The Enduring Legacy of the University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, commonly known as Notre Dame (ND), stands as a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order of priests and brothers, Notre Dame has evolved from a humble frontier school to a globally recognized center of learning, dedicated to teaching, research, and service.
Founding and Early Years
The story of Notre Dame begins with a journey from France. In 1839, Bishop Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes contacted Rev. Basil Moreau, C.S.C., founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, expressing his concern over the lack of Catholic education in his diocese. He pleaded for Moreau to send him a priest and four brothers to set up a school. When enough funds were raised, Moreau chose a young and energetic priest Rev. Edward Sorin to lead the effort. Accompanied by six brothers, Fr. Sorin left Le Havre, France on August 8, 1841, on the ship the Iowa, and arrived in New York on September 13, 1841.
Bishop De la Hailandiere gave Sorin and his brothers possession of the church of St Peter and its annexed farm in Montgomery, Indiana. The lack of funds and the harsh winter made life in the farm difficult. In the early months of 1842, Fr. Sorin started to conceive the idea of founding a college. On November 16, Rev. Edward Sorin traveled to the chosen site with seven Holy Cross brothers. On the afternoon of November 26, 1842, Sorin arrived South Bend (at the time just a small village). That very afternoon Rev. Sorin and the Brothers went to investigate the lands they were given, and found them mantled with snow.
The task that Rev. Sorin and his Brothers had in front of them was not easy: with little money (about $370) they had to administer both to the local Indian tribes (since they inherited the mission with the land) and to the local white Catholics (who were an underrepresented minority in a largely Protestant area), and at the same time found a college in two years. Sorin and his seven brothers (three French and four Irish) traveled 250 miles north in one of Indiana's harshest winters. They split, and Sorin with the first group arrived in South Bend on the afternoon of November 26, 1842.
The most immediate concern were suitable and warm lodgings for the Sorin and the seven brothers present and for those in St. Peter's who were yet to come north. Sorin dedicated himself to building a college proper, since the foundation of such within two years was the condition on which he had been given the land by bishop Hailandière. Sorin and the brothers constructed Old College, a two-story brick building that served as dormitory, bakery, and classrooms. Indeed, in February 1843, Brother Vincent, Lawrence, Koachim, and eight novices arrived from St. Peter's to Notre Dame. With Old College ready, the college officially opened to its first five students in the fall of 1843, with seven more arriving in the next months. Sorin based the school around the French collège model, which combined two years of high school and four years of college.
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During the early years, Notre Dame faced many hardships. Fires were relatively common and often disastrous. In 1849, the Manual Labor School was completely destroyed. In 1855, the original log cabins burned and the farm equipment and storehouse were destroyed.
Rev. Basil Moreau, founder and Superior General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, made his only visit to the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College.
Growth and Transformation
As it grew under the presidency of Sorin and his successors, new academic programs were offered and new buildings built to accommodate the growing student and faculty population. Science entered the curriculum in 1865, and in 1869 a Department of Law, now the oldest American law school under Catholic auspices, began functioning. The brief presidency of Patrick Dillon (1865-1866) saw the original main building replaced with a larger one that housed the university's administration, classrooms, and dormitories. Under William Corby's first administration, enrollment at Notre Dame increased to over 500 students. In 1869, he opened the law school, which offered a two-year course of study, and in 1871 he began construction of Sacred Heart Church, today the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
However, fire destroyed the Main Building and the library collection in April 1879; the school closed immediately and students were sent home. Rebuilding began on May 17, and the third and current Main Building was completed before the fall semester of 1879. The presidency of Thomas E. Walsh (1881-1893) focused on improving Notre Dame's scholastic reputation and standards. At the time, many students came to Notre Dame only for its business courses and did not graduate. Walsh started a "Belles Lettres" program and invited notable lay intellectuals like writer Maurice Francis Egan to campus. Washington Hall was built in 1881 as a theater, and the Science Hall (today the LaFortune Student Center) was built in 1883 to house the science program (established in 1880) and multiple classrooms and science labs. The construction of Sorin Hall saw the first freestanding residence hall on campus and one of the first in the country to have private rooms for students, a project championed by Sorin and John Zahm. During Walsh's tenure, Notre Dame started its football program and awarded its first Laetare Medal. The Law School was reorganized under the leadership of William J.
John Zahm was the Holy Cross Provincial for the United States from 1898 to 1906, with overall supervision of the university. He sought to modernize and expand Notre Dame by erecting buildings and adding to the campus art gallery and library, amassing what became a famous Dante collection, and pushing Notre Dame toward becoming a research university dedicated to scholarship. The congregation did not renew Zahm's term, fearing he had expanded Notre Dame too quickly and had run the order into serious debt. In particular, his vision to make Notre Dame a research university was at odds with that of Andrew Morrissey, president from 1893 to 1905, who had hoped to keep the institution a smaller boarding school. Morrissey's presidency remained largely focused on younger students and saw the construction of the Grotto, the addition of wings to Sorin Hall, and the erection of the first gymnasium.
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The movement toward a research university was championed subsequently by John W. Cavanaugh, who modernized educational standards and dedicated himself to the school's academic reputation and to increasing the number of students awarded bachelor's and master's degrees. As part of his efforts, he attracted many eminent scholars, established a chair in journalism, and introduced courses in chemical engineering.
20th Century Developments
In 1917, Notre Dame awarded its first degree to a woman and its first bachelor's degree in 1922. However, female undergraduates were uncommon until 1972. James A. President Matthew Walsh (1922-1928) addressed the material needs of the university, particularly the $10,000 debt and the lack of space for new students. With fund-raising money, Walsh concentrated on the construction of a dormitory system. By 1925, enrollment had increased to 2,500 students, of which 1,471 lived on campus; faculty members increased from 90 to 175. On the academic side, credit hours were reduced to encourage in-depth study, and Latin and Greek were no longer required.
One of the main driving forces in the university's growth was its football team, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Knute Rockne became head coach in 1918. Under him, the Irish won three national championships, had five undefeated seasons, won the Rose Bowl Game in 1925, and produced players such as George Gipp and the "Four Horsemen". Its role as a high-profile flagship institution of Catholicism made it an easy target of anti-Catholicism. The most remarkable episode of violence was a clash in 1924 between Notre Dame students and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist and anti-Catholic movement.
Charles L. O'Donnell (1928-1934) and John Francis O'Hara (1934-1939) fueled both material and academic expansion. During their tenures at Notre Dame, they brought many refugees and intellectuals to campus. New construction included Notre Dame Stadium, the law school building, the Rockne Memorial, numerous residential halls, the Cushing Hall of Engineering, and a new heating plant. This rapid expansion, which cost the university more than $2.8 million, was made possible in large part through football revenues. During World War II, O'Donnell offered Notre Dame's facilities to the armed forces.
John J. Cavanaugh, president from 1946 to 1952, devoted his efforts to raising academic standards and reshaping the university administration to serve better its educational mission and an expanded student body. He stressed advanced studies and research while quadrupling the university's student population. Cavanaugh established the Lobund Institute for Animal Studies and Notre Dame's Medieval Institute, presided over the construction of Nieuwland Science Hall, Fisher Hall, and the Morris Inn, and the Hall of Liberal Arts (now O'Shaughnessy Hall).
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The Hesburgh Era and Beyond
Theodore Hesburgh served as president for 35 years (1952-1987). Under his presidency, Notre Dame underwent huge growth and transformation from a school mostly known for its football to a top-tier university, academic powerhouse, and preeminent Catholic university. The annual operating budget and the endowment increased significantly and research funding grew substantially.
Hesburgh made Notre Dame coeducational. Women had graduated every year since 1917, but they were mostly religious sisters in graduate programs. In the mid-1960s, Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College developed a co-exchange program. Two of the residence halls were converted for the newly admitted female students that first year, with two more converted the next school year. In 1971, Mary Ann Proctor, a transfer from St. Mary's, became the first female undergraduate.
In the eighteen years Edward Malloy was president, the school's reputation, faculty, and resources grew rapidly. The academic quality of the student body improved dramatically. The number of minority students more than doubled, the endowment grew substantially, the annual operating budget rose significantly, and annual research funding improved considerably.
John I. Jenkins took over from Malloy in 2005. In his inaugural address, Jenkins described his goals of making the university a leader in research that recognizes ethics and builds the connection between faith and studies. During his tenure, Notre Dame has increased its endowment, enlarged its student body, and undergone many construction projects on campus.
Jenkins announced the 2023-2024 academic year would be his last as president in October 2023. The board of trustees subsequently elected Robert A.
Campus and Traditions
From the missionary log chapel used by the Notre Dame founders, the University has grown into a 1,250-acre campus with 103 buildings. The self-sufficiency of the campus which surrounds two lakes and virtually constitutes a separate civic entity contributes to the unusual solidarity and spirit of the Notre Dame student body. It is consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful university campuses in the United States and around the world, and it is noted particularly for the Golden Dome, the Basilica and its stained glass windows, the quads and the greenery, the Grotto, the Hesburgh Library with its Word of Life stone mural (nicknamed "Touchdown Jesus" by students), and its statues and museums.
Notre Dame is a major tourist attraction in northern Indiana. A 116-acre (47 ha) historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as University of Notre Dame: Main and South Quadrangles.
Today’s students celebrate many of the same traditions introduced generations ago. Every autumn, the campus community comes together as incoming students recite the Honor Pledge in the presence of family, friends, faculty members and the administration. On Notre Dame Day, students are recognized for their commitment to service and academic achievement. One hundred nights before their graduation, undergraduate seniors come together to reflect on their undergraduate experiences and anticipate the excitement of commencement.
Academic Structure and Programs
The University embodies four undergraduate colleges (arts and letters, science, engineering, and business administration); the School of Architecture; the law school; the graduate division of the College of Business Administration; and a graduate school offering programs for the master's and Ph.D. There are also a number of specialized units within the University, including the Center for Continuing Education, the Center for the Study of Contemporary Society, the Computing Center, the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the Lobund Laboratory, the Medieval Institute, the Notre Dame Institute for Church Life and the Radiation Laboratory.
Of particular importance in maintaining a tradition of excellence is the Theodore M. Hesburgh Library, one of the largest university library buildings in the world. Notre Dame was operated by the Congregation of Holy Cross until May 1967 when, in a historic move, the congregation turned the University over to lay control with the establishment of two principal governing groups, the Fellows of the University and a predominantly lay Board of Trustees.
The University is organized into seven schools and colleges: College of Arts and Letters, College of Science, Notre Dame Law School, School of Architecture, College of Engineering, Mendoza College of Business, and Keough School of Global Affairs. Research institutes and facilities include the Center for Social Concerns, the Institute for Church Life, the Jacques Maritain Center, and the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values. The study-abroad program sends students to Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
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