportunity.

The problem is clear: Those chasms are widening.

And the opportunity is here: Notre Dame must be the bridge that Father Ted spoke of, and all of us must be bridge-builders.

But before I explore that idea, let me just say right now: I am honored to serve as Notre Dame's 18th president, and I am deeply humbled by the trust shown in me. So many of you have reached out with words of encouragement. Thank you for all your support. Thank you for your continued prayers.

I am blessed to have my family here. My sister, Mary; my brother-in-law, Jim; my nephew Ryan; my nephew Eric, who is watching from New York, hello Eric; and so many other loved ones who've traveled to be here.

Allow me to give a special shout-out to my mom, who passed away just last month. She is very much in my heart. And I know that her quiet strength is going to continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. I owe her so much.

Along with my biological family, I am part of another family. Many thanks to my brothers in the Congregation of Holy Cross. Let me tell you, these brothers of mine, they are over there, never let me take myself too seriously. And if you'd like further details, see me after the convocation.

And let's not forget the Sisters of the Holy Cross, who taught me in grade school and high school in beautiful Michigan City, Indiana.

In fact, my first-grade teacher, Sister Carmel Marie, is here today . . . where is she…she's out there somewhere. And, like all great teachers, she looms large in my heart, even though she's barely 5 feet tall. Not only did she teach me a love of learning, but she helped me to be curious about the world around us and to see God's presence in all things. What a great gift! Thank you, Sister Carmel Marie!

Father Ted liked to describe the moment he became president. And you heard it from our Provost John McGreevy. As the story goes, his predecessor, Father John Cavanaugh, handed him a key and said, "Well, Ted, now you are in charge." That was his transition and that was his inauguration all rolled up into one.

Times sure have changed.

I am grateful that my own transition has been a bit more gradual, that I have had the opportunity to listen and to learn. And I have learned a great deal from my immediate predecessor, Father John Jenkins.

John, to work with you these past few months has been a real blessing. Notre Dame is well positioned thanks to your humble, faithful, courageous leadership. And I could go on and on about your amazing leadership and the debt of gratitude that the entire Notre Dame community owes you, but just know here and now, and forever, just how truly grateful I am.

A World in Need

Every inauguration is an opportunity to build a bridge from one era to the next.

At his own inauguration, 19 years ago, Father John asked this question: "If we are afraid to be different from the world, how can we make a difference in the world?"

And let us be clear: Notre Dame is different.

As an institution, we aspire to become the leading global Catholic research university-every bit as good, but distinct from, the best private universities in the world. And as a Catholic university, we are called to push the frontiers of human knowledge, cultivating "a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many."

So, while Notre Dame's mission is constant, and not subject to fad or fashion, the work we do must change if Notre Dame is to meet the needs of our time.

And, while every era has its own challenges, we gather at an especially difficult moment.

We see war and terrible suffering around the world-in Gaza, in Israel, in Sudan, in Ukraine, and elsewhere. For all the promise of technological connection, more than half of Americans are lonely. Religious disaffiliation is on the rise. And trust in institutions at an all-time low.

Meanwhile, democracies are in crisis, even in the United States political polarization has reached a fever pitch. People seem so entrenched, it's difficult to have thoughtful, constructive conversations across differences-even on college and university campuses, the very places where such conversations should be taking place.

One of the causes, I believe, is the spread of Either-Or thinking-the kind that objectifies people and oversimplifies their problems. That flattens conversations instead of elevating them.

Such Either-Or thinking impedes the cooperation necessary to effectively address big challenges like our climate and environmental crisis, and fuels extremism and hatred. Even corners of the Church have been infected by Either-Or thinking, pulling us away from our more universal, our more Catholic values.

When this happens, we label others, and perhaps even label ourselves, either left or right; either liberal or conservative; either traditional or progressive. Our humanity reduced to an ideology.

As a political scientist, I find this dynamic fascinating. As a human being and a priest, I'm concerned.

As president of Notre Dame, I take it as our call to action . . . and the world needs Notre Dame to take thoughtful action.

Despite sinking trust in higher education, Notre Dame is one of the most trusted universities in the United States. No institution is better positioned to foster reasoned, constructive conversations rooted in the Catholic ideals of respect for human dignity and the unity of knowledge, and guided by the rational ideals of adherence to evidence and consistency in argumentation. And no institution is better positioned to develop students who approach the world with openness, with curiosity, with compassion, and with moral courage.

Notre Dame's Opportunity and Responsibility

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus says: "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."

And thanks to all those women and men of Notre Dame who have come before us, we have been entrusted with so much.

For generations, we have offered an unsurpassed undergraduate education that has prepared leaders in various fields of endeavor.

We have extremely dedicated staff throughout the University, who see their work as more than a job, and play critical roles in advancing our unique mission. Others have taken notice of this: We're fortunate that Notre Dame has been recognized by Forbes as the top employer among educational institutions.

And of course, at the heart of every university are its scholars. We have world-class faculty working in world-class facilities, securing unprecedented amounts of funding for their path-breaking research.

Just last year, Notre Dame was selected to join the Association of American Universities-a group of North America's premier research institutions-and we are the only faith-based institution in that group.

We have achieved all this for one simple reason: We strive for excellence.

But what do we mean by excellence here at Notre Dame?

At some institutions, excellence might be simply defined by those standards of academia-rankings and reputation-and these are important. But at Notre Dame, the excellence we are called to is neither one-dimensional, nor limited to conventional measures.

It has always been, and must always be, holistic.

Which means it includes all the demands placed on our peer institutions, and then some, since we cannot simply look at how others rank us to understand how faithfully we have lived out our mission.

Indeed, the very mission that makes Notre Dame distinctive among these institutions means we have a special responsibility. In a polarized world drawn to the confines of Either-Or thinking, our Catholic mission calls us to embrace Both-And:

Both faith and reason;

Both the life of the mind and matters of the heart;

Both disciplinary and multidisciplinary research and teaching;

Both a local and global presence;

Both deeply Catholic and welcoming of people of all faiths and none.

Which means that if excellence at Notre Dame is defined as striving for, and living by, an integrated and unifying Both-And approach to the world . . .

Then in this next chapter, the best way we can continue to be a force for good-as our founder, Father Edward Sorin, envisioned-is by building more bridges with the same boldness that has characterized us since our founding!

Our Bridges to Build

I believe the bridges we must build require a strong foundation so that we don't get swept away by fast-moving currents or buckle under pressure. We are blessed to have that moral foundation here at Notre Dame.

And as bridge-builders, we must use this foundation to reach out even further, stretching ourselves beyond the familiar and the comfortable.

Today, I offer three ways we must build bridges, expanding on what has come before, and striving for new levels of excellence: First, we must create more pathways to and from Notre Dame. Second, we must connect and collaborate more deeply as a community of learning.

And finally, we must deepen and expand our engagement in and with the world.

Create More Pathways to and from Notre Dame

Let me start with how we build more pathways, more bridges, to and from Notre Dame.

I'll begin with the obvious. We want an undergraduate student body that reflects the rich diversity of the Catholic community in and beyond the United States, which requires that a Notre Dame education be both accessible and affordable.

In recent decades, Notre Dame has become more accessible with extraordinary financial aid, thanks in large part to the commitment and the generosity of our benefactors, alumni, and friends. Yet, as costs continue to rise, we know that the door to a Notre Dame education still seems closed to far too many young people attracted to our mission, and when forced to take out loans to pursue higher education, many families are saddled with sizeable, potentially crushing, debt.

I know what this is like. When I was accepted to Notre Dame, tuition was much lower, but still out of reach for my family. My mom, the head of a single-parent household, knowing that it was my dream to attend Notre Dame, refinanced our house and took out loans to send me here. Decades later, its just not realistic to expect people to do what my mom did.

We also know, while our proportion of international undergraduate students has grown here, Notre Dame still has one of the lowest percentages of any university in the AAU, even as the Catholic Church is the most transnational and multicultural institution in the world.

So, today I am proud to announce that Notre Dame will go loan-free and need-blind for all undergraduate students, including both domestic and international students. This means, if you are admitted to Notre Dame, no matter how much money your family makes, you will not have to worry about student loans, and no matter where in the world you call home, you will be eligible for financial aid.

Connect and Collaborate as a Learning Community

We must also build bridges by reinforcing our commitment to be a community of learning that is not afraid to tackle the most contested issues of the day. Where we are grounded but not bounded by disciplines; where openness to questions does not mean we are afraid to stand for something; where we think about, and reflect together on, the values that truly endure.

Let me speak to all the students here. All of our amazing students.

If you don't know it already, you are surrounded by a superb group of faculty and staff. They are dedicated teachers, focused on your well-being and learning, and creating a classroom experience that is one the best in the world. It is probably one of the reasons why you chose Notre Dame.

We are blessed that our most outstanding researchers consistently bring insights gleaned from their work into the classroom and create new opportunities for students, who are increasingly attracted and energized by path-breaking research.

From experimenting with the smallest technologies-as students learn to create semiconductor chips in our state-of-the-art clean room facilities, with Professor Alan Seabaugh and NDnano …

To making spectacular discoveries-like the one one of our last year's students made in fact, whose undergraduate research in astronomy with Professor Peter Garnavich helped discover a probable planet.

Here, we are fighting for justice and human rights-like Professor Diane Desierto and her team of students in our Global Human Rights Clinic.

We're grappling with society's deepest inequalities-like the team working with Professor Anna Haskins to understand the relationship between the incarceration of parents and the educational outcomes of their children.

And in the process, we are engaging in work that helps heal our world.

Whether that's Professor Marianne Cusato and her students, working with communities in neglected urban areas of the United States to create a dignifying and sustainably built environment . . .

Professor Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, working with students and humanitarian relief organizations in order to improve the delivery of life's necessities in crisis zones around the world . . .

Or Professor Josefina Echavarría Álvarez and her colleagues, whose work with students has informed efforts to design and implement agreements that bring an end to wars and build conditions for peace.

No matter where you look, our research and learning drive insights, innovation, and impact for good.

There are countless more examples of the great work our faculty members do, and how they engage undergraduate and graduate students in their research.

And speaking of graduate students-our reputation as a research institution hinges on your work with faculty, your experience here at Notre Dame, and your placements after you complete your degrees. Our graduate and professional students are crucial to the bridges we are trying to build both on and beyond campus. You contribute to significant breakthroughs and greatly enrich our campus community.

We are committed to supporting you.

To that end, we have increased the stipends we provide our graduate students and, beginning this year, we will become one of only a handful of universities to provide health insurance to graduate students that also covers your spouses and dependents. In other words, your families are a part of the Notre Dame family.

Going forward, we will continue to invest more significantly in the quality of our graduate programs and the Notre Dame graduate student experience.

And because we are called to embrace Both-And, we know that the next great frontier of learning will be found not just within any one department, but reaching across fields-connecting more deeply with one another and the resources we share.

Here, I already see scholars using their imaginations in the most inspiring ways, bridging gaps between the disciplines to break new ground.

For example: Archaeologists working with filmmakers to preserve history in Ukraine . . . and economists working with medical professionals and public policy experts to tackle challenges like the opioid crisis.

Going forward, Notre Dame must be a place where our scholars and students are even more willing to walk across the hall or to walk across campus to learn from and to work with one another. A place where talented researchers at every level seek out faculty and colleagues in other disciplines, if that's what it takes to solve the world's hardest problems.

Why?

Because we know addressing poverty is not simply a matter of either economics or sociology . . . defending democracy is not simply a matter of either political science or law . . . and wrestling with questions of ethics and morality is the realm of not only philosophers, but all those who seek to be a force for good in the world.

Naturally, Notre Dame will always be a home for dedicated scholars grounded in their disciplines, where they can continue to be free to pursue their work. But no one individual has all the answers.

So the world needs Notre Dame to be a place that promotes both the great insights gained from disciplinary specialization and the solutions to complex problems that emerge from multidisciplinary collaboration. Where we combine the depth of our knowledge with the full breadth of our experiences, united by our shared pursuit of truth.

In this way, we can translate that traditional Catholic ideal-the unity of truth-into action, and how we work together, and bring it to bear on our most complex, contemporary challenges.

Of course, here at Notre Dame, the collaborative learning community we create transcends classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and field-research sites-and I have been the direct beneficiary of this.

Some of you may know, I have been honored to live in Cavanaugh Hall for the last 10 years, and I plan to stay. You may also know that our residence halls have nicknames, like the Keough Kangaroos, or the Welsh Family Whirlwinds, or even the Carroll Hall Vermin, which I have been assured is not a pest control problem.

The Cavanaugh community calls itself The Chaos, and that alone may be fitting preparation for the presidency. But in all seriousness, this might also be fitting preparation for our students, navigating the complex, sometimes chaotic, experience of living in our world.

Indeed, how to live together is one of the greatest lessons we learn here at Notre Dame.

If we are to journey toward truth together, and stay true to our mission, then we must hone our skills as bridge-builders and form the kinds of leaders we need in our world today:

People who know how to listen to others to ensure that all voices are heard in the search for truth.

Critical thinkers equipped with a clear moral framework to face life's challenges.

Compassionate, servant leaders who can navigate complex issues with conviction and with courage, and bring out the best in others, with humility and humanity.

We owe each other as much. We owe our wider society as much.

Because this is what universities are supposed to do, and as a Catholic university, Notre Dame should be the very best at doing this-not least of all because we, as a Catholic university, openly and unabashedly embrace the idea that college should help students develop character.

Therefore, during this academic year and throughout my presidency, we will redouble our efforts to create an environment and cultivate a culture that allows us to have difficult conversations, and become the bridge-builders the world needs.

Deepen and Expand our Engagement in and with the World

Finally, for as much as we do on campus, we must also build bridges that strengthen Notre Dame's connections to the world, both near and far.

That starts right here in South Bend. You can clap.

We know that Notre Dame shares a future with South Bend and the broader region. In the long run, we will only attract the faculty, staff, and students we desire if this community-and all who call it home-truly thrive.

I grew up here in Indiana. I know both the great struggles of this very region AND our great history and great potential, when we work together.

For example, through recent initiatives like the Veldman Family Psychology Clinic and the newly announced DTSB Tech and Talent Hub, we are working with community partners to address some of this area's most urgent challenges-from improving mental health services to catalyzing economic development.

In collaboration with our neighbors and the generous support of partners like the Lilly Endowment, we will find more opportunities to achieve great things together, especially to improve the lives of the residents who struggle the most, as our mission calls us to do.

These and other efforts build on the legacy of Father Edward "Monk" Malloy, who, among other things, truly pushed Notre Dame to invest more deeply in our community-and I am so grateful for what he has done for the campus, for me, and for the region. Thank you, Monk.

And, of course, to become the bridge-builders the world needs, we must become even more globally engaged.

As I mentioned earlier, our Catholic mission provides us with connections to the world's most transnational and multicultural institution. Our call to serve the Church reminds us that we must consider the Church as a whole.

We have long had wonderful partnerships in Europe, and our deep affiliation with the Congregation of Holy Cross provides pathways to more meaningful engagement in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, as does our collaboration with Catholic Relief Services.

Already, we have important partnerships with other universities around the world, and we will build and sustain more-for while we are fortunate to have resources and expertise that we can share, we also learn from and are inspired by our partners both near and far. My own formation and research have benefited greatly from collaboration across the world.

And whether we talk about poverty or climate, technology or democracy, peace or justice . . . the biggest challenges that we face cut across cultural boundaries and national borders.

And at Notre Dame, we must reach across boundaries and borders to understand and address those challenges.

Call to Action

All this starts here and now. All this starts today.

I remember first coming to campus for football weekends as a kid, and being captivated with the Golden Dome on top of the Main Building.

I even remember asking my dad-a 1956 Notre Dame grad-about the statue on top of the Dome. Who was it supposed to be?

He told me, Mary, Mother of Jesus; Mary, the Mother of God.

As I grew up and began to learn more about the social and religious context at the time of the Dome's construction, I remember being struck by Father Sorin's boldness. At a time when religious bigotry and discrimination were quite strong in this country, he did not shy away from what sets us apart. Instead, he placed a statue of Notre Dame, Our Lady on top of the Main Building.

It was not so much an act of defiance as it was an act of faith.

He named this University in honor of Our Lady, to whom he had a special devotion; someone who knew what it was like to suffer; who never lost her empathy for others, despite what she experienced. She is tender, strong, and true; she is compassionate, resilient, and hopeful. Full of grace, open to God and open to others.

In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis calls us to be more like Mary, which means, in his words, "to sustain hope, to be the sign of unity . . . to build bridges, to break down walls, to sow seeds of reconciliation."

Put another way: To build bridges is to be "in imitation" of Our Lady. To embody the very spirit of Notre Dame.

So this is who we are, and who we are called to be. Seekers of truth. Sustainers of hope. Builders of bridges. Extending and expanding these gifts we've been given-to others and to the world.

That's why Our Lady is depicted on the Dome, with arms and hands open. Never closed off to anyone; always ready to receive; always ready to embrace.

And when I look around this campus, everywhere, I can't help but see the open arms of Notre Dame. In fact, I see them here. In all of you.

As I begin this journey as President, I invite you to join me and build more bridges: to future generations of Notre Dame students . . . to one another, as we learn and live side by side . . . to our neighbors and people in communities around the world.

Together, we are Notre Dame. Together, let us be the Notre Dame the world needs.

God bless you, and God bless Notre Dame.

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