In memoriam: Hesburgh Trustee Donald J. Matthews
Donald J. Matthews, a longtime member of the University of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees, died Tuesday (June 6) in Los Angeles. He was 89.
“We are deeply grateful for Don’s generous and faithful service as a Trustee,” Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., said. “His love for Notre Dame and his dedication to the University’s distinctive mission were evident. We join his family in grieving his passing and give thanks for his extraordinary life.”
After graduating from Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in business, Matthews joined in management of his family’s maritime transport business. He went on to take a position as an account executive in the casualty department of Johnson & Higgins, the largest privately held insurance brokerage and benefit consulting firm in the world.
Matthews ascended through the management ranks at the company, becoming a vice president in 1975, then executive vice president and president of the firm’s Texas operations. He returned to the New York office of Johnson & Higgins in 1982 after being named senior vice president for the newly established financial institution division. After retiring from Johnson & Higgins, he co-founded and served as president of American Capital Access Holdings, a financial guarantee insurance company.
Matthews was elected to Notre Dame’s Board in 1971 after previously serving on the advisory council for the College of Engineering. As a Trustee, he served on the Audit, University Relations/Public Affairs and Student Affairs Committees. He was elected to emeritus status in 2004 and was named a Hesburgh Trustee in 2019.
A gift from Matthews in 1967 established Notre Dame’s first endowed professorship, the John N. Matthews Chair in Law, named in honor of Matthews’ father, a former ship’s master and founder of the family’s maritime cargo company.
Not surprisingly, given his father’s passion for the sea, Matthews was an accomplished sailor who served on the crew of two America’s Cup yachts — Vim, which narrowly lost out in races to select the New York Yacht Club’s defender in 1958, and Weatherly, which won the America’s Cup in 1962.
In addition to his service to Notre Dame, Matthews was active in numerous other organizations, including as president of the maritime group the National Association of Stevedores, Mercy College and the Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
Matthews is survived by his wife, Ann Bowers, and children, Therese Matthews; Kathryn “Kim” Matthews, a 1981 Notre Dame alumna; Brian Matthews, a 1983 alumnus; and Sharon Matthews.
Arrangements are pending.
Latest ND News Wire
- Notre Dame faculty, students and administrators reflect on experiences in the Middle EastSeveral distinguished experts from the University of Notre Dame gathered Dec. 4 at the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium to discuss their personal and professional connections to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. This was the third event in the Israel-Palestine Series of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum on “What Do We Owe Each Other?”
- Assistant VP Dennis Brown retiring after three-plus decades at Notre DameDennis Brown, assistant vice president in the Office of Public Affairs and Communications at the University of Notre Dame and its spokesman from 2008 to 2023, will retire at the end of December after a 33-year career at the University.
- Notre Dame Stadium becomes first outdoor university venue to move to Wi-Fi 6E standardWhen nearly 80,000 fans gather for the college football playoff game between the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University on Dec. 20, they will enjoy an improved overall gameday experience, thanks to the implementation of Wi-Fi 6E standard power. Notre Dame Stadium became the first outdoor college venue to implement Wi-Fi 6E this fall. To do so, the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Information Technology partnered with PIER Group to overhaul the stadium’s wireless network.
- Notre Dame surpasses 87 percent for undergraduate study abroad participationThe University of Notre Dame has once again received national recognition for its commitment to internationalization and global education in newly released rankings from the Institute of International Education. For the 2022-23 academic year, study abroad participation among Notre Dame undergraduates increased by more than 10 percentage points from the previous year — from 77 to 87.5 percent, according to new data published in the Open Doors report.
- In memoriam: Frank H. Collins, professor emeritus in the Department of Biological SciencesFrank Hadley Collins, professor emeritus in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, died Nov. 16 in Tucson, Arizona. He was 80.
- Panel explores pathways to peaceful co-existence in the Middle EastPeacebuilding activists Nidal Foqaha, Tehila Wenger and Ezzeldeen Masri joined the University of Notre Dame’s Lisa Schirch on Nov. 11 for a discussion in DeBartolo Hall about how to resolve the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in a way that provides peace, security and equal rights for all people living in the region. The event was the second in the Israel-Palestine Series of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum on “What Do We Owe Each Other?”