The Office of Institutional Transformation, in partnership with the Initiative on Race and Resilience, invites students, faculty, and staff to gather weekly for support and fellowship. Wellsprings: A Time for Connection and Care provides a safe space for members of the campus community to discuss fears and concerns related to social divisiveness. Some sessions may feature presentations or information from campus resources. To suggest a topic, please contact Eve Kelly at ekelly11@nd.edu. Originally published at diversity.nd.edu.

Jonathan Blitzer, a staff writer at The New Yorker and author of “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here,” will speak at the University in an event hosted by the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights. Drawing on his work as a journalist, Blitzer will discuss how immigration became a political crisis. “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis” is an epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported book about the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border. Blitzer tells this history through the lives of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers who determine their fate. The book has received widespread praise and was named one of the best books of 2024 by the New York Times and several other publications. The event is free and open to the public. A reception with book sales and a book signing will follow the lecture. Blitzer’s lecture ties in with the Klau Institute’s Migration Initiative, which launched last year through collaboration with other experts from across the Keough School of Global Affairs and the University as a whole. This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Latino Studies, the Institute for Social Concerns, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy. Originally published at klau.nd.edu.

Vo Trong Nghia, founder of VTN Architects, will discuss the durability and beauty of bamboo architecture, showcasing how this sustainable material supports both structural innovation and environmental design. Highlighting projects like the Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center, he will explore bamboo’s role in energy efficiency, natural ventilation, and creating harmony between built environments and nature. AIA CE credit available. Register Here Originally published at architecture.nd.edu.

What does Catholic "just war" theory teach about the conflict in Israel-Palestine? Do concepts in Catholic social teaching, such as "integral human development" or the "preferential option for the poor," provide any guidance?  In what ways might the Church's historic relationship with the Jewish people or the Pope's statements on war and peace in the Holy Land influence Catholic perspectives? Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about the events of October 7, 2023, the subsequent war, the tenuous ceasefire, the history of the region, and its future. The event will feature visiting speakers specializing in Catholic-Jewish and Catholic-Muslim relations, as well as the director of Notre Dame Jerusalem, who will convey Christian perspectives from the Holy Land. Notre Dame IDs will be required for entrance to this event, and backpacks and large bags will be checked.Featuring:Jordan Denari Duffner Theologian and Scholar of Catholic-Muslim Relations; Member, Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace Jordan Denari Duffner is a theologian and scholar of Catholic-Muslim relations, interreligious dialogue, and Islamophobia. She is a member of the Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) as well the National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She obtained her Ph.D. in theology and religious studies at Georgetown University, where she now teaches as an adjunct lecturer. A former Fulbright scholar in Amman, Jordan, she is the author of two award-winning books: Finding Jesus among Muslims and Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know (and Do) about Anti-Muslim Discrimination. Duffner was also a co-author of the 2024 Sign-On Letter by U.S. Catholics on Israel-Palestine.Daniel Schwake Executive Director, Notre Dame Jerusalem Daniel Schwake was appointed the executive director for Notre Dame Jerusalem  in April 2019. Schwake joined Notre Dame after a decade in the consulting industry. He most recently held the position of principal (associate partner) in the strategy consulting firm Oliver Wyman. He provided advice to top executives of large corporations, financial institutions, regulators, and ministries. He has led the execution of high profile engagements across the globe, covering a wide range of topics, incl. enterprise-wide strategy, financial planning, risk and regulation, re-organisation, and restructuring. He holds a B.Sc. and Diploma (M.Sc.) in business administration from the University of Münster and a doctorate in economics from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.Matthew Tapie Associate Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies, Saint Leo University Matthew Tapie is Associate Professor of Theology, and Director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University, Saint Leo, Florida. His teaching and research interests are in the thought of Thomas Aquinas, Judaism and Christian theology, and Catholic-Jewish relations. From 2012-2014, Dr. Tapie was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at The Catholic University of America and was appointed a research fellow at CUA's Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue.  Dr. Tapie is the author of Aquinas on Israel and the Church: A Study of the Question of Supersessionism in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas, which was the focus of a special session at the 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 12, 2016.  Tapie is Series Editor of the Judaism and Catholic Theology series with The Catholic University of America Press. He is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' dialogue with Modern Orthodox Judaism, and with representatives of the Orthodox Union and Rabbinical Council of America.Moderator: Gabriel Reynolds Jerome J. Crowley and Rosaleen G. Crowley Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame Gabriel Said Reynolds did his doctoral work at Yale University in Islamic Studies. Currently he researches the Qur'ān and Muslim/Christian relations and is Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology in the Department of Theology at Notre Dame. He is the author of The Qur'ān and Its Biblical Subtext and The Emergence of Islam.  In 2012-13, Reynolds directed, along with Mehdi Azaiez, “The Qurʾān Seminar,” a year-long collaborative project dedicated to encouraging dialogue among scholars of the Qurʾān, the acts of which appeared as The Qurʾān Seminar Commentary. In 2018, he published The Qurʾan and the Bible with Yale University Press and in 2020 Allah: God in the Qur'an, also with YUP. At Notre Dame he teaches courses on theology, Muslim/Christian Relations, and Islamic Origins. He runs a YouTube channel, “Exploring the Qur’an and the Bible,” that features conversations on Scripture with leading scholars.Originally published at forum2024.nd.edu.

In this talk, Cheryl Lawther, professor at Notre Dame’s School of Law and a fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast, will draw on her recently published book, Constructing Victimhood: Beyond Innocence and Guilt in Transitional Justice (Oxford University Press, 2024), to expand the criminological, victimological, and transitional justice image of who we “see” as victims, what we “hear” as experiences of victimization, and who makes these determinations. In her talk, Lawther will argue that if transitional justice is to live up to its claims of being “victim-centered,” it is essential to widen its conceptual and practical boundaries to recognize the multiple and overlapping variables that construct and reproduce victimhood. Lawther will be joined by Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, professor of the practice and director of the Peace Accords Matrix, Joachim Ozonze (PhD candidate in Peace Studies and Theology) and Emma Murphy (Post-Doctoral researcher, Kroc Institute & Keough-Naughton Institute). Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.

Ahmed Mushfiq MobarakJerome Kasoff ’54 Professor of Management and EconomicsYale University Mobarak will present his most recent research paper, "1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh." This work explores the political impacts of one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded, the Bhola Cyclone that struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and killed 300,000 to 500,000 people. He will provide empirical evidence that the cyclone's devastation and the Pakistani government's "callous response" to it were instrumental in galvanizing support for an independence movement. In addition to this exciting talk, Mobarak also will discuss his involvement in the new interim government of Bangladesh, where he serves as part of the Planning Ministry Task Force. He will discuss connections between the historical incident of the cyclone and current events, and how large-scale events like the cyclone enable political transitions today. This lecture is part of a larger series organized by faculty fellows Alejandro Estefan Davila and Heitor Pellegrina entitled "New Frontiers in Economic Development." First organized in 2013, the series focused on microeconomic poverty interventions. The series now focuses on larger-scale economic issues and their impact in developing countries by featuring distinguished economists who deliver a public lecture as well as participate in a master class with graduate-level economics students. The series is cosponsored by the Department of Economics. More information here