The University of Notre Dame’s president, Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., joined today with leaders worldwide in mourning the death of former President Jimmy Carter at age 100 at his home in Plains, Georgia.

“President Carter was a cherished friend of Notre Dame, and, in particular, of our longtime president, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.,” Father Dowd said. “The Notre Dame community joins in mourning the passing of our 39th president while also celebrating his remarkable service to our nation and the world, both in and out of the Oval Office. We extend our deepest condolences to the Carter family.”

Notre Dame’s relationship with Carter began in the summer of 1976. Soon after accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, Carter called Father Hesburgh late one evening seeking advice on a variety of issues. Carter appreciated the insights Father Hesburgh shared, so much so that he provided the priest-president with his home phone number in Plains and asked for any recommendations he might have for people to serve in his administration if he were to win the election.

Soon after Carter was elected in November, Father Hesburgh met with the president-elect in Washington, D.C., to discuss recommendations made by the Presidential Clemency Board, a panel to which Father Hesburgh was appointed by President Gerald Ford.

After Carter was inaugurated in January 1977, Father Hesburgh invited the new president to Notre Dame’s commencement ceremony in May to deliver the principal address and receive an honorary degree. Carter accepted and gave what many regard as the most important foreign policy address of his presidency, advocating for the creation of new global alliances and championing human rights, policies built upon the “new reality of a politically awakening world.” He also spoke about his desire to decrease tensions with the Soviet Union, work for Middle East peace and reduce the danger of nuclear war.

During his one-term presidency, Carter appointed Father Hesburgh to head a delegation of Americans to a United Nations conference on science and technology for development, held in Vienna in 1977, and as chair of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy. Father Hesburgh also joined Rosalynn Carter on a fact-finding mission to Southeast Asia that led to a plan that averted mass starvation among Cambodian refugees.

The Carters returned to Notre Dame in 1992 as the inaugural recipients of the Notre Dame Award, which recognizes men and women of any faith or nationality whose life and deeds have shown exemplary dedication to the ideals for which the University stands: faith, inquiry, education, justice, public service, peace and care for the most vulnerable.

At a memorial tribute to Father Hesburgh after his death at age 97 on Feb. 26, 2015, the Carters joined with other dignitaries in honoring the Holy Cross priest who led Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987. Among several anecdotes, Carter recalled how he made the “mistake” in 1979 of asking Father Hesburgh if there was anything he could do for him. Father Hesburgh told Carter he wanted a ride on an SR-71 supersonic reconnaissance jet, known as the Blackbird.

“I said, ‘Father Hesburgh, it’s not customary for civilians to ride on top-secret aircraft,’” Carter recalled with a smile. “He said, ‘That’s all right. I thought you were commander in chief.’”

With that, Carter stood by his word and arranged for the flight. As he recalled at the tribute: “I sent word to a pilot of an SR-71 that he would be having his first civilian passenger who was a special friend of mine. And, I asked him how fast the Blackbird had ever flown. He said 2,193 mph. It was the fastest plane on earth. I said I would be very pleased if he could go a little faster than that when he took up Father Hesburgh. And, on the last day of February 1979, Father Ted went up in an SR-71 Blackbird airplane and he and the pilot went 2,200 mph, which set a new world record.”

Carter last visited the University in 2018 when he and Rosalynn worked alongside Notre Dame and other community volunteers on 38 Habitat for Humanity homes.