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Volume 46, Issue 109 | friday, March 22, 2013 | ndsmcobserver.com
‘A powerful witness’ Pope Francis inspires Holy Cross pilgrims from ND
Jesuits expect pontiff to draw on Ignatian spirituality
By ANN MARIE JAKUBOWSKI
By NICOLE MICHELS
News Editor
Assistant Managing Editor
Notre Dame students and Moreau seminarians got more than they expected during their spring break pilgrimage to Rome, when rearranging their entire itinerary allowed them to be in St. Peter’s Square to watch the announcement of the new pope. Fr. James Gallagher, vocations director for the Congregation of Holy Cross, led a group of three seminarians and 12 male undergraduate students who are discerning vocations to the priesthood on a weeklong trip to Italy. The group joined the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square the evening of March 13 to witness the first moments of Francis’ papacy. Gallagher said trip plans were
Photo courtesy of Brian Herrmann
As the first Jesuit pontiff in the history of the office, Pope Francis has not turned water into wine or revolutionized Church doctrine. Still, his humble nature and simple, pastoral demeanor have delighted the world, prompting pundits, media and laity alike to look to Francis to breathe “fresh air” into the Church. Fr. Tim Kesicki, provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Society of Jesuits, said Pope Francis very clearly brings a new perspective to the papacy. “He’s never worked in the Vatican. ... He’s going to say, ‘This is how we did it in Buenos Aires?’ Although, he’s not going to say, ‘This is the way we’ve always done it,’ he’s going to say, ‘How can we do it better?’” Kesicki
see HOLY CROSS PAGE 5
Notre Dame students, seminarians and Fr. James Gallagher pose in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican during their spring break pilgramage to Italy.
see JESUIT PAGE 6
Mendoza promotes diversity By CHRISTIAN MYERS News Writer
The 6th annual Notre Dame Diversity Conference will address building stronger businesses by fostering diversity, second-year MBA student and conference cochair Andrew Bedward said. Bedward said the goal of the conference is to affirm the importance of diversity in both business and academia. “The primary focus is promoting diversity in the corporate world and academia,” Bedward said. “We also want to remind people that diversity is broad. It’s not just ethnic diversity, it’s gender diversity, it’s diversity of ideas, it’s diversity of backgrounds.” The conference will primarily take place in the Mendoza College of Business, but events will also occur in the Notre Dame Stadium press box and in Legends, Bedward said. Friday will feature a case competition for MBA students, but also a networking session and a dinner
NEWS PAGE 3
Professors earn NEH fellowships By CATHERINE OWERS News Writer
BRANDON KEELEAN | The Observer
that will be open to the public. Saturday the conference will be open to anyone, Bedward said. He said the conference will feature four speakers, including Mendoza College of Business Dean Roger Huang and keynote speaker LaQuita Hall, vice president of business operations at AT&T. The conference will also include panel discussions with guest panelists, break-out
VIEWPOINT PAGE 9
sessions with faculty and two networking sessions, he said. Bedward said he expects the highlight of the event will be the speakers and panelists sharing their stories. “We have a great group of speakers and panelists, so I’m most excited about hearing them discuss their experiences.” see DIVERSITY PAGE 6
SCENE PAGE 10
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded fellowships to three Notre Dame professors. Stephen Dumont, Deborah Tor, and Sandra Gustafson received grants from NEH to work on personal research projects. Professor Stephen Dumont said the grant will provide for a year’s sabbatical from teaching, so honorees can dedicate time to their projects. “In the everyday life of teaching and administration it’s difficult to find a block of time to dedicate to research,” he said. “The opportunity to carry out extensive research and writing is, of course, vital to the intellectual life of faculty and students alike.” Dumont said fellows are expected to advance their initial
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proposals, ideally by publishing work completed on the topic. “The goal of the project is to either complete or substantially make progress on a book or perhaps publish several papers on a topic,” Dumont said. The NEH website said the organization supports the humanities in order to “convey the lessons of history to all Americans” and to “strengthen our republic.” The Endowment bestows its grants upon the researchers with the proposals rated highest by external reviewers. History professor Deborah Tor said receiving the fellowship allows for research time, but receiving the grant is itself an honor. “It is gratifying as a scholarly validation, it is nice to know that one’s peers on the review panel think highly of one’s work,” Tor see FELLOWSHIP PAGE 5
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