Growing justice, rooted in the common good

The Institute for Social Concerns is an interdisciplinary institute responding to the complex demands of justice through a combination of justice education and research for the common good. We bring people together to think carefully about the world’s most pressing social concerns in order to develop creative and effective approaches to addressing them.

Justice Education

We cultivate moral imagination, practical wisdom, and the courage to act through a range of curricular and co-curricular programs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.

Research for the Common Good

We work with academics, advocates, and artists to study the world’s most pressing social concerns and develop creative and effective community-based approaches to addressing them.

Collaborations with Community

We convene critical conversations that include diverse perspectives and foster innovative approaches to questions of justice from religious freedom to gun violence to racial health inequalities.

Institute stories

May 16, 2025; University of Notre Dame President Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. shakes hands with graduates during the Institute for Social Concerns Senior Send-off at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. (Photo by Michael Caterina/University of Notre Dame)

Sending seniors off to the work of justice

On Friday, May 16, the institute celebrated graduating seniors at the annual Senior Send-Off at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Leighton Concert Hall as part of Notre Dame’s Commencement Weekend.

Norman Wirzba and Suzanne Shanahan discuss Wirzba's book on joy

Conference promotes human flourishing in the professions

The second annual Virtues & Vocations conference on Higher Education and Human Flourishing, held in late May at McKenna Hall, explored the role of character in the professions.

Geneva Hutchinson with Adelante students at La Casa de Amistad

Institute partners with La Casa on Latino printmaking project

Through a partnership between the Art and Social Change course at the institute and the Adelante leadership program at La Casa de Amistad, students used printmaking to explore South Bend’s Latino baseball history.

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A question of justice

Rashied Omar wearing a blue suit, standing with hands in a gesture of prayer

How can interreligious solidarity be harnessed as a force for justice?

Roy Scranton standing on a car in a parking lot

What does justice look like in the face of civilizational collapse?

Why do racial disparities in education persist? 

Coming up at the institute

Social Impact Fair

Sep172025
Time: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

CST & AI Reading Group

Sep172025
Time: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

MVP Fridays: “POV: Writing as Other” with Viet Thanh Nguyen

Sep192025
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
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1,000

More than 1,000 students a year

550

Community partners in 36 states and 26 countries

40

Years of transformative impact