University of Notre Dame rising senior Rocío Colón Cotto has been awarded a Beinecke Scholarship worth $35,000 in support of her graduate education. She is Notre Dame’s 10th Beinecke Scholar overall and second since 2023.

The City of Gary and the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative announced a “Vision and Action Plan” for downtown Gary during a news conference Tuesday (May 27). The final report serves as a roadmap for Gary’s leadership to follow to reestablish the city’s building culture.

Michiana Forty under 40 honorees can receive $30,000 toward tuition for the Notre Dame EMBA program.

Alasdair MacIntyre, the Rev. John A. O’Brien senior research professor of philosophy emeritus and a permanent senior distinguished research fellow at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, died on May 21, 2025. He was 96.

Santiago Schnell, the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has accepted an appointment as provost at Dartmouth College. He will depart Notre Dame at the end of June and begin his new role in July.

The University of Notre Dame celebrated its 180th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday (May 18) at Notre Dame Stadium. An audience of some 20,000 graduates, family members, friends and faculty attended, and 2,084 degrees were conferred on undergraduate students, with a total of 3,099 degrees being conferred over the course of Commencement Weekend activities.

Teresa Lambe, a world-renowned vaccine scientist who played a critical role in the fight against COVID-19, delivered the keynote address Saturday (May 17) during the Graduate School’s annual commencement ceremony.

The world's largest polluters are also the safest from the environmental damage they help create — while the countries least to blame face the greatest threats, including the increased possibility of violent conflict. These findings, from a new study co-authored by a University of Notre Dame researcher, highlight inequalities that harm the Global South.  

The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture presented the 2025 Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal—the nation’s most important award for heroes of the pro-life movement—to Anthony J. and Phyllis W. Lauinger of Tulsa, Oklahoma, at a Mass and dinner attended by more than 400 guests on May 3, 2025, at the University of Notre Dame.

Kenneth Scheve, the Dean Acheson Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs and the dean of social science at Yale University, has been appointed the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters by University of Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. Scheve, who will also hold a tenured faculty position in the Department of Political Science, begins a five-year term as dean on July 1.

To address the challenges posed by social media use and its effects on democracy, the University of Notre Dame is hosting the Council for Responsible Social Media and Issue One on May 27-29. Led by Notre Dame’s Democracy Initiative, this National Convening on Social Media and Democracy will bring together leaders and scholars to discuss policy changes that set a serious national agenda for the next several years of governance on social media and technology, particularly as it relates to improving democratic outcomes. 

Jeffrey F. Rhoads, who leads Notre Dame Research, including its efforts in innovation and commercialization through the IDEA Center, will now hold the title of John and Catherine Martin Family Vice President for Research.

The University of Notre Dame’s 180th Commencement Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 18, in Notre Dame Stadium.

The University of Notre Dame’s Division of Student Affairs recently recognized 15 junior undergraduate students with scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year for their demonstrated leadership and ongoing commitment to the holistic development of Notre Dame students.

A new community partnership will serve graduates of the University of Notre Dame's South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program, supporting small business owners who often cannot qualify for conventional financing. The initiative will empower local entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses.

Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, offered his prayers for Pope Leo XIV, elected by the College of Cardinals today in Vatican City as the 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church.

A group of campus units led by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning are building a pathway to the University for students who might not otherwise envision themselves as candidates to attend. It is an initiative made possible through a collaboration with the National Education Equity Lab, which partners with top universities to deliver actual college credit-bearing courses and supports to scholars in low-income high school classrooms across the nation.

Clare Cullinan of South Bend, Indiana, has been named valedictorian and Bennett Schmitt from Jasper, Indiana, has been selected as salutatorian of the 2025 University of Notre Dame graduating class. The 180th University Commencement Ceremony will be held May 18 (Sunday) in Notre Dame Stadium for graduates and guests. During the ceremony, Cullinan will present the valedictory address, and as salutatorian, Schmitt will offer the invocation.