In memoriam: Michael Montalbano, adjunct assistant teaching professor
Michael Montalbano, adjunct assistant teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday (Nov. 7) at his home in South Bend, Indiana. He was 66.
The South Bend native taught undergraduate and graduate management courses at Notre Dame since 2015. He was a business executive with more than 40 years of experience in marketing, strategy and executive development, holding leadership positions from vice president of marketing to president and CEO. He served on numerous boards and as the managing director of Verso Ministries, a Catholic pilgrimage company that organizes travel to sacred sites worldwide. In 2018, he founded Imprenditori, a company that supports entrepreneurs in growing their ventures.
Montalbano was a graduate of Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He later earned a Master of Business Administration from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Mendoza College of Business hosted a walk to the Grotto and a prayer service for students, faculty and staff in Montalbano’s honor on Wednesday (Nov. 8) with faculty chaplain Rev. Frank Murphy, C.S.C., presiding. Students recalled Montalbano’s deep authenticity, his gift for mentorship and his genuine care for them as individuals.
“Mr. Montalbano was a great mentor and friend,” said Matthew Potter, a senior accountancy student at Mendoza. “I will really miss the dinners he hosted for some of us in the Marine Corps ROTC host family program and all the amazing advice and stories he had to offer.”
“Mike went out of his way to host student gatherings at his house,” said Craig Crossland, senior associate dean for programs at Mendoza College of Business. “He would often invite more than a dozen students at a time from his undergraduate and graduate classes to join himself and his wife for dinner and community building. He truly loved Notre Dame and our students.”
Montalbano was well-known and respected for his contributions to the local community, including organizing literary events, participating in local literary organizations and supporting literacy programs for underprivileged youth.
Montalbano is survived by his wife, Susan; three sons, Vincent (Millicent) Montalbano of Austin, Texas, Thomas (Emily) Montalbano of Fort Mill, South Carolina, and Dominic (Angela) Montalbano of Holliston, Massachusetts; and seven grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Monday (Nov. 13) in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Inurnment will follow in Cedar Grove Cemetery. His obituary is available here.
Latest Colleges & Schools
- PAM-M partners with civil society in baseline report, shedding light on Bangsamoro peace process in the PhilippinesThe Peace Accords Matrix-Mindanao (PAM-M) project, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies within the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, released a civil society baseline report detailing progress and challenges in the Bangsamoro peace process in the Philippines.
- Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to deliver Keeley Vatican LectureRev. Msgr. Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, undersecretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will deliver the Keeley Vatican Lecture on Monday (Feb. 10) at 5 p.m. at the University of Notre Dame.
- Liam O’Connor selected as 2025 Richard H. Driehaus Prize Laureate at the University of Notre Dame; Philippe Rotthier wins Henry Hope Reed AwardLiam O’Connor has been named the recipient of the 2025 Richard H. Driehaus Prize in honor of his lifelong dedication to and outstanding achievements in creating distinctive private, public and civic projects. In conjunction with the Driehaus Prize, Philippe Rotthier was named the next Henry Hope Reed Award laureate for his lifelong success in elevating new traditional architecture and urbanism to public prominence.
- Aspects of marriage counseling may hold the key to depolarizing, unifying the country, study findsResearch has shown that polarization undermines democracy by driving citizens to prioritize partisan preferences over democratic principles, encourages democratic gridlock and threatens democratic attitudes and norms, such as tolerance for opposition. A recent study from the University of Notre Dame found that “reciprocal group reflection” — an intervention inspired by marriage counseling — helped reduce affective polarization among opposing political parties.
- Nanovic Institute awards 2025 Laura Shannon Prize to Megan Brown, author of ‘The Seventh Member State’The Nanovic Institute for European Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, has awarded the 2025 Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies to Megan Brown, associate professor of history at Swarthmore College, for her book “The Seventh Member State,” published by Harvard University Press.
- Protective actions need regulatory support to fully defend homeowners and coastal communities, study findsAs climate change drives increasingly severe hurricanes, U.S. coastal communities are bearing the brunt of mounting losses. With regulations failing to curb the damage, homeowners have become the front line of defense — but their efforts often fall short, according to research from the University of Notre Dame.
