The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame ˌ) is a Catholic
research universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in
Notre DameNotre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
, an
unincorporated communityIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
north of the city of
South BendThe city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, in
St. Joseph CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 265,559 people, 100,743 households, and 66,792 families residing in the county. The population density was 581 people per square mile . There were 107,013 housing units at an average density of 234 per square mile...
,
IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The name of the university, "Notre Dame," is French meaning "Our Lady," a Catholic salutation in reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
patron saintA patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of the university.
It was founded by Father
Edward SorinThe Very Rev. Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C. , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross was the founder of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and of St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.-Youth:...
,
CSCThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, who was also the school's first president. It was established as an all-male institution on November 26, 1842, on land donated by the
BishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of
VincennesThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis is a division of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It was originally erected as the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana on May 6, 1834, and encompassed all of Indiana as well as the eastern third of Illinois...
. The university first enrolled women undergraduates in 1972. Today, about 47 percent of the student body is female. Notre Dame's Catholic character is evident in the many Holy Cross priests serving the school (most notably the president of the university), its explicit commitment to the Christian faith, numerous ministries funded by the school, as well as in architecture around campus, especially the Main Building's gold dome topped by a golden statue of St. Mary, a famous replica of the Lourdes grotto, the 134 feet (40.8 m) mosaic of Christ on the side of the Hesburgh Library (entitled "The Word of Life," but affectionately called 'Touchdown Jesus' because of his upraised arms and proximity to the stadium), and the ornate Basilica of the Sacred Heart, along with numerous chapels, statuary and religious iconography.
The university today is organized into five colleges and one professional school, the oldest of which, the College of Arts and Letters, began awarding degrees in 1849. The undergraduate program was ranked 19th among national universities by
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
for 2010-2011. Notre Dame has a comprehensive graduate program with 32 master's and 25 doctoral degree programs. Additionally, the university's library system is one of the 100 largest in the United States.
More than 80% of the university's 8,000 undergraduates live on campus in one of 29 single-sex residence halls, each of which fields teams for more than a dozen
intramural sportsIntramural sports or intramurals are recreational sports organized within a set geographic area. The term derives from the Latin words intra muros meaning "within walls", and was used to indicate sports matches and contests that took place among teams from "within the walls" of an ancient city...
. Notre Dame's approximately 120,000 alumni are located around the world.
Outside academia, Notre Dame is best known for its sports programs, especially its
football teamNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
. The teams are members of the NCAA Division I, and are known collectively as the
Fighting IrishNotre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
, a name it adopted in the 1920s. The football team, an Independent, has accumulated eleven consensus national championships, seven
Heisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winners, and sixty-two members in the
College Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
. Other ND teams, chiefly in the
Big East ConferenceThe Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
, have accumulated 16 national championships.
Catholic character
The school was founded by a group of
CatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
missionary priests and brothers from France, members of the Congregation of Holy Cross (in Latin, Congregatio Sanctae Crucis; more commonly referred to as "CSC," which is also the initials placed after all members' names). The land where they founded the school was donated to them by the Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana. A large part of their early mission was caring for and evangelizing the local Potawatomi tribes. Upon arrival on the lakeshore in the cold of winter, they dedicated their new school and all their endeavors to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the name Notre Dame du Lac, which is French for Our Lady of the Lake.
This Catholic mission of the Congregation, its schools at the site, and their successors has shaped the campus and the university in innumerable ways, both large and small.
While religious affiliation is not a criterion for admission, approximately 80% of undergraduates enrolled self-identify as Catholic. There are many Catholic clubs, organizations, and ministries on campus. There is a large campus ministry program and many volunteer opportunities. There is no compulsory participation in any religious liturgies. Students and clubs of other religions and Christian denominations are welcomed and supported.
Nearly every residence hall has a priest in residence. Every residence hall (and many academic buildings) contains a chapel, where Sunday mass is celebrated during the schoolyear. One dorm is named after a saint (Saint Edward). Sunday and daily masses as well as daily confessions are held in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the center of campus.
Architecturally, the school has always celebrated its Catholic mission. Atop the Main Building's gold dome is a golden statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Immediately in front of the Main Building and facing it, is a copper statue of Christ with arms upraised with the legend "Venite Ad Me Omnes," which is Latin for "Come to me, all you" (Matthew 11:28a). Next to the Main Building sits the magnificent Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Immediately behind the basilica sits the famous, yet intimate Grotto - a Marian place of prayer and reflection. It is a replica of the grotto at
LourdesLourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
, France where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. At the end of the main drive (and in a direct line that connects through 3 statues and the Gold Dome), is a simple, modern stone statue of Mary. Behind her approximately 1000 feet (304.8 m) is a statue of the founder of the school, Rev.
Edward SorinThe Very Rev. Edward Frederick Sorin, C.S.C. , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross was the founder of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and of St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.-Youth:...
. The 14-story Hesburgh Library sports a 134 feet (40.8 m) stone mosaic on its southern face of Christ surrounded by the Apostles and notable scholarly saints and doctors of the Church. This mosaic is entitled "The Word of Life," but is affectionately referred to as 'Touchdown Jesus' because of Christ's upraised arms and the ability to see the mosaic from the stadium through the uprights of the northern endzone. Next to the library is Ivan Mestrovic's large bronze statue of Moses with finger upraised (affectionately known as 'Firstdown Moses').
The university is the major seat of the Congregation of Holy Cross (albeit not its official headquarters, which are in Rome). Its main seminary, Moreau Seminary, is located on the campus across St. Joseph lake from the Main Building. Old College, the oldest building on campus and located near the shore of St. Mary lake, houses undergraduate seminarians. Retired Priests and Brothers reside in Fatima House (a former retreat center), Holy Cross House, as well as Columba Hall near the Grotto. Until the 1970s, many of the support staff were nuns and brothers.
The university supports many Church-related organizations and ministries.
The university has a highly regarded theology program, both undergraduate and graduate, with many world-renowned scholars such as Lawrence Cunningham, John Cavadini, Gary Anderson, and many others.
University by-laws require that the President of the University be a priest of the United States Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Until 1967, when governance was transferred to a lay board of trustees, the university was entirely governed by the leadership of the order.
Although the faculty was well over 85% Catholic before 1970, search practices have broadened. In recent years about half the new faculty hires have been Catholics, and Catholics now comprise 52% of the faculty.
However, in a policy statement the University declares that "the Catholic identity of the University depends upon ... the continuing presence of a predominant number of Catholic intellectuals" on the faculty. As the provost has explained, the aim is "to have a majority of faculty who are Catholic, who understand the nature of the religion, who can be living role models, who can talk with students about issues outside the classroom and can infuse values into what they do."
In 2009, the University received criticism from many Catholic bishops due to its conferral of an
honorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
on President
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. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, whose support of abortion rights and
embryonic stem cellEmbryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
research conflicts with Church teachings on the sanctity of life.
Governance
Since 1967, Notre Dame has been governed by a Board of Trustees, and not directly by the leadership of Holy Cross. The university is governed by two groups, the Board of Fellows and the
Board of TrusteesTrustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
. The Fellows of the University are a group of six Holy Cross religious and six lay members who have final say over the operation of the university. The fellows vote on potential Trustees and sign off on all major decisions by that body. The trustees select the president from the United States Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. In addition to the president, these groups help to maintain the
bylawBy-law can refer to a law of local or limited application passed under the authority of a higher law specifying what things may be regulated by the by-law...
s and elect other officers of the university. Finally, the
provostA provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of the university, currently Dr. Thomas Burish, works under the president to oversee many of the academic activities and functions of the university.
Campus
Notre Dame's campus is located in
Notre Dame, IndianaNotre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
, an
unincorporated communityIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in north
IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, just north of
South BendThe city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
and four miles (6 km) from the
MichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
state line. Development of the campus began in the spring of 1843 when Father Sorin and some of his congregation built the "Old College," a building used for
dormitoriesA dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
, a bakery, and a classroom. A year later, after an architect arrived, a small "Main Building" was built allowing for the launch of the college. Today the campus lies on 1250 acres (5.1 km²) just south of the
Indiana Toll RoadThe Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line...
and includes 138 buildings located on quads throughout the campus.
A number of the buildings that Father Sorin built still stand on the campus, while others have been replaced. The Old College building has become one of two
seminariesA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
on campus run by the
Congregation of Holy CrossThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
. The current Basilica of the Sacred Heart is located on the spot of Sorin's original church, which became too small for the growing college and the Main Building, after a fire destroyed parts of it, has become home to Notre Dame's administration. There are two lakes located on campus, and near the lakes is the Grotto of
Our Lady of LourdesOur Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
, which was built in 1896 as a replica of the
originalThe Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes or the Domain is an area of ground surrounding the shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, France...
in
Lourdes, FranceLourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
.
Sustainability
The University of Notre Dame has made being a sustainability leader an integral part of their mission, creating the Office of Sustainability in 2008 to achieve a number of goals in the areas of power generation, design and construction, waste reduction, procurement, food services, transportation, and water.
Currently, four building construction projects are pursuing LEED Certified status and three are pursuing LEED Silver. Notre Dame’s dining services sources 40% of its food locally and offers sustainably-caught seafood as well as many organic, fair-trade, and vegan options. On the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s College Sustainability Report Card 2010, University of Notre Dame received a "B" grade.
New buildings
The university continues to expand and add new buildings each year. Since 2004, many buildings have been built —- the most prominent being the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the Guglielmino Complex, and the Jordan Hall of Science. Additionally, a new male residence hall, Duncan Hall, began construction on March 8, 2007, and began accepting residents for the Fall 2008 semester. Ryan Hall has recently finished construction and began housing undergraduate women in the fall of 2009. A new engineering building, Stinson-Remick Hall, a new combination Center for Social Concerns/Institute for Church Life building, Geddes Hall, and a law school addition have recently been completed. Additional plans call for a new hockey arena to be completed by the fall of 2011.
LaFortune Student Center
The LaFortune Student Center, commonly known as "LaFortune" or "LaFun," is a 4-story building of 83,000 square feet that provides the Notre Dame community with a meeting place for social, recreational, cultural, and educational activities. The building was constructed in 1883 as a science building but was converted to a student center during the 1950s. LaFortune employs 35 part-time student staff, 29 full-time non-student staff, and has an
annual budgetA budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
of $1.2 million.
Many businesses, services, and Divisions of Student affairs are found within. The building also houses national food chains such as
StarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
,
SbarroSbarro is a bankrupt chain of pizza restaurants that specializes in traditional Italian cuisine, including its most popular menu item "pizza by the slice." Its headquarters is located in Melville, Huntington, New York.- History :...
, and
Burger KingBurger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, with their
SubwaySubway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
franchise ranking No. 1 in Indiana in sales nationwide.
Legends of Notre Dame
Legends of Notre Dame (commonly referred to as Legends) is a
music venueA music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
,
public houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, and
restaurantA restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, just 100 yards south of
Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, just north of the city of South Bend....
. The former Alumni Senior Club opened its doors the first weekend in September 2003 after a $3.5 million renovation and transformed into the all-ages student hang-out that currently exists. Legends is made up of two parts: The Restaurant and Alehouse and the nightclub.
London Centre
The university has had a presence in London since 1968. Since 1998, its London Centre has been based in the former
United University ClubThe United University Club was a London gentlemen's club, founded in 1821. It occupied the purpose-built University Club House, at 1, Suffolk Street, London, England, from 1826 until 1971.-Formation and membership:...
at 1, Suffolk Street in Trafalgar Square. The Centre enables the Colleges of Arts & Letters, Business Administration, Science, Engineering and the Law School to develop their own programs in London, as well as hosting conferences and symposia.
Academics
As of fall 2006, Notre Dame has a student body population of 11,603 total students and employs 1241 full-time faculty members and another 166 part-time members to give a student/faculty ratio of 13:1. Named by
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
as one of the "25 New
IviesThe Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
," it is also an
Oak Ridge Associated UniversityOak Ridge Associated Universities is a consortium of American and British universities headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with an office in Washington, D.C., and staff at several other locations across the country.- History :...
.
Colleges
The
College of Arts and LettersThe College of Arts and Letters is the oldest and largest college within the University of Notre Dame.It includes the following departments and programs:...
was established as the university's first college in 1842 with the first degrees given in 1849. The university's first academic curriculum was modeled after the
JesuitThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
Ratio StudiorumThe Ratio Studiorum often designates the document that formally established the globally influential system of Jesuit education in 1599...
from
Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
. Today the college, housed in O'Shaughnessy Hall, includes 20 departments in the areas of fine arts, humanities, and social sciences, and awards
Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(B.A.) degrees in 33 majors, making it the largest of the university's colleges. There are around 2,500 undergraduates and 750 graduates enrolled in the college.
The College of Science was established at the university in 1865 by then-president Father Patrick Dillon. Dillon's scientific courses were six years of work, including higher-level mathematics courses. Today the college, housed in the newly-built Jordan Hall of Science, includes over 1,200 undergraduates in six departments of study – biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, pre-professional studies, and applied and computational mathematics and statistics (ACMS) – each awarding
Bachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
(B.S.) degrees. According to university statistics, its science pre-professional program has one of the highest acceptance rates to medical school of any university in the United States.
The
School of ArchitectureTraditional and classical architecture occupy a premier place in the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. The first Catholic university in America to offer a degree in architecture, beginning in 1898, Notre Dame now boasts nationally acclaimed undergraduate and post-graduate programs...
was established in 1899, although degrees in architecture were first awarded by the university in 1898. Today the school, housed in Bond Hall, offers a five-year undergraduate program leading to the Bachelor of Architecture degree. One year of study is completed in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
by all students enrolled in the school.
The College of Engineering was established in 1920, however, early courses in civil and mechanical engineering were a part of the College of Science since the 1870s. Today the college, housed in the Fitzpatrick, Cushing, and Stinson-Remick Halls of Engineering, includes five departments of study – aerospace and mechanical engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, civil engineering and geological sciences, computer science and engineering, and electrical engineering – with eight B.S. degrees offered. Additionally, the college offers five-year dual degree programs with the Colleges of Arts and Letters and of Business awarding additional B.A. and
Master of Business AdministrationThe Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
(MBA) degrees, respectively.
The
Mendoza College of BusinessThe Mendoza College of Business is one of the colleges at the University of Notre Dame, which is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States.- History :...
was established by Father
John Francis O'HaraJohn Francis O'Hara, CSC was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.-Early life and education:...
in 1921, although a foreign commerce program was launched in 1917. Today the college offers degrees in accountancy, finance, management, and marketing and enrolls over 1,600 students. In the 2010 Bloomberg/Businessweek Undergraduate Business School Rankings, The Mendoza College of Business was ranked as the top overall school.
All of Notre Dame's undergraduate students are a part of one of the five undergraduate colleges at the school or are in the First Year of Studies program. The First Year of Studies program was established in 1962 to guide incoming freshmen in their first year at the school before they have declared a major. Each student is given an academic advisor from the program who helps them to choose classes that give them exposure to any major in which they are interested. The program also includes a Learning Resource Center which provides time management, collaborative learning, and subject tutoring. This program has been recognized previously, by U.S. News & World Report, as outstanding.
Graduate and professional schools
The university first offered graduate degrees, in the form of a
Master of ArtsA Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(MA), in the 1854–1855 academic year. The program expanded to include
Master of LawsThe Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
(LL.M.) and Master of Civil Engineering in its early stages of growth, before a formal graduate school education was developed with a thesis not required to receive the degrees. This changed in 1924 with formal requirements developed for graduate degrees, including offering
DoctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
(PhD) degrees. Today each of the five colleges offer graduate education. Most of the departments from the College of Arts and Letters offer PhD programs, while a professional
Master of DivinityIn the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
(M.Div.) program also exists. All of the departments in the College of Science offer PhD programs, except for the Department of Pre-Professional Studies. The School of Architecture offers a
Master of ArchitectureThe Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...
, while each of the departments of the College of Engineering offer PhD programs. The College of Business offers multiple professional programs including MBA and
Master of Science in AccountancyMaster of Accountancy , alternatively Master of Professional Accountancy or Master of Science in Accountancy , is a graduate professional degree designed to prepare students for public accounting and to provide them with the 150 credit hours required by most states before taking the...
programs. It also operates facilities in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and
CincinnatiCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
for its executive MBA program. Additionally, the Alliance for Catholic Education program offers a
Master of EducationThe Master of Education is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in a large number of countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum and instruction, counseling, and administration. It is often conferred for educators advancing in...
program where students study at the university during the summer and teach in Catholic
elementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s,
middle schoolMiddle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s, and
high schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s across the
Southern United StatesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
for two school years.
In addition to the programs offered by each of the colleges, the
Notre Dame Law SchoolThe Notre Dame Law School, or NDLS, is the professional graduate law program of its parent institution, the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, NDLS is the oldest Roman Catholic law school in the United States. NDLS is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 100 Law Schools" by U.S. News &...
offers a professional program for students. Established in 1869, Notre Dame was the first Catholic university in the United States to have a
law programA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
. Today the program has consistently ranked among the top law schools in the nation according to US News and World Report. The Law School grants the professional
Juris DoctorJuris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree as well as the graduate LL.M. and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees. Currently, the law school is experiencing an expansion that will double the size of its learning space and is expected to be in operation for the Spring 2009 semester. It is the only accredited American law school to offer a full year of study abroad in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame is dedicated to research, education and outreach on the causes of violent conflict and the conditions for sustainable peace. It offers PhD, Master's, and undergraduate degrees in peace studies. It was founded in 1986 through the donations of
Joan B. KrocJoan Beverly Kroc was the third wife of McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc and a philanthropist.-Early life:...
, the widow of
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
owner
Ray KrocRaymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
. The institute was inspired by the vision of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh CSC, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. The institute has contributed to international policy discussions about peace building practices.
Though Notre Dame does not have a medical school of its own, it hosts a regional campus of the
Indiana University School of MedicineThe Indiana University School of Medicine is a leading medical school and medical research powerhouse connected to Indiana University. With several teaching campuses in the state, the School of Medicine has its predominant research and medical center at the Indiana University – Purdue University...
, where Indiana University medical students may spend the first two years of their medical education before transferring to the main medical campus at IUPUI.
Libraries
The library system of the university is divided between the main library and each of the colleges and schools. The main building is the fourteen-story Theodore M. Hesburgh Library, completed in 1963, which is the third building to house the main collection of books. The front of the library is adorned with the Word of Life
muralA mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
designed by artist
Millard SheetsMillard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
. This mural is popularly known as "Touchdown Jesus" because of its proximity to
Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, just north of the city of South Bend....
and Jesus' arms appearing to make the signal for a
touchdownA touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
.
Another piece of artwork associated with the Library is the statue of Moses by Joseph Turkalj. This statue, popularly known as "First Down Moses" because of the manner in which his right arm is outstretched with his right index finger in the air, is at a side entrance to the building.
The library system also includes branch libraries for Architecture, Chemistry & Physics, Engineering, Law, the Life Sciences, and Mathematics as well as information centers in the Mendoza College of Business, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and a slide library in O'Shaughnessy Hall. The library system holds over three million volumes, was the single largest university library in the world upon its completion, and remains one of the 100 largest libraries in the country.
Rankings
In 2010-2011, Notre Dame ranked 19th overall among "national universities" in the United States in
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
s Best Colleges 2011. Forbes.com's America's Best Colleges ranks Notre Dame 33rd among colleges in the United States for 2010. U.S. News and World Report also lists Notre Dame Law School as 22nd overall.
BusinessWeekBloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
ranks Mendoza College of Business undergraduate school as 1st overall. It ranks the MBA program as 20th overall. Additionally, The Washington Monthly ranked the university 13th nationally in its 2006 edition. The
Philosophical Gourmet ReportThe Philosophical Gourmet Report edited by Philosophy and Law professor Brian Leiter — in response to the Gourman Report — is a ranking of philosophy departments in the English-speaking world, based on a survey of philosophers who are nominated as evaluators by the Report's Advisory...
ranks Notre Dame's graduate philosophy program as 15th nationally, while ARCHITECT Magazine ranked the undergraduate architecture program as 12th nationally. Additionally, the
study abroadStudying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
program ranks sixth in highest participation percentage in the nation, with 57.6% of students choosing to study abroad in 17 countries. According to payscale.com, undergraduate alumni of University of Notre Dame have a mid-career median salary $121,000, making it the 8th highest among colleges and universities in the United States. The median starting salary of $55,300 ranked 41st in the same peer group.
Zahm
Father Joseph Carrier, C.S.C. was Director of the Science Museum and the Library and Professor of Chemistry and Physics until 1874. Carrier taught that scientific research and its promise for progress were not antagonistic to the ideals of intellectual and moral culture endorsed by the Church. One of Carrier's students was Father John Zahm (1851–1921) who was made Professor and Co-Director of the Science Department at age 23 and by 1900 was a nationally prominent scientist and naturalist. Zahm was active in the Catholic Summer School movement, which introduced Catholic laity to contemporary intellectual issues. His book Evolution and Dogma (1896) defended certain aspects of evolutionary theory as true, and argued, moreover, that even the great Church teachers Thomas Aquinas and Augustine taught something like it. The intervention of Irish American Catholics in Rome prevented Zahm's censure by the Vatican. In 1913, Zahm and former President
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
embarked on a major expedition through the Amazon.
Other science
In 1882,
Albert ZahmAlbert Francis Zahm was an early aeronautical experimenter, a professor of physics, and a chief of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Library of Congress....
(John Zahm's brother) built an early
wind tunnelA wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
used to compare lift to drag of aeronautical models. Around 1899, Professor Jerome Green became the first American to send a wireless message. In 1931, Father
Julius NieuwlandReverend Julius Aloysius Nieuwland, CSC, Ph.D., was a Belgian-born Holy Cross priest and professor of chemistry and botany at the University of Notre Dame...
performed early work on basic reactions that was used to create
neopreneNeoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...
. Study of
nuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
at the university began with the building of a
nuclear acceleratorA particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
in 1936, and continues now partly through a partnership in the
Joint Institute for Nuclear AstrophysicsThe Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics in USA is a collaboration between Michigan State University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Chicago to address a broad range of experimental, theoretical, and observational questions in nuclear astrophysics...
.
Lobund Institute
The Lobund Institute grew out of pioneering research in germ-free-life which began in 1928. This area of research originated in a question posed by Pasteur as to whether animal life was possible without bacteria. Though others had taken up this idea, their research was short lived and inconclusive. Lobund was the first research organization to answer definitively, that such life is possible and that it can be prolonged through generations. But the objective was not merely to answer Pasteur's question but also to produce the germ free animal as a new tool for biological and medical research. This objective was reached and for years Lobund was a unique center for the study and production of germ free animals and for their use in biological and medical investigations. Today the work has spread to other universities. In the beginning it was under the Department of Biology and a program leading to the master's degree accompanied the research program. In the 1940s Lobund achieved independent status as a purely research organization and in 1950 was raised to the status of an Institute. In 1958 it was brought back into the Department of Biology as integral part of that department, but with its own program leading to the degree of PhD in Gnotobiotics.
English
Richard Sullivan taught English from 1936 to 1974 and published six novels, dozens of short stories, and various other efforts. Though published by major houses, he never became an important mainstream writer but was known as a regional writer and a Catholic spokesman.
During his long tenure as an English professor during the 1930s-60s, Frank O'Malley emerged as the exemplary American Catholic intellectual. Influenced by Jacques Maritain, John U. Nef, and others, O'Malley developed a concept of Christian philosophy that was a fundamental element in his thought. Through his course "Modern Catholic Writers" O'Malley introduced generations of undergraduates to Gabriel Marcel, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Sigrid Undset, Paul Clandel, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.
European émigrés
The rise of Hitler and other dictators in the 1930s forced numerous Catholic intellectuals to flee Europe; resident
John O’HaraJohn Francis O'Hara, CSC was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.-Early life and education:...
brought many to Notre Dame. From Germany came Anton-Hermann Chroust (1907–1982) in classics and law, and Waldemar Gurian a German Catholic intellectual of Jewish descent. Positivism dominated American intellectual life in the 1920s onward but in marked contrast, Gurian received a German Catholic education and wrote his doctoral dissertation under Max Scheler.
Ivan MeštrovićIvan Meštrović was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor and architect born in Vrpolje, Croatia...
(1883–1962), a renowned sculptor, brought Croatian culture to campus, 1955-62.
Yves SimonThis article is about the political philosopher. For the singer, see Yves Simon .Yves René Marie Simon was a French Catholic political philosopher, sometimes referred to as the "Philosopher of the Fighting French" for his support of the resistance to the Vichy government.-Life:Simon studied under...
(1903–61), brought to ND in the 1940s the insights of French studies in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition of philosophy; his own teacher
Jacques MaritainJacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
(1882-73) was a frequent visitor to campus.
The exiles developed a distinctive emphasis on the evils of totalitarianism. For example the political science courses of Gerhart Niemeyer (1907–97) explained communist ideology and were particularly accessible to his students. He came to ND in 1955, and was a frequent contributor to the National Review and other conservative magazines.
Political science
The Review of Politics was founded in 1939 by Gurian, modeled after German Catholic journals. It quickly emerged as part of an international Catholic intellectual revival, offering an alternative vision to positivist philosophy. For 44 years, the Review was edited by Gurian, Matthew Fitzsimons, Frederick Crosson, and Thomas Stritch. Intellectual leaders included Gurian, Jacques Maritain, Frank O'Malley, Leo Richard Ward, F. A. Hermens, and John U. Nef. It became a major forum for political ideas and modern political concerns, especially from a Catholic and scholastic tradition.
Research today
Today, research continues in many fields, as the current university president, Father Jenkins, described his hope that Notre Dame would become "one of the pre–eminent research institutions in the world" in his inaugural address. The university has many multi-disciplinary institutes devoted to research in varying fields, including the Medieval Institute, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Kroc Institute for International
Peace studiesPeace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition...
, and the Center for Social Concerns. Recent research includes work on family conflict and child development,
genome mappingGenome projects are scientific endeavours that ultimately aim to determine the complete genome sequence of an organism and to annotate protein-coding genes and other important genome-encoded features...
, the increasing
trade deficitThe balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports of output in an economy over a certain period. It is the relationship between a nation's imports and exports...
of the United States with China, studies in
fluid mechanicsFluid mechanics is the study of fluids and the forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; fluid kinematics, the study of fluids in motion; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion...
, and marketing trends on the Internet.
Endowment
Notre Dame's
financial endowmentA financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
was started in the early 1920s by then-president of the university, Father James Burns, and increased to
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
7 million by 1952 when Father Hesburgh became president. By the 1980s it reached $150 million, and in 2000 it returned a record 57.9% investment. For the 2007 fiscal year, the endowment had grown to approximately $6.5 billion, putting the university in the top-15 largest endowments in the country. As of October, 2009, Notre Dame's endowment is valued at $5.5 billion.
Students
The Notre Dame student body consists of 11,733 students, with 8,371
undergraduatesUndergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
and 3,362
graduate and professionalA graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
students. Around 21–24% of students are children of
alumniAn alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
, and although 37% of students come from the
Midwestern United StatesThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, the student body represents all 50 states and 100 countries.
The Princeton ReviewThe Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
ranks the school as the fifth highest "dream school" for parents to send their children. The school has been previously criticized for its lack of diversity, and The Princeton Review ranks the university highly among schools at which "Alternative Lifestyles [are] Not an Alternative." However, it has also been commended by some diversity oriented publications; Hispanic Magazine ranks the university ninth on its list of the top–25 colleges for
LatinosHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
, and the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education recognizes the university for raising enrollment of African-American students. With 6,000 participants, the university's
intramural sportsIntramural sports or intramurals are recreational sports organized within a set geographic area. The term derives from the Latin words intra muros meaning "within walls", and was used to indicate sports matches and contests that took place among teams from "within the walls" of an ancient city...
program has been named by
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
as the best program in the country, while The Princeton Review named it as the top school where "Everyone Plays Intramural Sports." The annual Bookstore
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
tournament is the largest outdoor five-on-five tournament in the world with over 700 teams participating each year, while the Notre Dame Men's
BoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Club hosts the annual
Bengal BoutsThe Bengal Bouts is a charity boxing tournament hosted by the Men's Boxing Club held annually at the University of Notre Dame, with proceeds benefiting the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh. Begun in 1920 by legendary football coach Knute Rockne to condition football players in the offseason, the...
tournament that raises money for the Holy Cross Missions in
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.
The strictly measured federal graduation rate for athletes was 86% for freshmen who entered between 2000 and 2002. This is one of the highest in the country.
Residence halls
About 80% of undergraduates and 20% of graduate students live on campus. The majority of the graduate students on campus live in one of four graduate housing complexes on campus, while all on-campus undergraduates live in one of the 29 residence halls. Because of the religious affiliation of the university, all residence halls are single-sex, with 15 male dorms and 14 female dorms. The university enforces a visitation policy (known as parietals) on those students who live in dormitories, specifying times when members of the opposite sex are allowed to visit, however, all residence halls have 24-hour social spaces in which parietals are not enforced. Many residence halls have at least one nun and/or priest as a resident. There are no
fraternities or sororitiesFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
at the university, but a majority of students live in the same residence hall for all four years. Some intramural sports are based on residence hall teams, where the university offers the only non-
military academyA military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
program of full-contact intramural American football. At the end of the intramural season, the championship game is played on the field in
Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, just north of the city of South Bend....
.
Religious life
With the university affiliated with the
Congregation of Holy CrossThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, its Catholic identity permeates into student life. More than 93% of students identify as
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, with over 80% of them being Catholic. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is on campus and each residence hall has a
chapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. Collectively,
Catholic Mass"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
is celebrated over 100 times per week on campus. There are multitudes of religious statues and artwork around campus, most prominent of which are the statue of Mary on the Main Building, the Notre Dame Grotto, and the Word of Life mural on Hesburgh Library depicting Christ as a teacher. Additionally, every classroom displays a
crucifixA crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
. There are many religious clubs at the school, including Council #1477 of the
Knights of ColumbusThe Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
(KOC),
Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM)The Baptist Student Union is the traditional name of a college-level organization that can be found on many college campuses in the United States and Canada. As the term BSU became associated with other organizations, many local ministries changed their name...
, Jewish Club, Muslim Student Association, Orthodox Christian Fellowship, The Mormon Club, and many more. The Notre Dame KofC are known for being the first collegiate council of KofC, operating a charitable
concession standA concession stand , snack kiosk or snack bar is the term used to refer to a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to sell food to third parties...
during every home football game and owning their own building on campus which can be used as a cigar lounge.
Student-run media
Like most universities, Notre Dame's students run a number of media outlets. The nine student-run outlets include three newspapers, both a radio and television station, and several magazines and journals. The newspapers have varying publication interests, with The Observer published daily and mainly reporting university and other news. The Observer is staffed by students from both Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College, the women's college located nearby. Unlike Scholastic and The Dome, The Observer is an independent publication and does not have a faculty advisor or any editorial oversight from the University. In 1987, when some students believed that The Observer began to show a
conservativeConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
bias, a
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
newspaper, Common Sense was published. Likewise, in 2003, when other students believed that the paper showed a liberal bias, the conservative paper Irish Rover went into production. Neither paper is published as often as The Observer, however all three are distributed to all students.
The television station,
NDtvNDtv, or Notre Dame Television is a student television station funded by the University of Notre Dame that airs on Notre Dame campus cable channel 53. It broadcasts 24 hours a day and is entirely student-run.-History:...
, grew from one show in 2002 to a full 24-hour channel with original programming by September 2006.
WSND-FMWSND-FM is a radio station licensed to Notre Dame, Indiana, USA. WSND-FM began in 1962 as a 10-Watt non-commercial, educational station licensed to the University of Notre Dame. It was operated by students during the University Fall and Spring semesters...
serves the student body and larger South Bend community at 88.9 FM, offering students a chance to become involved in bringing classical music, fine arts and educational programming, and alternative rock to the airwaves. Another radio station, WVFI, began as a partner of WSND-FM, however, has since been airing independently and can be streamed from the Internet. Begun as a one-page journal in September 1876, the
ScholasticScholastic is the official student publication of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1867, Scholastic is the United States' oldest continuous collegiate publication. In its history, Scholastic has served both as Notre Dame's weekly student newspaper and now as a monthly news magazine...
magazine is issued twice monthly and claims to be the oldest continuous collegiate publication in the United States. The other magazine, The Juggler, is released twice a year and focuses on student literature and artwork. The Dome yearbook is published annually. Finally, in Spring 2008 an undergraduate journal for political science research, Beyond Politics, made its debut.
Eddy Street Commons
The first phase of Eddy Street Commons, a $215 million development located adjacent to the University of Notre Dame campus and funded by the university, broke ground on June 3, 2008. The Eddy Street Commons drew union protests when workers hired by the City of South Bend to construct the public parking garage picketed the private work site after a contractor hired non-union workers. The developer, Kite Realty out of Indianapolis, has made agreements with major national chains rather than local businesses, a move that has led to criticism from alumni and students.
Alumni
Notre Dame alumni number near 120,000, and are members of 275 alumni clubs around the world. Many alumni give yearly monetary support to the university, with a school-record 53.2% giving some donation in 2006. Many buildings on campus are named for those whose donations allowed their building, including residence halls, classroom buildings, and the performing arts center.
Notre Dame alumni work in various fields. Alumni working in political fields include
state governorsIn the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state.-Role and powers:...
, members of the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and former
United States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
. A notable alumni of the College of Science is Nobel Prize winner
Eric F. Wieschaus-External links:***, excellent profile**...
. A number of university heads are alumni, including Notre Dame's current president, Rev. John Jenkins. Additionally, many alumni are in the
mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, including talk show hosts
Regis PhilbinRegis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
and
Phil DonahuePhillip John "Phil" Donahue is an American media personality, writer, and film producer best known as the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, also known as Donahue, was the first to use a talk show format. The show had a 26-year run on U.S...
, and television and radio personalities such as
Mike GolicMichael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....
and
Hannah StormHannah Storm is an American television sports journalist, serving as co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter Monday–Thursday mornings, and is also host of the NBA Countdown pregame show on ABC as part of the network's NBA Sunday game coverage.-Early life and career:Storm was born in Oak Park, Illinois,...
. With the university having high profile sports teams itself, a number of alumni went on to become involved in athletics outside the university, including professional baseball, basketball, football, and ice hockey players, such as Joe Theisman,
Joe MontanaJoseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
, Tim Brown, Rocket Ismail,
Megan DuffyMegan Duffy is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the New York Liberty.Duffy was born in Dayton, Ohio. After graduating from Chaminade-Julienne, a Catholic high school in Dayton, she attended college at University of Notre Dame and graduated in 2006 with...
,
Jeff SamardzijaJeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...
,
Jerome BettisJerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
,
Brett LebdaBrett Steven Lebda is an American professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League...
Olympic gold medalist
Mariel ZagunisMariel Leigh Zagunis is an American Olympic sabre fencer, of Lithuanian heritage. She won the gold medals in the individual sabre at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. She is only the second American ever to have won a gold medal in Olympic fencing.-Biography:Zagunis is the...
, former football coaches such as
Charlie WeisCharles Joseph "Charlie" Weis is an American football coach. He currently serves as offensive coordinator for the Florida Gators. For five years, from December 2004 through 2009, he was the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame...
and
Knute RockneKnute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
, and NBA Hall of Famers
Austin CarrAustin George Carr is a retired American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association. He is known by Cleveland basketball fans as "Mr. Cavalier".-Early years and high school career:...
and
Adrian DantleyAdrian Delano Dantley is a retired American basketball player who played 15 seasons in the NBA, including seven as a member of the Utah Jazz. A forward/guard and six-time NBA All-Star, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008...
. Other notable alumni include prominent businessman Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr., and
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Jim WetherbeeJames Donald "Wxb" Wetherbee is an American Naval officer and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of six Space Shuttle missions and is the only American to have commanded five spaceflight missions....
.
Athletics
Notre Dame's NCAA Division I teams are known as the Fighting Irish. This name was used in the early 1920s with respect to the football team and was popularized by alumnus Francis Wallace in his New York Daily News columns. The official colors of Notre Dame are gold and blue which are worn in competition by its athletic teams. In addition, the color green is often worn because of the Fighting Irish nickname. The
Notre Dame LeprechaunThe Notre Dame leprechaun is the mascot of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He appears at athletic events, most notably at football games. It was designed by noted sports artist Theodore W...
is the mascot of the athletic teams. Created by
Theodore W. DrakeTheodore "Ted" W. Drake was an American cartoonist, graphic artist, and sports artist known for his iconic creation, the Notre Dame Leprechaun....
in 1964, the leprechaun was first used on the football pocket schedule and later on the football program covers. The leprechaun was featured on the cover of
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
in November 1964 and gained national exposure.
The university offers 26
varsityIn the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
sports, 13 each for men and women. 22 of these teams compete in the
Big East ConferenceThe Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
, while football is Independent, both
fencingFencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
teams are in the Midwest Fencing Conference, and the
hockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
team is in the
Hockey EastHockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....
. The university
marching bandMarching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
plays at home games for most of the sports. The band, which began in 1846 and has a claim as the oldest university band in continuous existence in the United States, was honored by the National Music Council as a "Landmark of American Music" during the
United States BicentennialThe United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
. The band regularly plays the school's
fight songA fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
the
Notre Dame Victory MarchThe "Notre Dame Victory March" is the fight song for the University of Notre Dame. It was written by two brothers who were Notre Dame graduates. The Rev. Michael J. Shea, a 1905 graduate, wrote the music, and his brother, John F. Shea, who earned degrees in 1906 and 1908, wrote the original lyrics...
, which was named as the most played and most famous fight song by
Northern IllinoisNorthern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
Professor
William StudwellWilliam Emmett Studwell was an American librarian who became known for his knowledge of carols.-Biography:William Studwell was born in Stamford, Connecticut and he studied history at the University of Connecticut....
. According to College Fight Songs: An Annotated Anthology published in 1998, the “Notre Dame Victory March” ranks as the greatest fight song of all time.
According to some analysts, Notre Dame promotes
Muscular ChristianityMuscular Christianity is a term for a movement originating during the Victorian era which stressed the need for energetic Christian activism in combination with an ideal of vigorous masculinity...
through its athletic programs.
Football
The Notre Dame football team has a long history, first beginning when the
Michigan Wolverines footballThe Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team brought football to Notre Dame in 1887 and played against a group of students. In the long history since then, 13 Fighting Irish teams have won consensus
national championshipsA college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
(although the university only claims 11), along with another nine teams being named national champion by at least one source. Additionally, the program has the most members in the
College Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
, is tied with
Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
with the most
Heisman TrophiesThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
won, and have the second highest
winning percentageIn sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
in NCAA history. With the long history, Notre Dame has accumulated many
rivalsNotre Dame Fighting Irish football rivalries refers to rivalries of the University of Notre Dame in the sport of college football. Notre Dame rivalries encompass many teams. Because the Fighting Irish are independent of a football conference, they play a more national schedule, and have thus...
, and its annual game against USC for the
Jeweled ShillelaghThe Jeweled Shillelagh is passed between the annual winner of the college football game between the University of Southern California Trojans and the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The shillelagh, an Irish war club, is made of oak or blackthorn saplings from Ireland...
has been named by some as the second greatest college football rivalry ever.
George GippGeorge "The Gipper" Gipp was a college football player who played for the University of Notre Dame. Gipp was selected as Notre Dame's first All-American and is Notre Dame's second consensus All-American , after Gus Dorais. Gipp played multiple positions, most notably halfback, quarterback, and...
was the school’s legendary football player during 1916-20. He played semiprofessional baseball and smoked, drank, and gambled when not playing sports. He was also humble, generous to the needy, and a man of integrity. It was in 1928 that famed coach
Knute RockneKnute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
used his final conversation with the dying Gipp to inspire the Notre Dame team to beat the Army team and "win one for the Gipper." The 1940 film,
Knute Rockne, All AmericanKnute Rockne, All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien, Ronald Reagan, Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis, Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne. It also...
, starred
Pat O'BrienPat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
as Knute Rockne and
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as Gipp.
Today the team competes in
Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame Stadium is the home football stadium for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. The stadium is located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States, just north of the city of South Bend....
, an 80,795-seat stadium on campus. Charlie Weis was named head coach on December 12, 2004, and was fired after losing four straight games, the last to Stanford, on November 29, 2009. After 5 years coaching the Fighting Irish, Weis accumulated a 35–27 record, and led his team to two
Bowl Championship SeriesThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
bowl gameIn North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
s. However, the
2007 teamThe 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was the college football team that represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2007 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis in his third year as head coach, and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre...
had the most losses ever for the school. The football team generates enough revenue to operate independently while $22.1 million is retained from the team's profits for academic use.
ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
named the team as the most valuable in college football, worth a total of $101 million in 2007.
Men's basketball
The men's basketball team has over 1,600 wins, one of only 12 schools who have reached that mark, and have appeared in 28
NCAA tournamentsThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
. Former player,
Austin CarrAustin George Carr is a retired American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association. He is known by Cleveland basketball fans as "Mr. Cavalier".-Early years and high school career:...
, holds the record for most points scored in a single game of the tournament with 61. Although the team has never won the NCAA Tournament, they were named by the
Helms Athletic FoundationThe Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
as national champions twice. The team has orchestrated a number of
upsetAn upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
s of number one ranked teams, the most notable of which was ending
UCLAThe UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...
's record 88-game winning streak in 1974. The team has beaten an additional eight number-one teams, and those nine wins rank second, to UCLA's 10, all-time in wins against the top team. The team plays in newly renovated Purcell Pavilion, which opened for the beginning of the 2009-2010 season, The team is coached by
Mike BreyMike Brey is an American college basketball coach. He has been the men's head coach at the University of Notre Dame since July 14, 2000.-Early life and education:...
, who, as of the 2006–07 season, his seventh, has achieved a 142–78 record. Just in 2009 they were invited to the NIT, where they advanced to the semifinals but were beaten by Penn State who went on and beat Baylor in the championship. The 2010-11 team concluded its regular season ranked number seven in the country, with a record of 25-5, Brey's fifth straight 20-win season, and a second place finish in the Big East.
Other sports
Notre Dame has been successful in other sports besides football, with an additional 14 national championships in various sports. Three teams have won multiple national championships with the fencing team leading them with seven, followed by the men's
tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and women's soccer teams each with two. The men's
cross countryCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, men's
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, and women's basketball teams have each won one in their histories.
In the first ten years that Notre Dame competed in the Big East Conference its teams won a total of 64 championships.
In 2006-07, Notre Dame's hockey team finished the regular season ranked #1. The women's swimming and diving team holds the Big East record for consecutive conference championships in any sport with 14 straight conference titles (1997-2010).
Music
The
Band of the Fighting IrishThe Band of the Fighting Irish is the marching band of the University of Notre Dame. The over 380 members of the band represent nearly every field of study, and include students from all fifty states as well as from overseas...
is the oldest university marching band in continuous existence. It was formed in 1846. The all-male Glee Club was formed in 1915.
Fight song
The "Notre Dame Victory March" is the
fight songA fight song is primarily an American and Canadian sports term, referring to a song associated with a team. In both professional and amateur sports, fight songs are a popular way for fans to cheer for their team...
for the University of Notre Dame. It was written by two brothers who were Notre Dame graduates. The Rev. Michael J. Shea, a 1904 graduate, wrote the music, and his brother, John F. Shea, who earned degrees in 1906 and 1908, wrote the original lyrics. The lyrics were revised in the 1920s; it first appeared under the copyright of the University of Notre Dame in 1928. The chorus is, "Cheer cheer for old Notre Dame, wake up the echos cheering her name. Send a volley cheer on high, shake down the thunder from the sky! What though the odds be great or small, old Notre Dame will win over all. While her loyal sons are marching, onward to victory!"
The chorus of the song is one of the most recognizable collegiate fight songs in the United States, and was ranked first among fight songs by Northern Illinois University Professor William Studwell, who remarked it was "more borrowed, more famous and, frankly, you just hear it more."
In the film
Knute Rockne, All AmericanKnute Rockne, All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach. It stars Pat O'Brien, Ronald Reagan, Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Albert Bassermann, Owen Davis, Jr., Nick Lukats, Kane Richmond, William Marshall and William Byrne. It also...
,
Knute RockneKnute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
(played by
Pat O'BrienPat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
) delivers the famous "Win one for the Gipper" speech, at which point the background music swells with the Notre Dame Victory March.
George GippGeorge "The Gipper" Gipp was a college football player who played for the University of Notre Dame. Gipp was selected as Notre Dame's first All-American and is Notre Dame's second consensus All-American , after Gus Dorais. Gipp played multiple positions, most notably halfback, quarterback, and...
was played by
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, whose nickname "The Gipper" was derived from this role. The song also was prominent in the movie
RudyRudy is a 1993 American sports 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...
, with
Sean AstinSean Astin is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24...
as
Daniel "Rudy" RuettigerDaniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger is a motivational speaker and former collegiate football player for the University of Notre Dame, who is best known as the inspiration for the motion picture Rudy....
, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles.
Further reading
- Burns, Robert E. Being Catholic, Being American: The Notre Dame Story, 1934–1952, Vol. 2. (2000). 632pp. excerpt and text search
- Corson, Dorothy V. A Cave of Candles: The Spirit, History, Legends and Lore of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's (2006), 222pp.
- Hesburgh, Theodore M. God, Country, Notre Dame: The Autobiography of Theodore M. Hesburgh (2000)
- McAvoy, Thomas T. "Notre Dame, 1919-1922: The Burns Revolution." Review of Politics 1963 25(4): 431-450. in JSTOR
- McAvoy, Thomas T. Father O'Hara of Notre Dame (1967)
- Massa, Mark S. Catholics and American Culture: Fulton Sheen, Dorothy Day, and the Notre Dame Football Team. (1999). 278 pp.
- O'Brien, Michael. Hesburgh: A Biography. (1998). 354 pp.
- O'Connell, Marvin R. Edward Sorin. (2001). 792 pp.
- Rice, Charles E., Ralph McInerny, and Alfred J. Freddoso. What Happened to Notre Dame? (2009) laments the weakening of Catholicism at ND
- Robinson, Ray. Rockne of Notre Dame: The Making of a Football Legend. (1999). 290 pp.
- Sperber, Murray. Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football. (1993) 634 pp.
- Yaeger, Don and Looney, Douglas S. Under the Tarnished Dome: How Notre Dame Betrayed Its Ideals for Football Glory. (1993). 299 pp.
External links