University of Notre Dame Provost John T. McGreevy has appointed faculty directors for the final two priority areas identified in Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework. Nitesh Chawla will lead a University-wide strategic initiative focused on data, artificial intelligence, and computing, and Kathleen Sprows Cummings will direct Notre Dame’s Global Catholic Research Initiative.

“These are both vitally important areas for the future of Notre Dame and for society,” said McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost and Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History. “We are grateful to have such accomplished scholar-teachers willing to lead these campuswide initiatives, building on existing strengths and encouraging the kind of institutional collaboration Notre Dame needs to reach its full potential as the leading global Catholic research university.”

Data, AI & Computing Initiative

Chawla, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and founding director of the Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society, will lead the new Data, AI & Computing Initiative, an effort focused on excelling in foundational research in these areas while enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and real-world translation to address pressing societal challenges.

An expert in artificial intelligence, data science, and network science, Chawla is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. At Notre Dame, he holds concurrent faculty appointments in the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Science and the Department of Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations in the Mendoza College of Business. He is also a fellow of several Keough School of Global Affairs institutes, including the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, and the Pulte Institute for Global Development.

“Nitesh is a superb scholar and recognized leader in data science and AI, not only at Notre Dame, but globally,” McGreevy said. “As an experienced and collaborative administrator with a strong sense of purpose, he is well-positioned to help us better ‘think as an institution’ to advance our research, teaching, and engagement in these areas while making a meaningful contribution to the common good.”

Chawla will continue to lead the Lucy Institute during the 2025–26 academic year, and an internal search will begin to select a new director for a term beginning in July 2026.

Global Catholic Research Initiative

Cummings, the John A. O’Brien Collegiate Professor of American Studies and History, will direct the Global Catholic Research Initiative, a multifaceted effort to establish Notre Dame as a world leader in advancing research on the global Church and in fostering sustained reflection on the possibilities that Catholic perspectives offer in response to contemporary challenges.

“Kathy is a distinguished historian of American Catholicism, an award-winning teacher, and a talented administrator who led Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism from 2012 to 2023 and sought to expand its global reach,” McGreevy said. “As director of the Global Catholic Research Initiative, she will help build scholarly partnerships to advance understanding of the global Church — where it has been, where it is, and where it might go in the future.”

National media outlets frequently turn to Cummings for expert commentary on the papacy and canonization. She is a past president of the American Catholic Historical Association, a concurrent faculty member in gender studies and Italian studies, and a fellow in the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion. Her current book project focuses on the globalization and modernization of the canonization process.

Cross-Campus Collaboration

Over the last two years, Notre Dame has launched University-wide initiatives on poverty, ethics, democracy, health and well-being (including mental health and bioengineering and life sciences), sustainability, and the arts, while expanding support for the humanities through the Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good.

“The strategic initiatives are designed to facilitate thinking and acting as one institution in order to make the most meaningful contributions to questions of national and international concern as Notre Dame fulfills its mission to be a force for good in the world,” said David Go, vice president and associate provost for academic strategy. “We have an outstanding group of visionary leaders directing these efforts, and I’m excited to add Nitesh and Kathy to that list.”

Chawla and Cummings have been appointed to five-year terms. Working closely with Go, they will each form an executive committee that will include academic leaders and faculty experts to help shape and implement the Data, AI & Computing and Global Catholic Research initiatives in the coming years, including developing fruitful collaborations with the other strategic initiative areas.

Originally published by Kate Garry at strategicframework.nd.edu on September 03, 2025.