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.

The 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.

Karl 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.

University of Notre Dame senior James Reintjes has been named a 2025 Yenching Scholar. He is one of 114 Yenching Scholars overall, representing 40 countries and regions around the globe. He is Notre Dame’s 12th Yenching Scholar and its 9th since 2018.

In manufacturing and the service industry, targeted AI improvements can improve product quality and worker safety, according to a new study co-authored by an interdisciplinary team of experts from the University of Notre Dame.

University 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.

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.