Happy 250 years, USA!

As a priest and professor, Rev. Stephen M. Koeth, C.S.C., delves into his passions for history and his faith. “I don’t have to pick one or the other,” he said. “That’s why I joined the congregation — because it proposed a life where I could be a priest-scholar.” https://bit.ly/3QtWX6y

Through research and teaching, historian Rev. Stephen Koeth, C.S.C., explores poverty, faith, and housing in urban America

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To the designated luggage luggers in our lives, happy Father’s Day! 🫶

A team of four Notre Dame undergraduates won the competition America’s Startup with their pitch for a data security company. “It felt great to see our hard work pay off after putting so much time and effort into this company,” team member Peter Bae said. https://bit.ly/4exlDTP

Interdisciplinary team of Notre Dame student entrepreneurs wins America’s Startup competition

The Notre Dame team drew interdisciplinary expertise from across campus.

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Like any good mentor, Kasey Buckles helps her graduate students produce the best work they can. But she also knows there’s more to life than writing an economics dissertation. That's part of why she's receiving the 2026 Arts & Letters Graduate Student Mentorship Award. https://bit.ly/42NZo6k

‘Love seeing them flourish': Economics professor Kasey Buckles wins Graduate Student Mentorship Award

The award will be presented to Buckles at the College’s spring faculty meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at McKenna Hall. At the same meeting, Jeff Harden, the Andrew J. McKenna Family College Professor in the Department of Political Science, will receive the Arts & Letters Research Award.

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Americans say they love compromise. But elected officials increasingly choose conflict and polarization instead. James Kirk and Abigail Hemmen are digging into this political paradox, asking, “In what contexts are American citizens most supportive of compromise?” https://bit.ly/3OmS3r3

Political science graduate students explore how Americans really feel about compromise

Americans say they love compromise. But elected officials — people who want to keep their voters happy and secure reelection — are increasingly choosing conflict and polarization instead, unwilling to be seen as working across the aisle.

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.@notredame.bsky.social political scientist David Campbell has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest learned societies. https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/democracy-scholar-david-campbell-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/

Democracy scholar David Campbell elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

David Campbell, the Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy at the University of Notre Dame, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and ...

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Through a senior thesis, a D.C. internship, and global connections, Faiza Filali has found the focus of her future career: nuclear nonproliferation. “I know the world can be a better place,” she said. “That’s exactly why I care so much about ending the nuclear crisis.” https://bit.ly/4eCeumA

A&L senior prepares to take on the nuclear crisis

Having grown up in both Louisiana and Morocco, Faiza Filali arrived at Notre Dame as a speaker of seven languages with plenty of global experience. So when she started planning her academic path in international politics, she could’ve easily gotten a head start in a number of specialties.

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Jon Bullock’s research has brought him around the world, and he’s brought the world into his O’Neill Hall office. In the latest installment of “Office Hours,” the assistant music professor discusses instruments and mementos that remind him of resilience. https://bit.ly/4dVZfon

Wishing our Arts & Letters family a joyful and peaceful Easter! 🌷 ☘️

The College of Arts & Letters is launching the Human Neuroimaging Center, which will drive innovation in interdisciplinary neuroscience and uncover how brain networks shape the remarkable capacities of the human mind. https://bit.ly/41Mz7op

Notre Dame launches Human Neuroimaging Center to advance interdisciplinary neuroscience and insight into the human mind

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“One of my colleagues at Michigan said that Notre Dame just seems like it’s on fire — in a good way,” said Ken Kollman, who joined Notre Dame's political science faculty this semester after 32 years at the University of Michigan. “And it’s fun to join something like that.” https://bit.ly/3Q9Qih8

The data of democracy: Renowned political scientist Ken Kollman spans borders and subfields to reshape understanding of governments and voters

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Music professor Rebecca Maloy and philosophy professor Alexander Jech have each been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities for research on medieval Iberian liturgy and Kierkegaard's “Fear and Trembling.” https://bit.ly/4170jOy

Two Notre Dame faculty members win NEH fellowships for research on medieval Iberian liturgy and Kierkegaard’s <em>Fear and Trembling</em>

During her NEH fellowship, Maloy will work on a monograph exploring the Old Hispanic rite, tentatively titled “Sounding the Saints in Early Medieval Iberia.” Jech will write a monograph that wrestles with the totality of Søren Kierkegaard’s seminal 1843 work, Fear and Trembling.

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As a first-year, Natalie Magura's appetite for edification took her across disciplines as she added majors in sociology, economics, and political science — then she just needed a career plan. That's where Beyond the Dome and Consulting Connect came in. https://bit.ly/4l33FLO

Three majors and two career development programs help junior Natalie Magura find her perfect professional path

Natalie Magura is determined to make the most of her undergraduate years.

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English professor and Franco Institute director Kate Marshall discusses important pieces in her office that are relevant to her writing, her leadership, and her personal life in the latest installment of "Office Hours." https://bit.ly/4aAzYxW

Office Hours: Kate Marshall on the books, the artifacts, and the people that inspire her writing and leadership

Stepping into Kate Marshall’s office is a bit like stepping into a one-room museum, with antique typewriters, artifacts of early cinema, and book-making tools among the pieces on her shelves.

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Mike LaMena ’95 was always envious of his fellow Notre Dame students who knew what career they wanted to pursue from the start. Like many, he thought the ladder to success was linear. But over time, LaMena discovered that career paths often have many loops and lateral steps. https://bit.ly/3MMtSRY

From Shakespeare to the C-suite: How studying the liberal arts helped English major Mike LaMena ’95 become a wealth management CEO

“There’s a value in generalists in a world that’s increasingly specialized.”

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A new guide from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences will help higher education institutions prepare students for engagement in the democratic process. Democracy Initiative director David Campbell led the group of experts who developed the report. https://bit.ly/4aBTzwx

Democracy Initiative director advances nationwide dialogue on civics education through new AAAS publication

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Assistant English professor Ann Killian, OP, writes and teaches about medieval literature and devotional culture. She's particularly interested in the social life of poetry — not just what was written down, but how it affected people in the past. https://bit.ly/4tEyyKq

‘A greater understanding of truth’: English professor studies medieval poetry to converse with the past

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The most essential tool in David Bird's office isn't a microphone or a synthesizer, but the computer on his desk — that's where the magic happens. A specialist in electronic music, the assistant music professor pushes the boundaries of performance with each composition. https://bit.ly/3Mf6ZGE

‘Seeing the synapses click’: Electronic music professor pushes the limits of creativity in himself and his students

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In the most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings, Notre Dame's political science department made a significant jump — up 10 spots. It's a demonstration of their conscious effort to strengthen in one area without sacrificing quality in others. https://bit.ly/3ZfSt4i

A department on the rise: Notre Dame political science turns heads with big hires, impactful research, and vibrant centers and institutes

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Notre Dame has been awarded nearly $4 million in a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund a new initiative that will incorporate tools and strategies for teaching critical thinking into college classrooms around the country. https://bit.ly/4tho7fg

Notre Dame philosophy professor to lead new collaborative research on critical thinking pedagogy

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Interior design aficionado and Institute for Latino Studies director Jason Ruiz discusses inspiring pieces in his office in the first installment of a new A&L story series called “Office Hours” that gives personal tours of our faculty's workspaces around campus. https://bit.ly/3Z7gURi

Office Hours: Jason Ruiz on the art, the lighting, and the items that make his Bond Hall space his own

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We all carry little pieces of our family with us. Literally. In a phenomenon called microchimerism, studied by a Notre Dame anthropologist, fetal and maternal cells migrate back and forth across the placenta, creating a lifelong link between mothers and their descendants. https://bit.ly/4rpioTa

Biological anthropologist explores how cells that are not our own may unlock secrets about our health

During pregnancy, maternal and fetal cells migrate back and forth across the placenta, with fetal cells entering the mother’s bloodstream and tissues. They can settle in maternal organs such as the thyroid, liver, lungs, brain and heart — and can persist there for decades.

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Notre Dame neuroscientists are at the forefront of research on the brain's organization and integration, discovering how neural systems work together to create intelligence. https://bit.ly/45AAVDu

Key to human intelligence lies in how brain networks work together, Notre Dame neuroscientists say

Modern neuroscience understands the brain as a set of specialized systems. Aspects of brain function such as attention, perception, memory, language and...

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John Deak is helping write the next chapter in the story of one of Austria’s oldest historical research institutions. The associate professor of history recently became one of the first non-Austrian members of the Commission for Modern Austrian History. https://bit.ly/4sUEEWy

Historian John Deak to recapture the past as new member of Commission for Modern Austrian History

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Tom Stapleford and Patrick Gamez argue that if AI will actually help humanity, we need more than just regulations — we must consider how AI can facilitate human well-being. To accomplish that goal, the duo created the Generative AI Research Innovation Collaborative. https://bit.ly/4r55VUn

A ‘cross-pollination of ideas’: Interdisciplinary research collaborative brings virtue ethics into AI

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When John Babbo first stepped onto Notre Dame’s campus, he imagined himself studying great books and cheering in the student section. He didn’t imagine that the ideas he encountered would eventually lead him toward the priesthood. Read his story: https://bit.ly/4qu4uPv

Alumnus John Babbo ’24 on philosophy, fellowship, and a call to priesthood

When John Babbo first stepped onto the University of Notre Dame&#8217;s campus, he imagined himself studying great books and cheering in the student sec...

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Sociologist Timothy Hallett understands interactions — how they create culture, sustain organizational success, and fuel conflict. He embeds himself in the operations of organizations to learn how the institutions shaping our lives are inhabited by people acting together. https://bit.ly/4pHBcLW

Notre Dame sociologist examines human interaction to explain organizational dynamics

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote that “only in Rome is it possible to understand Rome.” Students in the Italian studies course The Literature of the Journey to Italy discovered that to be true. Read about the class's fully-funded literary odyssey through Italy: https://bit.ly/4pPDysw

Italian studies students retrace travels of renowned writers in weeklong trip to Rome, Florence, and Naples

Eighteenth-century German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote that, &#8220;only in Rome is it possible to understand Rome.&#8221; A group of Un...

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Anthony Petro never thought he’d end up at a Catholic university. But only a few months after joining the Department of American Studies, he says Notre Dame's unique intellectual environment drives his research, which aims to deepen understanding of U.S. Catholicism. https://bit.ly/4spuJYF

American studies professor's research and teaching on religious history aims to broaden and deepen understanding of U.S. Catholicism

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