Dear Friends,
Earlier this month, Eve Kelly and I attended the Senior Diversity Officers Pre-Conference at the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities annual meeting. It was an enriching and informative event. Presenters reminded all attendees of how diversity, equity, and inclusion is deeply vocational and sacred within a Catholic context; that belonging is an essential dimension of the work we do, and that Catholic Social Teaching calls us to:
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Respect the dignity of every person
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Build a Notre Dame community in which all can flourish
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Live in solidarity with all, particularly the most vulnerable
It was energizing to enjoy fellowship and be in conversation with approximately 30 like-minded professionals who share our Catholic foundation, and it was encouraging to see the ways in which our transformational mandate is situated and supported at Notre Dame.
While Eve and I were not alone in being rather newly appointed to our positions within the Office of Institutional Transformation, we realized that we were part of a larger community of practice nationwide that has benefitted from passionate and hard-working colleagues who came before us and worked tirelessly to build inclusive and nurturing environments for students, faculty, and staff from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), LGBTQIA+, first-generation, and lower-income communities. This makes it significantly easier for all of us engaged in this work to chart a path forward today that is cognizant of where we’ve been and how far we have to go, while also being informed by previous successes and pitfalls.
In addition to the vanguard of DEI advocates, we are fortunate to see a new generation of leaders committed to improving our campus climate. From students and alumni, to DEI Practitioners, to those leading inclusion efforts in their own divisions, colleges, and schools, one sees abundant evidence of our community working together more extensively than ever. As one example, during the last two years, the University cataloged hundreds of initiatives in place to advance DEI—in service to our mission and institutional transformation. Our office is now conducting a more probing and data-informed analysis of these programs to determine best practices and identify opportunities for greater collaboration.
Heartening, as always, are the presence and guidance of our Strategic Framework for Advancing Diversity, which offers five guideposts—increasing representation, strengthening a culture of inclusion and belonging, institutional accountability, being a force for good in the world, and commitment of adequate resources to change-related initiatives—that animate the work of our Office of Institutional Transformation and provide parameters for all of our endeavors. In fact, that document reminds us that Notre Dame’s charge to reach across boundaries and stand in solidarity with those from various backgrounds and experiences grows out of our core identity and dates back to the origins of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
“Our mission sends us across borders of every sort,” Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is quoted as saying in the book Holy Cross and Christian Education by Rev. James B. King, C.S.C. “Often we must make ourselves at home among more than one people or culture, reminding us again that the farther we go in giving the more we stand to receive.”
While we may have come farther than Fr. Moreau ever envisioned, we must continue to cross borders and establish linkages to those who have been marginalized or made to feel like outsiders. Together, with courage and grace, we can continue to create a Notre Dame that lives up to its ideals as a “Beloved Community” where all are truly at home.
Sincerely,
(The Rev. Canon) Hugh R. Page, Jr., DMin, PhD, LHD