Category: 24-25-year-in-review

About the Art The Institute is guided by the normative proposition that a just world is a beautiful world, and we believe that the interconnectedness between justice and beauty is essential to nurturing human dignity. These commitments are reflected in the original artwork found throughout this report. The artist featured in this report, Sunita Khedekar, […]

People AT THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL CONCERNS FACULTY Suzanne Shanahan Leo and Arlene Hawk Executive Director Professor of the Practice Jay Brandenberger Professor of the Practice Daniel Graff Professor of the Practice (SOCO/History) Director, Higgins Labor Program Ryan Juskus Assistant Professor of the Practice Keona Lewis Assistant Professor of the Practice Assistant Provost Connie Snyder […]

SOCO By the Numbers

Our North Star of Encounter As we celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope proclaimed by Pope Francis, we mourn his loss, while embracing the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV. Since its founding in 1983, the Institute has anchored its work in the enduring principles of Catholic social tradition, drawing deeply from the treasury of […]

Speaking of Proximity SIGNATURE LECTURES AT THE INSTITUTE As the University’s home for public scholarship on questions of justice, the Institute hosted three signature lectures—with a common theme emerging among them: getting proximate to justice and the marginalized. In the fall, Bryan Stevenson, an acclaimed public interest attorney and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, […]

Cultivating Moral Ambition McNEILL COMMON GOOD FELLOWS Architecture major Adam Scott ’27 is using insights from affordable housing design in Singapore and Japan to improve housing in the United States. As a McNeill Common Good Fellow, he spent several weeks in Japan and Singapore learning about sustainable design before embarking on a multi-day walking project […]

Catalyzing Community Connections TOWARD A THRIVING SOUTH BEND As a newly hired assistant professor of information technology, analytics, and operations at the Mendoza College of Business, Chengcheng Zhai began her time at Notre Dame by joining the Institute’s annual Engage South Bend faculty tour. More than just introducing her to the city in which she […]

FROM INCARCERATION TO TRANSFORMATION Reimagining Reentry Michael Chaney walked out of Westville Correctional Facility in January after being incarcerated for seven years, one of more than 12,000 people released from Indiana prisons each year. While many returning citizens struggle to find work, things are looking up for Chaney in part thanks to his connections to […]

Setting the Standard for Summer STUDENT RESEARCH FOR THE COMMON GOOD Joshua Jones, a neuroscience and behavior major from Chatham, New Jersey, crossed the Hudson River to New York City to work with the organization Alliance for Positive Change for the summer through NDBridge. NDBridge is a summer program at the Institute that enables rising […]

HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AS PRACTITIONER-IN-RESIDENCE Ending Human Trafficking Every morning, Monalisa arrives at Geddes Hall, thanks her office and the Notre Dame campus, meditates, and sketches pictures to center herself. Then she gets to work. Her goal: the end of human trafficking. As an international human rights lawyer and graduate of Notre Dame Law School’s […]