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Volume 58, Issue 7 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com
LaFortune’s grand opening announced Building managers praise LaFortune makeover for open floor plan, community kitchen By ETHAN CHIANG News Writer
Over the past year, the LaFortune Student Center has undergone significant renovations and remodeling — an endeavor that some students say has rev ita lized the space. The remodeled space on the second f loor w ill now be the home of the Center for Diversit y, Equit y, and Inclusion (DEI). Summer Basa k, a junior who works as a building manager in LaFortune, said the center’s grand opening w ill occur in late September, but a date has yet to be confirmed. It w ill ser ve as a hub
Ethan Chiang | The Observer
Students recline on new furniture and get schoolwork done while enjoying the recently opened lounge, which replaced the old ballroom on the second floor of the newly renovated LaFortune Student Center.
SMC welcomes new history professor By MOIRA QUINN and SAMANTHA GERBERT News Writers
This school year, Saint Mary’s welcomed several new professors to campus. One of these new educators is Garret McDonald, a history professor teaching courses in both world history and world civilization. McDonald was a graduate student and teaching fellow at Fordham University before coming to Saint Mary’s. “I finished my PhD and then taught for several years in New York City. I got offered the visiting assistant professorship here at Saint Mary’s and I couldn’t say no,” McDonald said. Prior to living in New York City, McDonald attended two other universities. He attended Angelo State University in Texas before pursuing his master’s degree at Texas Tech. “The story is I’ve spent most of my life in school,” McDonald said. He said coming to an allwomen’s school presents a new challenge, albeit an
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exciting one. “When I taught at Fordham and when I was a teaching assistant at Texas Tech, those are both fairly large co-ed universities,” he said. “Getting used to teaching at an all-girls school is a different dynamic, but it’s a welcoming one.” History is something McDonald has always enjoyed, and he credits his late grandfather for inspiring him to teach the subject at a professional level. His grandfather collected Civil War memorabilia. McDonald at one point owned a cavalry saber and would spend time at an old American West and West Texas fort. “He would be there for a Christmas event every year where he would reenact what life was like on the frontier in America. As I got older I was like ‘Well, I want to know about history,’ but he wouldn’t talk about it at all,” he said. McDonald said studying history was a way to connect with his grandfather. “He wouldn’t talk about see SMC PAGE 4
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for Multicultura l Student Programs and Ser v ices, the Office of Student Enrichment and the Gender Relations Center. As part of the renovations, these three offices have been revamped in an effort to ma ke them more inv iting for students and v isitors, Basa k said. “They’re ma king the offices nicer, so that instead of being cramped in old, broken furniture, you’re sitting on comfortable furniture.” Basa k said the offices have gained more notoriet y as a result of the move. “These are important see LAFORTUNE PAGE 5
Jenkins delivers annual address to faculty By LIAM KELLY and BEAU STELLER Associate News Editor and News Writer
During his annual address to the facult y Tuesday, Universit y president Fr. John Jenkins highlighted the recently released “Notre Dame 2033: Strategic Framework” and celebrated Notre Dame’s recent acceptance into the Association of American Universities
(AAU). Jenkins described the day he received a call from Barbara Snyder, president of the AAU, describing Notre Dame’s acceptance into the organization as “among the most memorable days” in his 19 years as president of the Universit y. “The AAU inv itation is a recognition by the world’s most distinguished association of research universities
of the progress Notre Dame has made in recent decades,” Jenkins said. Jenkins specifically highlighted the improvement in Notre Dame’s research programs as one of the main drivers of the Universit y’s progress. “Over the past 15 years, Notre Dame’s trajector y in key measures is among the most steeply positive of all see ADDRESS PAGE 5
Beau Steller | The Observer
University provost John McGreevy talks with AAU President Barbara Snyder and former Duke provost Peter Lange about Notre Dame’s 2033 Strategic Framework at the Leighton Concert Hall on Tuesday.
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