Philanthropy and the Common Good students awarded a combined $59,000 to five local nonprofits during an event Tuesday (Nov. 28) at McKenna Hall at the University of Notre Dame.

Marie Isabel Charles, assistant provost emerita and former director of international studies at the University of Notre Dame, died Sunday (Nov. 26). She was 97. Charles joined the University faculty as an associate professor of English and assistant dean in the College of Arts and Letters in 1973. She became dean of the college in 1976 and was the first woman appointed as dean or assistant dean at Notre Dame.

The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, in partnership with the Ratzinger Foundation and the Benedict XVI Institute, is hosting a series of academic panels discussing “Benedict XVI’s Legacy: Unfinished Debates on Faith, Culture, and Politics,” with the first event to be held Wednesday (Nov. 29) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The University of Notre Dame is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Servant of God Brother Columba O’Neill, C.S.C., on Nov. 20 (Monday), with a series of events including a novena, a Mass and a spotlight exhibit at the Hesburgh Library.

Building on its pioneering Country Index, which ranks climate vulnerability and readiness across more than 180 countries, the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) will soon begin tracking the progress of such efforts in cities around the world. Based on evolving climate vulnerability and adaptation research, the Global Urban Climate Assessment (GUCA) aims to develop a pilot decision-support tool to inform actions and investments in urban areas.

The war in Ukraine has showcased the resilience of the Ukrainian people and made the country a living laboratory where new models of social development can be conceived and tested.  It was a frosty morning in February 2022, and dark clouds hung overhead. On this otherwise normal winter day, Ukrainians woke to news they had long dreaded. Russia had launched a full-scale invasion, and though its forces were still hundreds of miles from the city of Lviv, the life of its residents had already changed. Eventually, the war would reach this medieval city in Ukraine’s far west. Missiles would rattle its buildings, but its people have remained unshakeable. On that Thursday morning, students at Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) woke up and went to class, and they have been doing it ever since. In times of war, the university’s role is even more essential. Academic research has helped document Ukrainians’ resilience in the face of adversity, and it seeks to lay the foundation for a recovery that ensures freedom and prosperity for the next generations.…

New research from Cara Ocobock, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, combined both physiological and archaeological evidence to argue that not only did prehistoric women engage in the practice of hunting, but their female anatomy and biology would have made them intrinsically better suited for it.

Thomas J. Schlereth, a longtime professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame and author of a widely read in-depth history of the University, died Saturday (Nov. 11) at Ernestine M. Raclin House for hospice care in Mishawaka. He was 82. The oldest of five children and raised in the north hills of Pittsburgh, Schlereth enrolled at Notre Dame in 1959 and graduated in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He earned his master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin and his doctorate at the University of Iowa.…

Marie Isabel Charles, assistant provost emerita and former director of international studies at the University of Notre Dame, died Sunday (Nov. 26). She was 97. Charles joined the University faculty as an associate professor of English and assistant dean in the College of Arts and Letters in 1973. She became dean of the college in 1976 and was the first woman appointed as dean or assistant dean at Notre Dame.

A new gateway to the University of Notre Dame continues the University’s long legacy of commitment to the arts. Welcoming visitors from across the country, the new Raclin Murphy Museum of Art opens its doors to the public Friday (Dec. 1). The new 70,000-square-foot building on the northeast corner of Eddy Street and Angela Boulevard is designed by the award-winning firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA). Recognized as a leader in classical-inspired architecture, RAMSA has designed an expanded home for the University’s robust art collections that honors both tradition and innovation. The building’s brick, cast stone and Indiana limestone exterior blends with other historic buildings on campus. The new museum, occupying a prominent intersection where the University’s campus meets the greater community, will anchor and function as a gateway to an expanding on-campus arts district.…