Notre Dame honors Holy See Ambassador Joe Donnelly with 2023 Sorin Award
In recognition of his contributions to the University of Notre Dame and service to his community and the world, alumnus Joe Donnelly, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was presented with the 2023 Rev. Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C., Award on June 3 at the Alumni Association’s annual reunion celebration.
The Sorin Award is conferred on a graduate who has rendered distinguished service to the University. It was established by the Alumni Association in 1965 and is one of the University’s highest honors.
“Joe Donnelly’s life of public service has reverberated around the world, and we could not be more proud to call him a loyal son of Notre Dame,” Alumni Association Executive Director Dolly Duffy said. “From his early service in the local community to his current appointment as ambassador to the Holy See, Joe has demonstrated a commitment to working with people from all walks of life in an effort to make the world a better place.”
Since January 2022, Donnelly has served as Ambassador to the Holy See after his confirmation with broad bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate. Upon his confirmation, University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., described him as “a person of deep Catholic faith and commitment to public service … (who) has proven throughout his career that he is committed to building relationships and working across divisions.”
Donnelly, born in New York City and raised on Long Island, was a first-generation college student, graduating from Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in government in 1977 and a law degree in 1981. After working for a law firm in South Bend, he opened a printing business in Mishawaka in 1996. Donnelly served one year on a state election board (1988-89) and then four years on a local school board (1997-2001).
Donnelly represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Notre Dame, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013 before his election to the U.S. Senate from 2013 to 2019. In a state long divided between Democratic urban areas and suburban and rural Republican districts, he earned the reputation of a respected moderate, winning endorsements from business organizations and media outlets throughout Indiana. His 2012 Senate victory made him the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Indiana in more than 10 years.
From 2019 to 2021, Donnelly was a professor of the practice in Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and Department of Political Science, where he taught courses on American politics, public policy and leadership.
Donnelly met his wife, Jill, a 1976 Notre Dame graduate, at Notre Dame and the two married in 1979. They have two children: Molly, a 2004 Notre Dame graduate, and Joseph Jr., a 2006 Notre Dame graduate.
Latest University News
- Medicinal chemist Sabine Hadida to deliver Graduate School Commencement addressThe University of Notre Dame Graduate School will hold its annual commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. May 18 (Saturday) at Notre Dame Stadium. Sabine Hadida, a renowned medicinal chemist, will deliver the keynote address. University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., will confer the various master’s and doctoral degrees.
- Shields family makes gift to Notre Dame for new state-of-the-art athletics facilityA group of former University of Notre Dame football student-athletes led by linebacker Jack Shields is providing generous support for a new Fighting Irish football facility — one that, combined with the existing Guglielmino Athletics Complex (“Gug”), will accommodate the current and future needs of the University’s athletics programs.
- Division of Student Affairs recognizes outstanding student leadersThe University of Notre Dame’s Division of Student Affairs recognized nine students at the 38th annual Student Leadership Awards Banquet on April 4. These annual awards honor current students who…
- Record four Notre Dame students named 2024 Goldwater ScholarsA record four University of…
- Junior Kayle Lauck named 2024 Truman ScholarUniversity of Notre Dame junior Kayle Lauck has been named a 2024 Truman Scholar. She is the University’s 12th Truman Scholar since 2010 — a group that includes three Rhodes Scholars: Alex Coccia (’14), Christa Grace Watkins (’17) and Prathm Juneja (’20).
- Notre Dame launches University-wide Democracy Initiative to advance research, education and policy efforts to sustain and enhance democracyThe University of Notre Dame has launched an ambitious new Democracy Initiative, an interdisciplinary research, education and policy effort focused on advancing solutions to sustain and strengthen global democracy.…