The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $75 million to a consortium of leading global institutions, including the Pulte Institute for Global Development at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, to enhance the effectiveness of poverty alleviation programs through research.

Northern Ireland has long struggled to reckon with the trauma of the Troubles, a 30-year conflict that killed approximately 3,700 people — many of them civilians — through sectarian violence. Experts in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs recently influenced the design of a Northern Ireland commission to address the conflict’s legacy, sharing key lessons from Colombia on the importance of centering victims in truth and reconciliation.

Global public debt may soon collectively catch up to the worldwide gross domestic product (GDP), likely matching it by 2030. New research from a Notre Dame economist suggests that this could happen even sooner, thanks to countries’ hidden debts. This misreported debt can lead to higher interest rates for borrowers and lower recovery rates for lenders, suggesting indirect adverse effects on global financial stability and consumer welfare.

Gov. Ronald D. DeSantis, the 46th governor of Florida, will speak at the University of Notre Dame at 4 p.m. Nov. 8 in Room 101 of DeBartolo Hall. Sponsored by Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, the talk will serve as the center’s 2024 Jeanie Poole O’Shaughnessy Memorial Lecture.

In an era of intense polarization, Democrats and Republicans have historically, and mistakenly, believed that members of the other party prioritize protecting certain types or victims of hate speech over others based on stereotypes or their affiliation with those potentially vulnerable groups. New research from the University of Notre Dame, however, revealed that partisans generally agree on what to censor when it comes to the target, source and severity of hate speech.

Kirk Doran, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Notre Dame, has won the 2024 Adam Smith Panmure House Prize. The prize, named after the forefather of economics, celebrates those who embody Smith’s empiricism and long-term interdisciplinary thinking in their research.

New research from Christina Bambrick, the Filip Family Assistant Professor of Political Science at Notre Dame, explores the nonconventional idea that each of us, as private citizens, may be responsible for upholding the constitutional rights of our fellow citizens. She examines constitutional politics across the globe to explore these different approaches to balancing rights and responsibilities in a democratic society.

The Department of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame has hired six new faculty members this year, a significant expansion of a field that is core to the University’s commitment to fighting the U.S. mental health crisis.

The Keough School of Global Affairs will observe the International Day of Peace with two campus events: a prayer service featuring University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on Friday (Sept. 20) and a talk by a Notre Dame graduate who serves in the Sierra Leone government on Tuesday (Sept. 24). Both events are free and open to the public.

Leo Varadkar, former prime minister of Ireland and current member of parliament in Dáil Eireann, will join the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, part of Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, for a public discussion of Irish current affairs including public health initiatives, civic life and the political future of the island of Ireland. “A Conversation with Deputy Leo Varadkar” will take place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 20 (Friday) in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of chronic absenteeism have nearly doubled across the nation for students in kindergarten through grade 12. This increase was tied to the mode of instruction during the early years of the pandemic. In particular, schools that employed virtual learning as the primary teaching mode during the 2020-21 school year experienced a greater increase in chronic absenteeism in the following year. That increase was significantly greater in school districts with higher levels of poverty, according to new research from William Evans, the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics and co-founder of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.

Michael Levitt Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, a professor of structural biology at Stanford…

The University of Notre Dame College of Science has announced the creation of a new, strategic faculty position: professor for the public understanding of science. This role is designed to enhance the college’s visibility both nationally and internationally. Renowned chemist and science communicator Kate Biberdorf, popularly known as “Kate the Chemist,” will be the first to hold this prestigious position, starting Sept. 1, 2024.

Michael Schreffler, director of Notre…

Toxic pollution is the single largest cause of death and poor health, killing up to 9 million people each year — about 100 times more than war and terrorism combined. Business produces the bulk of this deadly pollution, but can also play a critical role in addressing it and mitigating its effects, according to new research by Notre Dame expert Richard (Drew) Marcantonio.

It has been one year since fires on the Hawaiian island of Maui killed 102 people, destroyed more than 2,200 buildings and displaced 5,000 people in the historic town of Lahaina. Today, signs of rebuilding are visible. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has leveled and graded the lots where homes once stood, and temporary FEMA housing is slated to open in October. Susan Ostermann, assistant professor of global affairs in Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, studies housing resilience and is investigating the question of how to rebuild.

The Mendoza College of Business’ Notre Dame Master of Science in Digital Marketing (MSDM) is a 10-month residential program for individuals interested in careers in digital marketing management, social media management, marketing analytics and related roles crucial to a company’s marketing success.