Allison and Thomas Franco of New York City have made a transformative gift to the University of Notre Dame to endow an institute in the College of Arts & Letters that provides unparalleled support for faculty and student research and will significantly expand its commitment to catalyzing work that connects broadly and deeply with the public.

The Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, formerly known as the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, will rapidly advance Notre Dame’s existing strength in humanities research through investments in innovative, creative work that will engage the public on the most pressing issues of the modern era.

“At the core of Notre Dame’s identity as a leading global Catholic research university is a deep commitment to excellence in the humanities and the liberal arts,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost and Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History.

“In a time when many institutions are divesting from these disciplines, we are uniquely positioned to lead — providing a home where faculty and students can dream up ideas and extend these conversations beyond the classroom. This generous gift empowers us to advance research excellence and public engagement, further strengthening our ability to uncover the truths, ideas and values that shape our world.”

The transformation of the Franco Institute reflects a key theme of the University’s strategic framework — strengthening areas of traditional excellence — and the humanities have consistently been disciplines in which Notre Dame is world-renowned, McGreevy noted.

The Francos’ support significantly enhances a thriving research foundation at the institute, where funding for faculty scholarly pursuits increased by more than 15 percent this year. For 40 years, the institute has been a source of internal grants for research and creative projects; funding, planning and promotion of academic conferences and symposia; and support for developing applications for external funding. In large part due to guidance provided by the institute, Notre Dame leads the nation in National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships won since 2000, and last year, three Arts & Letters faculty won Guggenheim fellowships.

While maintaining and improving its commitment to funding faculty and student research across the arts, humanities and social sciences, the Franco Institute will now add a significant emphasis on public engagement, bringing humanities research to the world in a way that meaningfully shapes discourse on pressing challenges.

“At this moment of transition, the institute is poised to move Arts & Letters research more dramatically into the public view,” said Kate Marshall, founding director of the institute, associate dean for research and strategic initiatives and the Thomas J. and Robert T. Rolfs Collegiate Chair in the Department of English. “By fostering collaborative research into the great, difficult and enduring questions of our time, the Franco Institute will ensure that the scholarship unique to Notre Dame’s strengths and commitments reaches its full transformative potential.”

In spring 2026, the Franco Institute will launch a key component of its new commitment to public engagement — the Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton Culture and the Public Good Symposium. Named for two of the foremost socially engaged Catholic thinkers of the 20th century, the signature annual event will culminate a year of themed research support at the institute. It will gather speakers across a range of backgrounds — public figures, artists and scholars — to consider an urgent yet enduring question and engage in a dialogue that can guide public conversation on the topic.

The gift from the Francos also provides permanent support for the institute’s Research Innovation Collaboratives program, which launched with five interdisciplinary projects last year and is now seeking proposals for a second round of project funding. The collaboratives serve as research incubators, bringing together pairs of faculty members from across disciplines and departments to tackle major questions in a way that leads to innovative scholarship, pedagogy and outreach. The institute has also created a humanities fellowship program, providing one-semester internal residencies for up to six faculty per year to devote full-time effort to research and writing while also providing a forum for sharing and discussing their work in progress.

Later this year, the institute will launch a Public Fellows Program, designed to ensure that scholarly expertise in the liberal arts does not remain isolated in the academy. Two fellows per year will be accepted from among the Arts & Letters faculty, providing them with time, resources and training to help them adapt, translate and transform their research in a way that reaches wider audiences through media commentary, public speaking opportunities and community engagement.

Thomas Franco — a 1974 alumnus of Notre Dame’s great books major, the Program of Liberal Studies — is a senior adviser at private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in New York City, where he served as a partner. He previously was chairman and CEO of Broadgate Consultants and was a founder of the global publishing business PEI Media. He serves on the Board of Governors of the New York Academy of Sciences and the board of the Private Capital Research Institute, and he advises several private investment firms and nonprofits, including Commonweal magazine. He holds a Master of Arts degree from Smith College and a J.D. from Fordham University, and he is currently enrolled in an M.A. program at Union Theological Seminary.

“We are living in a time that needs big ideas that can make a difference — and the liberal arts are the disciplines we must turn to to provide those ideas,” Tom Franco said. “Studying the great books shaped not just the course of my career but the course of my life, and I am exceptionally excited about the way humanities research forged at Notre Dame can shape our society for the better.”

Allison Franco, an alumna of Queens College, earned a Master of Social Work degree from Fordham University and is a licensed clinical social worker. In addition to managing the family’s investment activities and charitable activities, she serves on the board of Nazareth Housing, a community-based nonprofit promoting housing stability and economic mobility among vulnerable families and individuals in New York City.

“Our hope is that the institute will help to ensure the humanities continue to be a discipline in which Notre Dame remains world-renowned,” Allison Franco said. “We are especially excited about the Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton Culture and the Public Good annual symposium, which will bring together renowned thinkers, artists, writers and spiritual leaders to engage on the consequential issues of our time.”

Contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, 574-993-9220, c.gates@nd.edu

Originally published by Josh Weinhold at news.nd.edu on March 19, 2025.