FiresideND, Part 7: Fr. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. Convocation Address at the University of Notre Dame

Join us for an inspiring audio rendition of Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.’s inaugural address as the University of Notre Dame’s 18th president. In this historic convocation, Father Dowd reflects on the University's role as a bridge in a polarized world, highlighting Notre Dame’s Catholic mission of unity, compassion, and moral courage. He shares his vision for expanding access to Notre Dame, fostering deeper connections in learning, and engaging with the global community. Tune in to experience the spirit of Notre Dame’s new chapter, grounded in tradition and poised for excellence.

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Transcript

Paul Blaschko 0:06

Welcome to Fireside ND, the podcast from Think ND that brings the experience and expertise of Notre Dame to you whenever, wherever. From STEM to art, from religion to health. Listen and learn with Notre Dame on the go. I want to thank our listeners for joining us this month on FiresideND. I hope you enjoy the episode and will visit think.nd.edu to learn more Until next time, inspire your mind and spark

0:33

Well, thank you very much. It's so wonderful to be here together today. I'm so honored by your presence. 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 be here. 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'm 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's 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're 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. And like all great teachers, she looms large in my heart, even though she's barely five 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 Kavanaugh, handed him a key and said, Well, Ted, now you're in charge. That was his transition, and that was his inauguration, all rolled up into one. Times sure have changed. I'm grateful that my own transition has been a bit more gradual, and that I've had the opportunity to listen and to learn. And I've 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, and kind heart. 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. 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 am concerned. And 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. 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 the women and men of Notre Dame who have come before us, we have been entrusted with so much. For generations. We've 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 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 and securing unprecedented amounts of funding for their path breaking research. Just last year, Notre Dame was selected to join the American Association of Universities. a group of North America's premier research institutions, and we are the only faith based institution in that group. We've achieved all of 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 the 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, that 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. 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's 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. 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 sizable, 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, it's just not realistic to expect people to do what my mom did. We also know that 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, this means if you are admitted to Notre Dame, no matter how much money your family 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. 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're surrounded by a superb group of faculty and staff. They are dedicated teachers focused on your well being and your learning, and creating a classroom experience that is one of the best in the world. It's 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 Sebaugh and NDNano, to making spectacular discoveries, like the, like the one, one of our last year's students made, in fact. Working with astronomy professor Peter Garnovitch, she helped discover a probable planet, together with him. Here we are fighting for justice and human rights, like professor Diane DiCierto and her team of students in our Global Human Rights Clinic. We are grappling with society's deepest inequalities. like the team working with Professor Anna Hoskins 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 Echavarria Alvarez. 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 drives insights, innovation, and impact for good. And 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 at 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. And 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 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 professors 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. And they will continue to be free and we'll support that great work. But no one individual we know has all the answers. So the world needs Notre Dame to be a place that both promotes 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 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, Notre Dame, 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've been honored to live in Kavanaugh Hall. I've lived there for the last 10 years, and I plan to stay. You may also know that our residence halls have nicknames. The Keogh Kangaroos. Welsh family whirlwinds. I'm going to warn you. I'm not going to get to all the halls here during this address. So don't feel left out just because I haven't mentioned your hall. I love all the residence halls equally, but especially Cavanaugh. And then of course there's Carroll Hall. Carroll Hall is known as the vermin, which I've been assured is not a pest control problem. The Kavanaugh 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 the truth together and stay true to our mission, that 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. finally, for as much as we do here on campus, we must also build bridges that strengthen Notre Dame's connections to the world, both near and far. That starts right here, right here in South Bend. 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 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 Downtown South Bend 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. 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 on the golden, with the golden dome on top of the main building. I even remember asking 1956 Notre Dame grad, about the statue on top of the dome. Who was it supposed to be? It's called me, Mary. The 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. Atop 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, Fatali 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 an 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 and 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.