Social Concerns Summer Fellow returns to India for ongoing research

September 26, 2024

Following his 2024 Social Concerns Summer Fellowship in Mumbai, India, Ty Harrington ’26 returned to Mumbai last summer to assist Rev. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., on a faculty research project examining the moral challenges that Catholic universities face around the world through Notre Dame Mumbai.

*Ty Harrington presents his research at the 2024 Research for the Common Good Symposium | Photo by Peter Ringenberg/University of Notre Dame*

In the summer of 2024, Harrington—a program of liberal studies (PLS), philosophy, and theology major from Carmel, Indiana—spent eight weeks studying the intersection of Indian philosophy, spirituality, and care for the earth in Mumbai through a Social Concerns Summer Fellowship at Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV). There he investigated Indian philosophical systems and their models of divine immanence, or God’s presence in the created order. At the 2024 Research for the Common Good Symposium and Andrews Scholars Reception, Harrington garnered one of six research awards for his work.

A year later, he returned to Mumbai, joining Father Poorman at St. Xavier’s College to listen to students, faculty, and administrators and to explore how Catholic identity takes root in a global, multi-faith city. “Studying Indian philosophy and spirituality strengthened my Catholic faith,” Harrington noted. “Seeing the correlations and parallels between traditions gave me a lot of faith. Both trips gave me perspective and helped me see my own systems of thought in a more contextualized light.”

Read the full story of Ty’s experience at Notre Dame Mumbai.

Meet this year’s award winners at the 2025 Research for the Common Good Symposium and Andrews Scholars Reception next Thursday, Oct. 2, at 5:00 p.m. in McKenna Hall.