The University of Notre Dame: A History of Faith, Scholarship, and Location

The University of Notre Dame du Lac, a private Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, Indiana, adjacent to South Bend, stands as a testament to faith, scholarship, and enduring spirit. Founded in 1842 by Father Edward Sorin of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (C.S.C.), a French religious community, Notre Dame has evolved from a humble mission school to a globally recognized institution of higher learning.

Early Days: A Mission in the Wilderness

The story of Notre Dame begins with the westward expansion of the United States and the Catholic Church's efforts to establish a presence in the Indiana Territory.

The Diocese of Vincennes and the Call for Educators

In 1833, the Bishops Council of Baltimore established the Diocese of Vincennes, encompassing all of Indiana and part of eastern Illinois. Bishop Bruté, a Frenchman, was appointed as the first Bishop, serving from 1834 until his death in 1839. During his time, he received a tract of land in northern Indiana from Father Badin. Bishop de la Hailandiere succeeded Bruté from 1839 to 1847. He recognized the need for Catholic education in his diocese. Bishop de la Hailandiere asked Father Moreau for three or four Brother teachers.

Father Sorin and the Holy Cross Brothers Arrive

In response to Bishop de la Hailandiere's request, Father Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, sent not only three Brother teachers (Vincent, Gatian, and Anselm) but also a tailor/cook, a carpenter, and a farmer (Brothers Joachim, Francis Xavier, and Lawrence), accompanied by Father Edward Sorin, a young priest ordained for two years. Sorin proved to be second in importance to Moreau in developing and shaping the Congregation of Holy Cross.

On the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, Father Sorin and the six Holy Cross Brothers departed France for America. They traveled with Sister St. Francis Xavier, who was enroute to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods established in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. After a rest of three days, they proceeded on their journey to the distant Vincennes, Indiana. Their journey was via a paddle boat from New York City on the Hudson River north to Albany and then west on the Erie Canal. They reached Toledo, Ohio and traveled south on the Maumee River. Unfortunately, the Miami Canal was not yet completed so they traveled by land to Fort Wayne, Indiana. When they reached the Wabash River they traveled west to Logansport and Lafayette and then south to Terre Haute en route to Vincennes.

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Father Sorin and the Holy Cross Brothers beheld the tower of the new Cathedral as they arrived in Vincennes about sunrise on the second Sunday of October. Father Sorin visits St. Peter Church, a missionary station in Daviess county about twenty-seven miles east of Vincennes. It was one of the oldest missions of the diocese. St. Peter Church had a little frame church in good repair; two little rooms had been added to it, one for the sacristy and one for the priest. Other small buildings were for a kitchen and for a school. The newcomers of Holy Cross (one priest and six Brothers) won the goodwill of their neighbors and began to prosper even more than they had anticipated. By the end of the 1841, they became attached to St. Peter Church and began to make preparations to build a college and attracted many vocations of young men to join their ranks as Brothers.

A Vision Takes Root: The Founding of Notre Dame

Father Sorin's initial plan was to build the college at St. Peter Church. Father Sorin went to meet with the Bishop many times to change his mind but met with opposition. The result was a continuous running quarrel. Sorin realized that the diocese's population was not large enough to attract college students. Finally the Bishop realized a solution and offered the men of Holy Cross the tract of land he owned (from Bishop Bruté and Father Badin) in northwest Indiana close to South Bend and the St. Joseph River. Because of the name "St. Joseph" it was seen as providential that they accept the Bishop's land on his condition that they build a College and open a novitiate within two years of arrival.

In the worst winter on record, Father Sorin and the Brothers journeyed from Vincennes to South Bend. They followed the Wabash River north to Terre Haute, and continued along tracks beside the river through to Lafayette, Logansport, and then directly north to South Bend. Of the seven Brothers who accompanied Father Sorin, only two were of the original colony from France, Brothers Marie (formerly known as Brother Francis Xavier), and Gatian. The others were Brothers Patrick, William, Basil, Peter, and Francis.

In the wilderness of Northern Indiana, at a place known as St. Maries des Lacs (now the location of Notre Dame), Sorin envisioned a great university dedicated to the Virgin Mary. On November 26, 1842, Father Sorin and seven French priests arrived on a cold, snowy day at the 524-acre property in St. Joseph County, Indiana, known as the “Notre Dame du Lac.” That means “the University of our Lady of the Lake,” because Sorin initially thought the two snow-covered lakes were one single lake.

The rest of the community stayed in St Peters to continue the educational effort under the guide of Brother Vincent and a local priest, Fr. Chartier, as promised to the bishop. Of these seven brothers, only two had originally come from France with Sorin, Brothers Marie (Francis Xavier) and Gratian (Urban Mosimer). The other five had joined the community since its arrival at St. Peter's; these were Brothers Patrick (Michael Connelly), William, Basil (John O'Sullivan), Peter (James Tully) and the French Brother Francis (Michael Disser).

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That very afternoon Rev. Sorin and the Brothers went to investigate the lands they were given, and found them mantled with snow, softening and mellowing the harshness of the bare winter-frozen forest. The only buildings on campus was Rev. Stephen Badin's log chapel. Rev. Sorin described his arrival on campus in a letter filled with joy and hope to the Superior General Rev. Moreau: “Everything was frozen, and yet it all appeared so beautiful. The lake, particularly, with its mantle of snow, resplendent in its whiteness, was to us a symbol of the stainless purity of Our August Lady, whose name it bears; and also of the purity of soul which should characterize the new inhabitants of these beautiful shores. Our lodgings appeared to us-as indeed they are-but little different from those at St. Peter's. We made haste to inspect all the various sites on the banks of the lake which had been so highly praised. Yes, like little children, in spite of the cold, we went from one extremity to the other, perfectly enchanted with the marvelous beauties of our new abode. Oh!

The next day, November 27, they took formal possession of the site; this led to the confusion on the exact day of the founding of Notre Dame, whether November 26 or the 27th.

Challenges and Early Growth

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 followed the Wabash river, passing by Terre Haute. They split, and Sorin with the first group arrived in South Bend on the afternoon of November 26, 1842. At the time, the property only had three buildings: a log chapel built by Stephen Badin, a small two-story clapboard building that was the home of the Potawatomi interpreter Charon, and a small shed.

While the land had two small lakes, the snow and marshy area might have given to Sorin the appearance of a single larger lake, hence why named the fledgling mission “Notre Dame du Lac” (Our Lady of the Lake).

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. To build a second log cabin, and lacking the funds, they appealed to the people of South Bend to donate funds or their time. 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. While in Vincennes, Sorin had made plans with a local architect, Mr. Marsile, to have him come in the summer and start construction of a main building, but the architect did not show up. Hence, Sorin and the brothers constructed Old College, a two-story brick building that served as dormitory, bakery, and classrooms. This building was instrumental in accommodating the growing community. Indeed, in February 1843, Brother Vincent, Lawrence, Koachim, and eight novices arrived from St. Peter's to Notre Dame.

In the summer of 1843, more members of the Congregation arrived from France: Fathers Francis Cointet and Theophile Maurivalt, Brother Eloi (Jean-Marie Leray), seminarian François Gouesse, and Sisters Mary of the Heart of Jesus (Marie Savary), Mary of Bethlehem (Marie Desneux), Mary of Calvary (Marie Robineau), and Mary of Nazareth (Marie Chauvin). Badin's log chapel was hence converted into a carpenter's shed and residence for the Brothers, while the 1843 cabin served as chapel and sister's residence.

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. The early curriculum focused mostly on reading, writing, arithmetic, history and geography, but more sophisticated topics like Latin, Greek, French, mathematics, oratory, botany, drawing, music, and zoology were also taught. When the architect Marsile finally arrived in August 1843, Sorin proceeded to erect the first Main Building (at the location of the third and present Main Building) with a loan supplied by Samuel Byerley.

The college awarded its first degrees in 1849.

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.

Overcoming Adversity: The Fire of 1879

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 (the one built by Fr. Badin and the one built by Fr. Sorin in 1843), which were then being used as stables, burned and the farm equipment and storehouse were destroyed.

The entire Main Building with its library collection was destroyed by a fire on April 23, 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.

“I came here as a young man and dreamed of building a great university in honor of Our Lady,” he said. “But I built it too small, and she had to burn it to the ground to make the point.

Three hundred laborers worked 16 hours a day, laying 4.3 million bricks, to rebuild the Main Building in time for classes that fall. They rebuilt it from the ground up, and when they got to the top, and came to the place where the dome had been, they built one taller and wider than the one before, and this time-for the first time-they covered it with gold.

Academic and Physical Expansion

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, one the earlist such honors bequesthed by a Catholic university in the United States. The Law School was reorganized under the leadership of William J. Hoynes.

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.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, completed in 1888.

The Rise of Football and National Recognition

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". Knute Rockne has the highest winning percentage (.881) in NCAA Division I/FBS football history. The success of Notre Dame reflected the rising status of Irish Americans and Catholics in the 1920s. Catholics rallied around the team and listened to the games on the radio, especially when it defeated teams from schools that symbolized the Protestant establishment in the United States - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Army.

Overcoming Prejudice and Division

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. The Klan decided to hold a week-long Klavern in South Bend. Clashes with the student body started on May 17 when students blocked the Klansmen from descending from their trains in the South Bend station and ripped KKK clothes and regalia. Two days later, thousands of students massed downtown protesting the Klavern, and only the arrival of college president Walsh prevented any further clashes. The next day, Rockne spoke at a campus rally and implored the students to refrain from further violence.

A University at War

During World War II, O'Donnell offered Notre Dame's facilities to the armed forces. The Navy accepted his offer and installed Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) units on campus as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program. Soon after the installation, there were only a few hundred civilian students at Notre Dame.

Modern Era: Academic Excellence and Global Engagement

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 rose by a factor of 18, from $9.7 million to $176.6 million; the endowment by a factor of 40, from $9 million to $350 million; and research funding by a factor of 20, from $735,000 to $15 million.

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 whereby several hundred students took classes not offered at their home institution. After extensive debate, merging with St. Mary's was rejected, primarily because of the different faculty qualifications and pay scales. 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. He added more than 500 professors and the academic quality of the student body improved dramatically, with the average Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) score rising from 1240 to 1460. The number of minority students more than doubled, the endowment grew from $350 million to more than $3 billion, the annual operating budget rose from $177 million to more than $650 million, and annual research funding improved from $15 million to more than $70 million.

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, including the Compton Family Ice Arena, a new architecture hall, and additional residence halls.

A Lasting Legacy

The University of Notre Dame stands as a testament to the vision and dedication of its founders. From its humble beginnings as a mission school in the Indiana wilderness, it has risen to become a world-renowned institution of higher learning, known for its commitment to Catholic values, academic excellence, and service to the global community.

The University Today

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States.

Academics

Notre Dame is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities - Very high research activity". 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.

Athletics

The university's athletic teams are members of the NCAA Division I and are known collectively as the Fighting Irish.

Campus Beauty and Tourism

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; in the 2015-2016 academic year, more than 1.8 million visitors, almost half of whom were from outside St. Joseph County, visited the campus. 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.

Key Landmarks

The Main Building serves as the center for the university's administrative offices, including the Office of the President. Its golden dome, topped by the statue of Mary, is the campus' most recognizable landmark. The main building is located on Main Quad (also known as "God Quad"), which is the oldest, most historic, and most central part of campus. Behind the main building stands several facilities with administrative purposes and student services, including Carole Sadner Hall, Brownson Hall, and St. Michael's Laundry Building.

The current Basilica of the Sacred Heart is on the site of Sorin's original church, which had become too small for the growing college. It is built in French Revival style, with stained glass windows imported from France. Luigi Gregori, an Italian painter invited by Sorin to be an artist in residence, painted the interior. The basilica also features a bell tower with a carillon. Inside the church, there are sculptures by Ivan Meštrović.

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