Category: News

Reflections on teaching at Westville Correctional Facility: ‘One of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done’ September 25, 2023 Each Monday this fall, Notre Dame faculty members Bill and Marie Donahue are commuting to work together — not to the University’s campus, but to Westville Correctional Facility. They drive 45 minutes from South Bend to […]

Students respond to the demands of justice through research September 25, 2023 This summer, 200 University of Notre Dame undergraduates worked alongside community partners with support from one of several summer programs at the Institute for Social Concerns. The largest two of these programs were NDBridge, supporting 118 rising sophomores, and the center’s Summer Fellowship, […]

Five scholars join center for new curricular and research efforts August 17, 2023 Five scholars will join the Center this fall as faculty and research associates. Megan Levis, Ph.D. joins us as an assistant professor of the practice with both the Center and the College of Engineering. Her research is focused on questions about how […]

Dressed in Marian University’s blue commencement regalia and speaking to her fellow graduates, Michelle Williams acknowledged that society often views people like them — those who have been incarcerated — through “a lens of failure.”

Foundry Field collaboration celebrates South Bend’s past and promising future June 20, 2023 There’s magic in the game of baseball. Not just in what happens on the field, but also in the game’s capacity to bring communities together, to stoke pride in a place’s history, and to inspire people into the future. Foundry Field — […]

New book series approaches justice questions through Catholic social tradition June 20, 2023 Catholic social teaching is often called the Church’s best kept secret, but a new series of books titled Enacting Catholic Social Tradition is trying to change that.  The series is being written by participants in SPIRE: The Global Catholic Social Tradition Network […]

2023 awards honor students committed to the common good June 19, 2023 The center’s annual Senior Send-off Ceremony celebrates the students who have demonstrated a commitment to justice and the common good throughout their time at Notre Dame. At the 2023 ceremony, the center recognized three students in particular with two different awards.  Sr. Thea […]

ReSEARCHING for Justice May 8, 2023 This year, the center launched a new fellowship for graduate students from across campus whose scholarship intersected with questions of justice. The diverse group of 14 came from the College of Arts and Letters, College of Engineering, Keogh School of Global Affairs, the Law School, and College of Science. The goal of the fellowship was […]

Undergrad research shows understanding trauma key to developing better solutions for those seeking asylum May 5, 2023 This May, 43 graduating seniors will complete capstone projects addressing topics connecting their field of study to questions of justice––food insecurity, mental illness, sustainability, and more. These students are a part of the center’s two minors: the Poverty Studies […]

What would an economy of celebration look like in the US today? May 5, 2023 Adam Gustine and José Humphreys had each been thinking about communities for a while. What makes them flourish? What prevents their flourishing? Both had written about the relationship between churches and the communities of which they’re a part when they […]