The Rev.
Theodore Martin Hesburgh,
CSCThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
,
STDThe Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
(born May 25, 1917), a priest of the
Congregation of Holy CrossThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, is President
EmeritusEmeritus is an adjective that is used in the title of a retired professor, bishop, or other professional. Emerita is often used as the female equivalent, although avoided by purists, since phrases such as professor emerita are ungrammatical in Latin...
of the
University of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, Indiana, USA....
. He is the namesake for
TIAA-CREFTIAA-CREF is one of the largest financial services companies in the United States, with $398 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2008....
's
Hesburgh AwardThe Hesburgh Award is an award, established in 1993, given by TIAA-CREF to a university that has exceptional faculty development programs. It is named for Theodore M...
.
Hesburgh grew up in Syracuse and had wished to become a priest since early childhood. He studied at Notre Dame until his seminary sent him to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. He studied in Rome until he was forced to leave due to the outbreak of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He graduated from
The Catholic University of AmericaThe Catholic University of America , located in Northeast Washington, D.C., is the national university of the Roman Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops...
in 1945, having earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology.
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
The Rev.
Theodore Martin Hesburgh,
CSCThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
,
STDThe Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
(born May 25, 1917), a priest of the
Congregation of Holy CrossThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, is President
EmeritusEmeritus is an adjective that is used in the title of a retired professor, bishop, or other professional. Emerita is often used as the female equivalent, although avoided by purists, since phrases such as professor emerita are ungrammatical in Latin...
of the
University of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, Indiana, USA....
. He is the namesake for
TIAA-CREFTIAA-CREF is one of the largest financial services companies in the United States, with $398 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2008....
's
Hesburgh AwardThe Hesburgh Award is an award, established in 1993, given by TIAA-CREF to a university that has exceptional faculty development programs. It is named for Theodore M...
.
Hesburgh grew up in Syracuse and had wished to become a priest since early childhood. He studied at Notre Dame until his seminary sent him to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. He studied in Rome until he was forced to leave due to the outbreak of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He graduated from
The Catholic University of AmericaThe Catholic University of America , located in Northeast Washington, D.C., is the national university of the Roman Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops...
in 1945, having earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. He became executive vice-president in 1949 and served in that position for 3 years.
He served as Notre Dame's President for 35 years (1952-87), the longest tenure so far. He holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for “Most Honorary Degrees”, having been awarded 150. He was awarded the
Presidential Medal of FreedomThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is, along with theequivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress, the highest civilian award in the U.S...
in 1964, the Congressional Gold Medal on December 9 1999 and the United States Military Academy's
Sylvanus Thayer AwardThe Sylvanus Thayer Award is an award that is given each year by the United States Military Academy at West Point. Sylvanus Thayer was the fifth superintendent of that academy and in honor of his achievements, the award was created...
in 1980.
In 1967, he led an academic movement which issued the so-called Land O'Lakes statement which insisted upon "true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of whatever kind, lay or clerical".
In 1982 he was awarded the F. Sadlier Dinger Award by educational publisher
William H. Sadlier, Inc.-History:It began in 1832 when brothers Denis and James Sadlier emigrated from Dublin, Ireland to New York and began to publish materials to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the Catholic community...
in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the ministry of religious education in America. He was the first recipient of the
NCAA Gerald R. Ford AwardThe NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award was named in recognition of Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States. Presented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the award honors an individual who has provided significant leadership in the role of advocate for intercollegiate...
in 2004.
Hesburgh served as a member of the United States Civil Rights Commission from 1957, and Chairman from 1969, until his dismissal by President
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
in 1972 due to his frequent opposition to Nixon policies. He also served in a number of other posts on government commissions, non-profit organization boards, and Vatican missions, beginning with his appointment to a science commission by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954.
According to
Rick PerlsteinEric S. "Rick" Perlstein is an American historian and journalist. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in History in 1992. He is a former writer for The Village Voice and The New Republic and the author of numerous articles in other publications...
in
Nixonland, Hesburgh was considered by
George McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is a former United States Representative, Senator, and Democratic presidential nominee. McGovern lost the 1972 presidential election in a landslide to Richard Nixon. As a decorated World War II combat veteran, McGovern was known for his opposition to the Vietnam...
as his running mate in the
1972 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
. McGovern chose
Thomas EagletonThomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being a Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, sharing the ticket under George McGovern in 1972...
.
President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
appointed him to a blue-ribbon immigration reform commission in 1979; the commission's finding — that any national immigration reform proposals can succeed only if the American national border is properly secured beforehand — has been cited by various opponents of
illegal immigration to the United StatesIllegal immigration to the United States refers to the act of foreign nationals violating U.S. immigration policies and national laws by immigrating to the United States without proper consent from the United States government....
, especially those that are Catholic or sympathetic to Catholic views.
He was one of the founders of
People for the American WayPeople For the American Way is a politically liberal advocacy organization in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, People For is organized as a tax-exempt 501 non-profit organization...
. Hesburgh served on the
Knight CommissionThe Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, often referred to simply as the Knight Commission, is a panel of members of the American academic, athletic and journalism communities, with an eye toward reform of college athletics, particularly in regard to practices in recruiting for football...
that overhauled college sports from 1990 to 1996. Hesburgh was a major figure in US politics and the Catholic Church from the 1950s to the 1990s, and he is still influential today. He is an endorser of the
Genocide Intervention Networkthumb|right|300px|Genocide Intervention Network logoThe Genocide Intervention Network is a non-profit organization that "envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities...
and is a strong supporter of interfaith dialogue.
In 2009, he supported the invitation for
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
to speak at Notre Dame, which was controversial because of Obama's strong endorsement of pro-choice legislation.
Hesburgh Library
The University of Notre Dame's library opened on September 18, 1963 as the Memorial Library. It was named after Father Hesburgh in 1987. He has a private office on the thirteenth floor with the Olympic Torch from the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.
Trivia
Father Hesburgh appeared in the 1993 film
RudyRudy is a 1993 film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles....
, in the role of a priest.
Father Theodore Hesburgh was awarded the honorary membership of the Austrian catholic fraternity KÖHV Alpenland in 1961.
External links