Our History: Pursuing Justice in Proximity

In an era defined by fractured communities, fragile institutions, and growing cynicism, the Institute for Social Concerns has always been animated by a different vision—one that insists on proximity over abstraction, solidarity over isolation, and repair over resignation. For over forty years, the institute has brought to life a vision of education that moves beyond the classroom, forming students, scholars, and leaders to recognize the dignity of every person, confront unjust systems, and imagine new possibilities for the common good. At a university dedicated to both intellectual and spiritual formation, the institute ensures that Catholic social tradition is not peripheral but central—offering students a framework to ask the hardest questions, accompany communities on the margins, and ultimately lead with courage, compassion, and character.

“My experiences in the Center for Social Concerns programs opened my mind and heart to what is possible and introduced me to extraordinary people who were advancing human rights, some at great risk to their lives, but always with a faith and commitment deeply rooted in the gospel.” – Mary Meg McCarthy ’80, executive director, National Immigrant Justice Center

More than ever, the work of compassionate justice is essential for building a habitable world for future generations. The institute brings students, scholars, and community partners into spaces where the realities of injustice are not abstract case studies but lived experiences. And through rigorous academic work, reciprocal partnerships, and an unshakable commitment to human dignity, the institute prepares the next generation of leaders to ask better questions, build more just systems, and imagine a different future—one marked by solidarity, natality, and hope.

Organizing around Social Concerns

In the latter half of the twentieth century, Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students took up the Church’s call to interpret the signs of the times and apply Catholic social tradition to social concerns on campus and in the surrounding community. During this time, Fr. Larry Murphy, M.M., founded the Council for the International Lay Apostolate (CILA); Judith Anne Beattie, C.S.C., founded the ND Office of Volunteer Services; and Fr. Don McNeill, C.S.C., founded the Center for Experiential Learning—all as ways of applying Catholic social tradition to the social concerns of the times. In 1979, Beattie, McNeill, and several involved students wrote to President Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., proposing the merger of their centers into one and relocating it to the soon-to-be available WNDU building at the center of campus. Father Hesburgh supported the proposal, and gears were set in motion for the founding of the Institute (originally Center) for Social Concerns, which opened in April 1983.

“The dedication of the [Institute] for Social Concerns is a blessing of commitment to be concerned with the poor, with the prisoners, with the blind, with all those who live in fear of a nuclear strike. It also is a joyful and grateful celebration of a willingness to move away, continuously, from safe, comfortable, and secure places. And to go, or better, to be drawn, to those places where we can ‘hear the cry of the poor.’” – Fr. Henri Nouwen, homily for the dedication of the institute

With Father McNeill as founding director, the institute was notable for the number of women in leadership, including Beattie, Kathleen Maas Weigert, and Mary Ann Roemer. It became the home not only for public scholarship but also for popular community-engaged learning programs for students during fall, spring, and summer breaks.

“When I can hear people whose lives have been touched, who continue to struggle with issues of social concerns—seeing the seeds sown and . . . beginning to multiply like leaven in bread, an image of the Kingdom of God—it is the highlight of our mission as the [Institute] for Social Concerns.” – Rev. Don McNeill, C.S.C., director, 1983–2002

Expanding the Reach of the Institute

Through the turn of the millennium, the institute expanded its offerings in the areas of justice education, public research, and faculty engagement. New programs addressed poverty, labor rights, mass incarceration, and technology, while the institute convened campus and national dialogues on Catholic social teaching, exploring themes such as economic justice, migration, and care for creation.

In 2008, the original single-story structure that had long housed the institute was razed to make way for the construction of Geddes Hall, a four-story facility designed to reflect the growing scope and ambition of the institute’s work, solidifying its position as an anchor for justice education and research at Notre Dame.

“The main responsibility we have at the [Institute] for Social Concerns is to grab students by the collar—at some point during their years here—and say, hey, listen! Do you have any idea what your responsibility is before God in faith, and your responsibility to your neighbor, whether next door or on the other side of the globe?” – Rev. William (Bill) Lies, C.S.C., director, 2002–2012

Over the decades, the institute’s work has shaped not only students’ academic, professional, and personal formation but also the University’s broader approach to justice and engagement. Its programs have cultivated significant community partnerships, supported groundbreaking research on poverty and public policy, and helped launch national conversations on faith, labor, and the common good.

From its longstanding relationships with local organizations in South Bend to its leadership in global justice education initiatives, the institute has served as a catalyst for Notre Dame’s mission to accompany communities, challenge systems of injustice, and prepare students to be thoughtful, ethical leaders in every sphere of life.

“I have come to believe that one of the great ways the [Institute] serves the University is to make sure that all the knowledge we produce and transmit, and all the power we wield, is in the service of love.” – Rev. Paul V. Kollman, C.S.C., director, 2012–2017

Reimagining Justice Research and Education

In the 2020s, the signs of the times shifted drastically—and once more, the institute responded. The combined shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, grassroots civil rights movements, and significant shifts in student demographics demanded new thinking. In the midst of this cultural upheaval, the institute charged forward with a reimagining of pedagogy and programming based on core principles of rootedness, natality, and proximity.

“Our call now is to engage injustice anywhere and advance the common good everywhere. Notre Dame—its legacy and its future students—expects nothing less of us.” – Rev. Kevin J. Sandberg, C.S.C., director, 2017–2021

This reimagining moved the institute toward a greater prioritization on systems education, critical analysis, and reciprocal partnerships. It also marked a philosophical development: communities were seen no longer as sites for student projects but as collaborators and leaders in shaping research, curriculum, and engagement. Pope Francis’s timely encyclical Fratelli Tutti became a guiding light for the institute’s development and response to the times. The institute would need to expand, moving beyond a center for student formation and taking on the mantle as a dynamic, interdisciplinary hub where inquiry, accompaniment, and justice meet.

“Change is often hard and messy. But I think that change for the better is possible, that it’s not naive to be hopeful, and that there’s a real framework for building a more just world. This is why the Institute for Social Concerns emphasizes proximity in our research and teaching; this is why we put human dignity at the core of everything we do.” – Suzanne Shanahan, Ph.D., the Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director of the Institute for Social Concerns

Today the institute stands at a pivotal juncture. Guided by its rich legacy and informed by the urgent needs of the present, the institute is embracing a more ambitious, integrated, and academic approach to a range of essential global issues. Signature programs have been reimagined to reflect the complexities of our time, emphasizing proximity to communities, the creative possibilities of natality, and a justice lens that shapes both scholarship and practice. New academic offerings, research initiatives, and faculty collaborations are expanding the institute’s reach, ensuring that students and scholars alike are equipped to engage the world’s most pressing challenges with rigor, humility, and hope.