In memoriam: Frederick H. Baumer Jr., alumnus and retired comptroller
Frederick H. Baumer Jr., a University of Notre Dame alumnus and longtime comptroller and endowment manager for his alma mater, died April 15. He was 87.
“Working alongside Fred for my first seven years was a true blessing,” Drew Paluf, associate vice president and controller, said. “His intellect, guidance, patience and overall love for Notre Dame was evident each and every day.
“Upon his retirement in 2005, we dedicated a plaque to Fred outlining the many wonderful contributions he made to the Controller’s Group and the University. That plaque hangs in the entrance to our office to this day.”
Raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Baumer earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Notre Dame in 1958. As an undergraduate, he was an Old College seminarian in the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame’s founding religious order. He continued his formation following graduation but ultimately decided to leave the seminary and enlist in the U.S. Army. Following military service, he earned an accounting degree from the University of Florida.
Baumer worked in the public accounting firm Peat Marwick (now KPMG), and then returned to Notre Dame in 1967 to join the University’s finance and accounting department. He served for 35 years, much of that time as the comptroller and manager of the endowment. He was recognized for his service with the President’s Award in 1980 and the John Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C., Award in 1997.
Baumer was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara. He is survived by his sons, John (Mollie), Steve (Maureen) and Brian, and seven grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated April 24.
Latest Faculty & Staff
- Notre Dame’s Fightin’ Irish Battalion receives Department of Defense award as nation’s top Army ROTC programThe United States Department of Defense honored the University of Notre Dame’s Army ROTC Fightin’ Irish Battalion as the nation’s top Army collegiate program for the 2023-24 academic year. This will be the first time the unit has received the department’s Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award, which recognizes the program’s achievements in recruiting, educating, training and commissioning leaders of character to be the next generation of military officers.
- In memoriam: Karl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy EmeritusKarl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, died on April 28 from pancreatic cancer. He was 77. Born in post-World War II Germany, Ameriks’ family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Yale University. He came to the Department of Philosophy at Notre Dame in 1973 during a formative time for the department, which had transitioned from a predominantly Thomist focus to the more analytical American philosophy in the 1960s.
- Notre Dame psychologist explores how children best learn math — and yes, timed practice helpsUniversity of Notre Dame professor of psychology Nicole McNeil recently co-authored a report that examines the best way for children to learn arithmetic — whether that’s by memorizing number values and multiplication tables, or by studying math at a deeper, conceptual level. The report, “What the Science of Learning Teaches Us About Arithmetic Fluency,” was published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest and shows that children learn most effectively when instruction follows an evidence‑based cycle: grounding facts in conceptual understanding, using brief timed practice to make those facts automatic, and then returning to discussion and reflection to deepen that knowledge.
- ’Tis the season for ticks and mosquitoes. A medical entomologist talks about these pests and how to avoid them.Notre Dame expert Lee Haines explains the risks mosquitoes and ticks pose to the Midwest and discusses how the public can best protect themselves and family members (including pets) from these bloodthirsty pests.
- ND Expert on tariffs and trade policy: ‘How should the US be engaged with the rest of the world?’To make sense of the new administration's recent tariff announcements and policy changes, Robert Johnson, the Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics at Notre Dame, explains how tariffs affect global economies and what this means for U.S. engagement in global trade.
- In memoriam: W. David Solomon, founding director of the Center for Ethics and CultureW. David Solomon, associate professor of philosophy emeritus and founding director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, died on February 26, 2025. He was 81.
