This roundtable discussion came as this new leadership team concluded its second
academic year together, a year in which the trio established themselves as a close-knit and
complementary cohort and imprinted their vision on Notre Dame’s mission.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, ’76, ’78M.A., became president July 1, 2005. An Oxford-educated scholar, Jenkins joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1990, has taught ancient and
medieval philosophy and the philosophy of religion, and served as vice president and associate
provost for the four years prior to his presidency.
Thomas G. Burish ’72 was elected provost a few weeks later, becoming the University’s
second ranking officer, exercising overall responsibility for the academic enterprise. Burish, a
distinguished scholar in clinical psychology, served as president of Washington and Lee
University for three years before returning to Notre Dame. He had been Vanderbilt University’s
longest-serving provost (1993-2002) prior to that. The Wisconsin native has taught and written
extensively about health-related psychology, most notably coping with chronic disease and
cancer.
John Affleck-Graves, who holds the Notre Dame Chair in Finance, was elected executive
vice president in April 2004. His responsibilities include the administration of an annual
operating budget of more than $650 million, an endowment of more than $3 billion, physical
facilities and the human resource activities for more than 4,000 employees. The native of South
Africa, who joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1986, has received six Notre Dame teaching
awards and written widely in scholarly journals.
Andy Burd ’62, a filmmaker who has produced numerous videos about Notre Dame over
the past 30 years, moderated the discussion that took place on the 13th floor of the Hesburgh Library May 23, 2007.
The conversation
Burd: When I was making the Sesquicentennial film, I got up really early one morning to go to
the Grotto to see what the light would be like there early in the morning. I was thinking about the
Notre Dame mystique and what it is exactly. How does that mystical sense come to you?
Jenkins: I think the wonderful thing about Notre Dame, and part of its mystique, is an
appreciation of the mystery of God, in our lives and in the world, and the presence of the holy
places on campus, the Basilica, the Grotto, where ultimately we look to the mystery of God. I
think there’s a deep sense of that, and a kind of providential sense that somehow this University
and each individual life is guided by that mystery and God’s providence.
Affleck-Graves: I’d say it really comes down to faith and an acceptance that you don’t quite
know why God has called you to certain places. But I try to spend all of my life doing the best I
can, wherever I am and whatever I’m doing. And then, that God called you to the place He wants
you, and being at Notre Dame is just really special for me, that’s the mystery of Notre Dame.
Burd: And Tom, you got called from being president of Washington and Lee to come back.
What drew you?
Burish: Notre Dame provides a way of life that I have not experienced anywhere else. It
combines an institution which is committed to a distinctive Catholic mission, Catholic character,
with the highest level of academic excellence, at the undergraduate level, at the graduate level, in
teaching and discovery and research and learning. There’s no other environment that I know of
that can provide those things.
Burd: A way of life. That’s the term that “Spirit” campaign chairman Jay Jordan has used, and
he also has said, “You know what you get when you’re getting a Domer.” What do you get when
you get a Domer?
Burish: I think what Jay was referring to is that in addition to all those individual talents that
you would find here, as you’ll find at any other top institution, you find a person who is
grounded, who has a moral compass, who lives in an environment, a community, where values
matter. I think most of our students come with strong values to begin with. In part, they’re
attracted to Notre Dame because of that. But this culture, because of the residential life, because
of the commitment of professors, because of the courses they take, because of Campus Ministry,
because there’s a chapel in every dorm, because Masses are highlights of their day, this is a
culture in which those values grow, virtues develop, grounding occurs, a moral compass
becomes stronger. And when that student graduates, that’s what you get from Notre Dame.
Burd: John, you mentioned at the inauguration of the Spirit of Notre Dame campaign that the
central driving mission of the previous campaign was to increase the endowment so that no one
who was admitted to Notre Dame could not come because they didn’t have the financial
wherewithal to do so. For the Spirit of Notre Dame campaign, is there a central, overall goal that
you want to accomplish?
Affleck-Graves: I’d say two major goals. The first is financial aid is not done. We would like to
move every student who is on one loan to no loan, and every student who’s on two loans to one
loan. The worst case for a student in need at Notre Dame at the moment is a two-loan package.
But there’s a lot of work still to be done, and we have a $290 million target in this campaign for
that. That’s a critical part of the campaign because we have to keep the offer that if you are the
right person for Notre Dame, then finances should not stop you from being here.
The second thing is academic, particularly faculty positions. The faculty make a
university.
Burd: The Keough-Hesburgh effort to increase the percentage of Catholic faculty — you want
Catholics who are pre-eminent in their fields. Are there enough out there?
Burish: There are many Catholic faculty who are pre-eminent in their fields. We have recruited
many such faculty to Notre Dame, and because of Mr. Keough’s generosity, we hope to recruit
many more. Our first Keough-Hesburgh professor, Bill Evans, is a wonderful example. He is
truly pre-eminent in economics, a strong Catholic and highly committed Notre Dame’s mission.
We look forward to recruiting more scholars of his caliber.
Let me speak beyond your question. The goal of a university is not to amass a lot of
money. It’s not to build a large endowment. It’s to continually improve in quality, consistent
with its mission and its vision. Notre Dame academically has probably never been stronger
overall. The academic profile of the students entering the University — grades in high school,
number of AP classes, SAT scores — has never been higher. Extracurricular involvement has
never been broader. Our impact, I think, on the world is growing year by year. We now are
among the best universities in the country. I would argue that, as a Catholic university, we are a
pre-eminent Catholic university. Maybe the pre-eminent Catholic university. But we can be a lot
better than we are.
The people who gave in the campaigns you were talking about didn’t give so we could
rest. They gave so we could build on the foundation that they sacrificed to give us and go to
another level. To be even better. Our goal isn’t to emulate anyone else. What we want to do is to
be a pre-eminent research university with a defining and distinctive commitment to Catholic
character and an unsurpassed commitment to undergraduate education. The goal of the campaign
is to help provide the resources to achieve in each of those areas.
The vision: a research university
Burd: One thing that has really hit me is that it’s always about the next level, and then the next
level. It seems to me that in the past few years that next level has been more specified, that Notre
Dame will be a research university and will be officially recognized as such. That’s a major step
from the past. Is it not?
Burish: We inherited that part of our vision. We didn’t create that. So, no, it’s not new.
I think what’s new is the realization that to be a pre-eminent research university you must
have a pre-eminent graduate program as well as a pre-eminent undergraduate program. Most
educators today believe that one of the key ways to learn is to discover. That’s where research,
scholarship, creative expression come in. A very good teaching college can help people learn. It
can help them discover. But at a research university our commitment also includes teaching
those who will teach others to discover. It is to educate the lawyers, the business leaders, the
faculty for the future. In the process of providing graduate education, you provide additional
opportunities for the undergraduates as well.
Jenkins: Think of this. Father Sorin came in 1842, built that teeny little building that’s now Old
College. He had five Holy Cross brothers who basically had a high school education. Sorin had a
seminary education and yet he called it L’Universite de Notre Dame du Lac. The boldness to call
this institution a university tells me that when Father Sorin, at 28, came here, he may not have
been able to articulate it in all the detail that Tom has articulated, but the key principles were
there from the start. Precisely what Tom is saying — a place of discovery, a place of learning, a
place that can have an influence on this nation and on the world. When I read this of Notre
Dame, what amazes me is not the new things that have been undertaken but the consistency of
the vision.
Affleck-Graves: I think we’ve reached the level now where we’re academically strong enough,
where we are now more confident in saying we will be different, too. So I think there is a slight
change where we will no longer try to emulate others. We’re trying to be Notre Dame. And that
means competing with the top schools in certain ways to be equally good, but not to be like
them. I think that is a subtle difference in the vision that’s come about in the last few years.
Burd: What is the tipping point when Notre Dame is recognized as a research University?
Burish: If your question is, “How will we know when we arrive?” in many ways, Andy, we’ve
already arrived. There are more than 4,000 institutions of higher education in this country. We’re
one of the best by anyone’s ranking. There are 250 or so research universities in this country. We
rank high in that group. Are we at the very highest level? It depends on what part of the
University you look at. In some areas, undergraduate education, some of our Ph.D. programs,
some of our post-baccalaureate professional programs — we’re at the very highest level. In most
programs, we have people who are recognized as truly extraordinary and operate at the very
highest level. Can some of our programs improve significantly so that the whole program can be
perceived at the very highest level? Absolutely.
When does a university become perceived as a pre-eminent university overall? I don’t
think there’s a single definition and I think there’s a danger even in trying to answer the
question. Leadership by vision can devolve into management by numbers if you’re not very
careful. We look at a lot of things that we can compare university-to-university, but overall we
have to be concerned with the special mission of Notre Dame and always keep that as the most
important thing we work at.
Burd: Father John, going back to what you said earlier about Father Sorin’s vision. Take it on
up through the years of Cavanaugh, Hesburgh, Monk, you. The presence of the CSCs here — in
leadership, in faculty, as pastors within the dorms — is a significant element of what Notre
Dame is. With the declining number of priests, where are the CSCs? Are they going to be able to
permeate this place in the future?
Jenkins: There are two issues. I think it’s partly the decline in the number of CSC priests, but
it’s also the expanding number of lay people and faculty. The faculty has grown dramatically
and so has the staff of the University, so the percentage is smaller. I’d say a couple things. When
Father Moreau founded this community [the Congregation of Holy Cross] he had this idea of a
family. That was his guiding image — priests, brothers and sisters. I think one of the strengths of
Holy Cross and one of the strengths of Notre Dame is that we’ve always been able to welcome
others into that family. Holy Cross will continue to play an essential role as a kind of leaven in
the dough to remind us of our mission. We’re not going to be as big of a percentage as the other
people who work here. I think that’s okay because there are wonderful people who work here,
people who are committed to Notre Dame, people of faith. That’s always been a great thing for
Notre Dame. It will be a richer place for that.
Recruiting faculty
Burd: That reminds me, Tom, of things you’ve talked about, the critical role of faculty. What
are your top five sales points in recruiting faculty?
Burish: I think, Andy, that faculty who apply to universities are basically seeking the same
thing, in a general way, no matter what the university. And for Notre Dame to compete, it has to
compete in each of these areas. The first is the terms of employment, your salary and your
benefits. The second is to be successful at what you do, at your teaching and your scholarship.
Will you be surrounded by other scholars who will challenge, inspire and compiment you? This
is where infrastructure comes into play. Do you have a lab? Do you have a library that’s
adequate? Are your students capable, intelligent, creative, exciting students with whom to teach
and interact and do your work? The third is your fit with the university. I think most faculty
consider, will I be happy there? Will I fit?
Now, points one and two determine a good measure of that. But this is where Notre
Dame is special. In recruiting faculty, it’s both an obligation on our part and an advantage to
stress the nature of Notre Dame. Its Catholic character, spiritual things are discussed openly
here. Its size, its mission. That makes us distinctive.
A fourth important concern is South Bend. Faculty live in a community. Their children
go to school in the community. They may have a spouse who works in the community. The
environment in which they live is important. Because of that, Notre Dame has a stake in making
sure South Bend and the Michiana area is as vibrant and successful a city as it can be.
Burd: You just had a very successful recruit of a new VP of research, Robert Bernhard, a
practicing Catholic. What turned him on to this place?
Burish: Andy, it was clearly the special nature of Notre Dame. Bob did not apply for this
position. We heard about him from a number of individuals. He came strongly recommended.
We had a long conversation on a Sunday afternoon about Notre Dame, about its nature. His first
questions were not about how many grant dollars we’re bringing in or how many square feet of
research space we have. His first questions were, “What’s your vision for Notre Dame? What’s
the mission at Notre Dame? Why are you at Notre Dame?” He wanted to get a feeling for the
essence of the place because that’s what would attract him.
Affleck-Graves: It’s also why it’s important for us to be a research university. We become a
place that the leading Catholic scholars should aspire to be at. And if we are not a great research
university, then we’re not as attractive to those people. Bob’s a great case of us being at a point
now where we’re very attractive and, in that way, we can influence society even more than we
do at the moment.
Burd: John, I’ve tried to put myself in your shoes as you hear about all this — increasing the
faculty, increasing the infrastructure, and you’re going with the cash register, “Cha ching!” [All
laugh.] This is gonna take billions, right?
Affleck-Graves: It’s going to take whatever it takes, and we’re going to do it. The three of us
agree on this very, very strongly. If you believe enough in something, you have to invest in it
and you have to have faith in it.
Burd: Well that means you have to have an awful lot of faith, too, in the Notre Dame family, in
the alumni, in all the friends.
Affleck-Graves: I do. They believe in what we believe in — a great Catholic university that
makes a difference in the world. I’m not daunted by that at all.
The Notre Dame of the future
Burd: Envision Notre Dame in the world. Look ahead 10, 15, 20 years. Where is Notre Dame in
the world. How is Notre Dame different? What’s new?
Jenkins: I think it must first be said that I want people to come back and say, “That’s Notre
Dame.” I don’t want people to say, “Boy, this place. I don’t recognize this place.” I want people
to say, “This is what Notre Dame is, this is what it’s always been.” So that continuity is
important in terms of our mission and in terms of the deep values that shape the education here
and in terms of the kind of community that’s here, in terms of the way that people feel about
Notre Dame, in terms of the kinds of graduates se send out.
I’d also like to see Notre Dame have an even bigger impact on the world at large because
I think it’s a special mission, a set of values, a place of faith. That’s what the world needs. It
needs a place that can combine the highest level of intellectual inquiry and teaching with a sense
of faith, with a sense of mystery, with a sense of moral purpose. And so that, in Washington,
D.C., or in the capitals of the world, and in the Church, we can inform those discussions and
elevate those discussions in important ways.
Affleck-Graves: I think this is something we all feel so passionately about. If you said where’s
Notre Dame 15, 20 years from now, there are Notre Dame graduates everywhere around the
world. We will be everywhere. And we are the only major university where we talk about faith
and reason. And so we can address special problems, problems that everybody has today. I
honestly believe the world is recognizing that there’s more than just reason in dealing with a
problem. So I think that the potential for Notre Dame to influence the world in many, many
places is just unimaginable.
Burish: As Father John pointed out, the first notable thing about Notre Dame would be its
consistency, would be what hasn’t changed 10 or 20 years from now. Notre Dame has to stay
Notre Dame. It cannot try to emulate or become a secular institution. It can’t be driven by
rankings. It can’t simply try to be pre-eminent without holding on to its distinctive character. It
has to be wholly, proudly, inspiringly Notre Dame. In the area of academics, it must improve or
it will fall. If it doesn’t improve, we will not be able to recruit students and tell them honestly
that they’ll get a first class education. And the last thing we want is to recruit students and not
provide them a first-class education so they can compete with anyone.
Burd: Is part of the goal to get to the point where students who might go elsewhere —
Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Harvard — pick Notre Dame over those?
Burish: In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. Our goal is to be able to attract and support the
strongest possible student body — strong in the sense that each student can be successful
academically, socially and spiritually, that each one is able and willing to contribute his or her
talents and experiences to the conversation that makes a Catholic university education an
enriching and transformative experience. Unfortunately there are more students than there are
places in the class. This makes the admissions process an increasingly difficult one each year.
Academically, there will always be institutions as strong as Notre Dame. There will
always be some places stronger in some areas than Notre Dame. Students attend a university for
a lot more than to major in a certain discipline. They go for an educational experience, formation
of character. Many years ago, many, if not most colleges and universities were concerned with
character, with formation of values and virtues. We want students to come here who seek that
and could contribute to that.
Jenkins: The thing to say is not that we want to win every head-to-head competition, because if
someone doesn’t want what Notre Dame offers, they shouldn’t come to Notre Dame.
Affleck-Graves: Exactly, exactly.
Jenkins: What we want is that no one should decide not to go to Notre Dame because at Notre
Dame you get an education that’s second rate to those schools. We want to take that off the
table. We’ll take the student who wants the Notre Dame experience.
Affleck-Graves: Wants spirituality, community and the highest level of academics. That’s the
Notre Dame student.
Nortre Dame and the Church
Burd: Notre Dame is often called a place where the Church can do its thinking. And Father
John, you mentioned that you see Notre Dame continue and even to a greater extent to influence
much of the thinking in the world. On the other hand, I’ve had some alumni friends and family
members say, “Geez, where is Notre Dame speaking out on human embryonic stem cell research
and issues like that?”
Jenkins: A university is a sort of ongoing conversation. It invites different perspectives. Now at
Notre Dame we have that conversation informed by a tradition, a religious tradition, a moral
tradition, so that should always give shape to the conversation. I don’t think a university should
be in the business of delivering manifestos, but we should be in the business of having
conversations. For instance, we have a forum coming up on immigration. Very divisive issue,
hot button issue in this country. What could we do? We can invite here various perspectives and
infuse that with the rich social teaching of the Catholic Church, which requires us to understand
all the complexities of economics and politics and, at the same time, see that these are human
beings, right? And we must treat them as human beings, and justice must be our goal.
We’d probably be falling short if we say, “Okay, here’s the manifesto, here’s the position
paper this week from Notre Dame.” That’s what a political party does. But we can have a
conversation and invite people in, informed by this Catholic tradition, to have a rich discussion
and really contribute to the debate in the country.
Burd: And look at all points of view?
Jenkins: And look at all points of view.
Affleck-Graves: Absolutely.
Burd: Consider all, bring everybody into the conversation?
Affleck-Graves: Because if you want to think deeply, you have to be willing to listen to all
views, even views that you may not find that pleasant. You’ve got to engage them. I think Pope
John Paul said that a university’s role is to engage popular culture. It’s not to dictate, it’s not to
ban, it’s to engage in a conversation that is informed by our Catholic tradition.
Burd: How is Notre Dame perceived in Catholic . . . ?
Jenkins: A common perception is that there’s one perception in the Vatican. “The Vatican view
is . . .” But there are a lot of people in the Vatican, and they have different views. I think it’s fair
to say that everybody knows about Notre Dame at the Vatican. And everybody knows — this is
going to sound arrogant, I don’t mean it to sound arrogant — but it really is the pre-eminent
Catholic university. And as I’m reminded when I go back there, repeatedly, our endowment, our
operating budget is quite a bit larger than the Vatican’s operating budget. But I think the Pope
has said to our local bishop that he knows the quality of our theology faculty, he appreciates it
and considers it a great center of Catholic learning. But whenever you’re the biggest university,
you’re going to be a bit of a target.
Looking at infrastructure
Burd: My son Chris, who’s an endowed prof at Penn medical school, once was given a tour of
the biology facilities. Chris loves to teach also. So I said, “Hey, how about Notre Dame?” He
said, “Dad, I went through the biology facilities. I have as much if not more sophisticated, top-end equipment in my one little lab as Notre Dame has to serve the entire faculty.” Where is
Notre Dame now? Talk to me about the importance of infrastructure, the Jordan Hall of Science.
How important is that infrastructure?
Affleck-Graves: Critical. We have to match that. We will match it. We have to. I mean, we have
to get that type of faculty member to come here. We have to invest a lot more in infrastructure.
Jenkins: We’re not going to be a University of Michigan, the scale of those huge universities
that have just an enormous number of buildings and equipment and all this. We’re going to be
smaller, but we’re going to be great. Our role is to be first rate at what we do.
Burd: I’ve gotten the feeling around this place over 40-some years that diversity in the faculty,
diversity of faith even, is something that is not only allowed and respected, it’s greatly
appreciated and honored. Comments on that?
Burish: Absolutely the case. Notre Dame is a Catholic university, but many years ago it wisely
determined that all of its students and faculty and staff should not be Catholic — for reasons that
Father John and John Affleck-Graves have just articulated so well. Many of our best faculty,
strongest faculty, as teachers, scholars, as contributors to the mission of the University, are not
Catholic. Many of our most committed students and alums and supporters are not Catholic. But
they resonate with the spiritual, moral, ethical values of Notre Dame, which reach out to all
people. That is part of the genius of the people who created the targets, the goals, the values at
Notre Dame. It’s not to be all Catholic. And it’s not to be a minority Catholic. It’s to have a
majority of faculty who are Catholic, who understand the nature of the religion, who can be
living role models, who can talk with students about issues outside the classroom and can infuse
values into what they do. But it’s also to have faculty who bring other values and perspectives
and can question and can provide different approaches to a problem that we can consider and we
can discuss and we can debate.
Jenkins: I know that a number of our Jewish faculty have said they enjoy being at Notre Dame
because it is perhaps easier to be an orthodox Jew or a religious Jew, or I could say Muslim or
anything else, in a Catholic environment than in a secular environment, because people
understand religious practice and they understand religious devotion, and that’s respected. You
think about the big challenges for the 21st century in this world, and high up there has to be
interreligious dialogue. Despite predictions, religion seems to be as pervasive a force as it ever
has been, and there are religious tensions. Unless we can find a way to have religious dialogue,
we’re in trouble.
Affleck-Graves: The thing I worry about is people sometimes fear that if we have other voices
on campus, our students will lose their faith.
I see it as a forging process. People who are not Catholic can ask our students questions
that make them think in a different way or in a deeper way, and, in turn, that strengthens their
belief. I think you have to have that diversity of questioning at a university. That’s why I think
we always have to be open to other views, and yet you have to understand how people will
challenge you on your faith. When our students go out, and they go out around the world, they
will be challenged in their faith, and the University should be the place where they start to build
their answers and their responses to that. We do that by having great faculty, some of whom are
not Catholic, as well as non-Catholic students, because a lot of the, I hate to say this, but a lot of
the education doesn’t happen in the classroom. It happens in the dorm room at night.
Jenkins: You know, we have a lot of great non-Catholic students, and the reason is if you’d look
at the options, if you’re a really first-rate student and you want to go to a religious place, where
do you apply? I think in terms of a university that’s really considered in the top tier, they are
naturally going to think of Notre Dame.
Burd: You have a major effort going on now in graduate studies and research, right? What
areas? Any thoughts on where that may go next?
Burish: Well first, Andy, Notre Dame is going to advance in all areas. It’s going to get better at
the undergraduate level. It’s going to get better in Catholic mission. It is going to get better at the
post-baccalaureate professional level. It has to get a lot better in graduate education. We haven’t
invested as much in graduate education as we have in the other parts of the University. Not for
any bad reasons. We developed other areas that had been priorities. Now it’s time to bring along
graduate education to attract the best graduate students and make sure they’re prepared to be
successful in their chosen occupation whether it’s a profession like architecture or law or
business or creative writing, or it is a Ph.D. to teach or do research in a research lab in the private
sector. That will be a major push for us in the future.
What attracts potential hires?
Burd: When you’re recruiting, what do you find that really excites potential hires?
Burish: Let me give you an example. We recruited a faculty member for a long time who finally
said, “I’ll come visit and then give you my answer.” Near the end of the visit he started the
conversation by saying, “There were three things that I looked at to make my decision. The first
is, today, where could I best do my teaching and research?” He was in a top-five program in his
area. We aspire to be there, but we’re not top-five yet. He said, “If all I was interested in was my
research, I should stay where I am. You may get there, and it may be fun to help you get there,
but you’re not there yet.”
Then he said, “Second, other people in my life. My graduate students, my post docs.
They ought to stay where they are and get their degree and get on with their life. If we transfer,
they’ll lose time, they’re going to have to repeat some classes, they may have to start over. My
wife has been here twice and said, ‘I’ve never met a warmer group of people.’ She’d like to go to
Notre Dame.”
Well, I’m thinking [smiling] it’s all going to rest on the third one [others laugh]. And the
third one, he said, “Some day, when I retire, and I look back over my life, and I consider not just
my personal research and ask, ‘What contributions have I made?’ I think, given Father John’s
vision and Notre Dame’s mission, I can make a greater contribution here.” Now, I was feeling
sort of good about it, so I said, “Tell me how you could do that.” He worked in an area of science
and engineering, and he said, “I can talk about the values of the application of what I do here in a
way that I cannot talk about them where I am. No one cares about that where I am. Here,
changing the world in a positive way and talking about the implications of that change in terms
of a moral structure or a spiritual structure, whatever that structure is for the people in my
classroom or my lab — I not only can do it here, they welcome me to do it here. They help me
do it here. I can have a bigger impact in my estimation at Notre Dame.” That’s what attracted him to Notre Dame, and I think that’s what attracts many people to Notre Dame.
Burd: The other sense I’ve had being around this place a few years is that Notre Dame has hit
the big time. The spirit of this place is more energetic, it’s more sophisticated. What do you
think? What’s the spirit going to be 10 years from now?
Affleck-Graves: I don’t think it’s going to be any different. I did like what Father John said
about the constancy of Notre Dame, and I think it’s the prerogative of every generation at Notre
Dame to think that they love Notre Dame more than the next generation.
Jenkins: [laughs] Yeah.
Affleck-Graves: But I look at my two sons-in-law, who graduated in ’99 and 2002, and I see
how they love this place. They love this place as much as the guys who I meet at UND nights
who graduated in ’52 and in ’49. Our students love this place. Now, they demand modern
changes, but in a way those are superficial changes. The dorm Masses on a Sunday night are still
one of the focal points, if not the focal point of residence life. Going to football games, walking
around campus, being with your friends, taking part in it, not just watching the football team, but
actually partaking in interhall sports. Those are the permanent parts, going to school, going to
classes, and working hard and demanding a lot of your professors. I mean those are the constant
things. The little ways you see it’ll differ, that they’ll be in different labs, they’ll be in bigger
rooms, we’ll have the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, but essentially, I think, 20 years from
now, our kids will be doing the same thing. I certainly hope they are.
Burd: It’s the same Notre Dame as when I graduated, but, oh my God, it’s so much better.
Affleck-Graves: It’s the paradox of being modern but the same. So it’s always changing, but it’s
always the same.
Burish: There’s a great story in which a person who was aging talked about whether the next
generation would value the things he thought were so important in life, including a special
institution. His colleague said to him, “They will love what we loved, and we will teach them
how.” And I think that’s part of Notre Dame. That the people who are here and infused with it
teach others its special values.
Burd: One point five billion dollars. What’s that going to enable Notre Dame to do?
Affleck-Graves: It’s going to enable Notre Dame, as I said earlier, to attract more students,
students who can’t afford to come here now. More generous financial aid. It’s going to attract
better faculty. It’s going to attract more infrastructure. But the most important thing, if you add
all those things together, what do they do? They offer young men and women better
opportunities. And so, for me, our job is to train the next generation of leaders and give them the
Notre Dame touch. The Notre Dame touch is the community side and the caring for your
neighbor. And so it’s to take those great kids and give them everything that they can have
academically, develop them to the full, but touch them in the special way that’s the Notre Dame
way. That’s what the $1.5 billion is going to enable us to do.
Jenkins: It won’t be easy, though to realize these goals, to fulfill the vision for Notre Dame to
have the greatest possible influence on the world. But we need to do all we can to continue the
momentum of our predecessors and to strengthen even further Notre Dame’s academic
excellence, the quality of its teaching, its research and discovery. We have wonderful students
and a superb faculty and we simply must invest all we can to achieve our goals.
Photos by Matt Cashore '94
(July 2007)
