Connections — Happy New Year 2011
Letter from the Director
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year greetings from the Ford Program!
Humility, patience, and persistence are essential if we are to promote authentic human development. If our research is to effectively address a pressing problem, we need to recognize what we do not know and learn as much as we can from the people our research is intended to serve. If our community development projects are to result in sustainable and positive change, we must be ready to adapt, change course if necessary, and never let the setbacks that we are bound to encounter cause us to give up.
Like me, I know that our Notre Dame students and faculty are humbled and inspired by the patience and persistence of people in communities we seek to serve.
In this edition of Connections from the University of Notre Dame's Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity, I invite you to read about the engagement of our students in Uganda and what we are learning from their work on the ground there. Kellogg Executive Director Steve Reifenberg reflects on a recent visit to Uganda and shares his insight on the challenges and value of university partnerships.
Back on campus at Notre Dame, we have been engaging students in important questions through our Discussions on Development series as well as other events. Our minor in international development studies has really taken off in its first semester and its students are beginning to think of the research they will engage in as part of the minor.
I invite you to read about the partnership we are developing with the Congregation of Holy Cross to address urban poverty in Nairobi, Kenya. During 2011, we will launch an initiative with Holy Cross in Dandora, one of Nairobi’s most notorious slums.
Once again this year, we are excited about our annual student Human Development Conference, (link to article below) which brings together student scholars from across the country and the globe. This year’s theme is “Unleashing Human Potential: Global Citizens in Pursuit of the Common Good”.
Thanks so much for your interest in and support of the Ford Program. The true spirit of Notre Dame is the spirit of humility, patience, and persistence. If we recognize what we do not know, seek to learn from those we serve, refuse to rush to judgment and never give up, God will certainly bring out the best in us.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Connections!
In Notre Dame,
Rev. Bob Dowd CSC
Director, Ford Program in Human Development Studies & Solidarity at
The Kellogg Institute for International Studies
List of Articles
