Enhancement Areas

World-Wide Dialogue

Convene and lead world-wide dialogue that serves the Church and is relevant to the Catholic intellectual tradition

Overview

Within 10 days of arriving to South Bend in 1842, the 26-year-old French priest Edward Sorin, C.S.C., sent a pleading letter to the founder of his small congregation asking that he be permitted to establish a college on the site at the earliest opportunity. “This college cannot fail to succeed,” Fr. Sorin wrote. “Before long, it will develop on a large scale … It will be one of the most powerful means for good in this country.”

Yet not even Edward Sorin, with all of his brash hopes and dreams, could have imagined how right he was.

For well over a century, the University of Notre Dame has had a significant role to play not only in this country, but also in a particular way within the Catholic Church. As caretakers of Fr. Sorin’s bold vision, we place at the forefront of this new strategic plan the University’s Catholic character and the need for it to touch every aspect of our life and work.

For well over a century, the University of Notre Dame has had a significant role to play not only in this country, but also in a particular way within the Catholic Church.

Such a commitment resonates with the University’s mission statement, which calls on us “to provide a forum where, through free inquiry and open discussion, the various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all the forms of knowledge found in the arts, sciences, professions, and every other area of human scholarship and creativity.”

The sort of visionary spirit this idea embodies has inspired generations of Notre Dame faculty and students, leading to numerous breakthroughs in scholarship and research. In planning for the future, then, we have a responsibility to continue this legacy by fostering dialogue around issues of importance to the Church, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the world in general, including peace-building, adult stem cell research, and immigration.

Strategies

• Strategy 1: Invest in the ability of Notre Dame's scholars to convene and lead dialogue on selected key themes which are relevant to the Catholic intellectual tradition.
• Strategy 2: Engage global thought leaders in dialogue on selected themes.
• Strategy 3: Communicate scholarship and dialogue outcomes in a manner that serves the Church.