"Of all the people in Notre Dame history who have preceded me, I would most like to meet our founder, Father Edward Sorin," says Brian Lohr, Director of MBA Admissions at Notre Dame. "What a powerful will he must have possessed to establish this great University and its legendary mission and then to turn around and rebuild it."

Since 1842, when the 28-year-old French priest blessed 524 acres and a lonely cabin that he received in the dead of winter from the Bishop of Vincennes, Father Sorin's vision of a great Catholic university has inspired Notre Dame's growth. His message of creating a University that would be a force for good in society has resonated with many prospective students and has inspired graduates as they lead in business and other industries.

Three decades after Notre Dame's founding, when the main building that housed nearly the entire university burned to the ground, Father Sorin's faith was tested. A lesser man may have fainted at the sight, but Father Sorin vowed to rebuild the school, bigger and better than ever. In his vision, the school would become what it is today: a national and international center of faith, community and learning.

In 2005, during his inaugural address, University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., echoed Father Sorin's words, calling upon the University "to build a Notre Dame that is bigger and better than ever—a great Catholic university for the 21st century, one of the preeminent research institutions in the world, a center for learning whose intellectual and religious traditions converge to make it a healing, unifying, enlightening force for a world deeply in need. This is our goal. Let no one ever again say that we dreamed too small."

At Notre Dame, this dream includes a love for learning and a desire to use the knowledge gained not only for individual success, but also for the greater good. It's the mission that permeates every undergraduate and graduate degree program.