The effort to become more global is as important for the next generation at Notre Dame as the effort to develop research was in the last. Every part of the University, in collaboration with Notre Dame Global (formerly Notre Dame International), will contribute to a more global Notre Dame.  

With this, we are launching a new council this fall – the Advisory Council for Notre Dame Worldwide – dedicated to supporting the global aspirations of Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework (pp. 22-26) and the specific objectives defined in the University’s forthcoming global strategy report. 

This council is unique in that it will offer broad access to academic leaders across the University. Support through this council will be vital to the success of integrating and implementing this global strategy and the University’s overall mission to be a force for good in the world.

Objectives of the Advisory Council for Notre Dame Worldwide:

• To promote the funding priorities for NDG, the international priorities of the Office of Financial Aid, and other global priorities of the University.
• To enhance the relationships of leading NDG and international financial aid donors with the University’s President, Provost and Executive Vice President.
• To increase our presence internationally through undergraduate student experiences, international student presence on campus, graduate exchanges, and increased research and programming, particularly in the Global South. 
• To convene leaders from across the University, showcasing multidisciplinary, global initiatives. 

 

With the creation of this new council, and the goal to grow beyond a regional focus, we have dissolved the Latin American & Caribbean AC. Four members from the LACAC have been invited to serve as inaugural members of this new council. The remaining members will be retired from the AC program and their leadership and service will be acknowledged by Fr. Jenkins.

Michael Pippenger, Vice President & Associate Provost for Internationalization, will serve as the AC leader for Notre Dame Worldwide. Caitlyn Clinton is the Academic Advancement partner for ND Worldwide.

If you have questions about this new council, or anything Advisory Council-related, contact Betsy Quinn at bquinn7@nd.edu.

To learn more about the rebrand of Notre Dame Global, read the recent news release here.

Dear Colleagues,

The Leadership Events team is beginning to plan the various events that will take place during the 2024 Commencement Weekend. As you know, Commencement is an “all hands on deck” weekend for our team, and yet, even with all of us involved we still need the help of our Development colleagues to steward our benefactors and other special guests.

We are in need of assistance with the following events: 

• May 18:  Saturday Mass in Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. We need volunteers from approximately 3:15 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
• May 18:  Saturday President’s Reception in Club Naimoli at the Joyce Center.  We need volunteers to stay post Mass.  Shift would begin immediately after Mass and ending at approximately 8:00 p.m.
• May 19:  Sunday Commencement Ceremony. We need volunteers from approximately 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. to assist with seating in Development’s Preferred Seats and with the movement of the Platform Party. (Times may vary due to weather)

Please click here to provide us with your availability.

We will provide specific details in the weeks closer to Commencement. Please know if you are a non-exempt staff volunteering, you will need to have your supervisor’s approval. Please let us know by Friday, May 10th. 

Thank you for your selfless dedication to Our Lady.

In Notre Dame,

Kristen Nevill

Associate Director, Leadership Events

University Enterprises & Events

Dear Colleagues,

The Office of Leadership Events is looking forward to working with you as we plan for the Class of 2024 Commencement Weekend (May 18 & 19, 2024). Outlined below is important information regarding requests for:

• Commencement Mass Preferred Seating – Saturday, May 18

• President’s Cocktail Reception invitation criteria and special requests – Saturday, May 18 immediately following Mass

• University Commencement Ceremony Preferred Seating – Sunday, May 19

To help you manage the important deadlines and instructions for each event, please refer to the 2024 Commencement Request Guide.

CRITERIA AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMMENCEMENT REQUESTS

All requests must be submitted via the Google Form no later than Friday, May 3, 2024.

COMMENCEMENT MASS

Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center

Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 5:00  – 6:30 pm

• Mass Preferred Seats:

  • We will coordinate a limited number of Mass reserved seats in Section 11 at Purcell Pavilion.

  • Google form requests may be entered for donors with $1M+ household extended giving.

  • Maximum number of seats per request is limited to four.

  • Note that Trustees and PLC/Deans will receive a registration form from the President’s Office to request reserved Mass seating; all other requests must be entered with the Google form.

  • Fundraisers should not request seating for themselves.

  • Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Please encourage early arrival for donors without preferred seats. If necessary, overflow seating will be provided in Heritage Hall and the Monogram Room.

PRESIDENT’S COCKTAIL RECEPTION

Club Naimoli at Purcell Pavilion

Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 6:30  – 7:30 am (immediately following Mass)

• President’s Cocktail Reception Invitations:

  • The following donor groups (with a 2024 undergraduate) will automatically be invited to the President’s Cocktail Reception:

    • Trustees (both parents and grandparents, if the Trustee is the grandparent)

    • For Good Cabinet (both parents and grandparents, if the Cabinet member is the grandparent)

    • Principal Donors (both parents and grandparents, if the Principal donor is the grandparent)

    • Advisory Council parents

    • President’s Circle & Cavanaugh Council parents

    • Jesse Harper Council parents

    • Cardinal O’Hara Dean’s Circle parents

    • St. Thomas More Leadership Circle parents

    • RHF – Athletics Director’s Circle parents

    • $250K+ parents, based on household extended giving

    • Faculty/Staff Parents

  • Special requests may be made via the Google Form for donors outside the automatic invite criteria outlined above. Priority will be given to donors $100K+ household extended giving – limited to undergraduates and their parents.

  • Those who meet the automatic invitation criteria will be invited via a formal invitation from Fr. Jenkins. These invitations will be emailed by Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

  • Any additional approved donors requested via the Google form, will be invited via a formal invitation from Fr. Jenkins. These invitations will be emailed by Friday, April 26, 2024.

  • Please note that this reception is intended for undergraduates and their parents; invitations will not be extended to graduate students/families.

  • Fundraisers should not request an invitation to the President’s Cocktail Reception for themselves; invitations are limited as indicated above.

COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

Notre Dame Stadium (Severe Weather Location: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center)

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 9:30 am (doors open at 8:00 am; processional begins at 9:00 am)

• Commencement Ceremony Preferred Seats:

  • We will coordinate seating for the Commencement Ceremony within the preferred (blue) seats on the east side of the stadium.

  • Google form requests may be entered for donors:

    • $350K+ household extended giving

    • For Good parents

    • Advisory Council parents

  • Please note you must enter a request for tickets even if the donor meets the criteria.

  • Google form requests may be entered for donors who do not meet the criteria. These requests will be reviewed and approved if seating is available.

  • Maximum number of seats per request is limited to six. If your donor meets the above criteria please confirm the number of seats needed up to a maximum of six. If they do not need six tickets please only request the amount needed.

  • Note that Trustees and PLC/Deans will receive a registration form from the President’s Office to request preferred Commencement seating; all other requests must be requested on the Google form.

  • Fundraisers may request preferred seats for themselves on the Google form, to sit with key benefactors. Please note as #sitwith in the comments section. Preferred seating requests for fundraisers will not be honored if the Commencement Ceremony moves indoors to Purcell Pavilion.

  • All other Commencement Ceremony seating will be open seating and tickets are required (please read below for detailed information on general admission and severe weather tickets).

IMPORTANT NOTE

• In all cases, please do not communicate a possible invitation or preferred seating until you are notified via a confirmation email. Until all requests are received, it is unknown exactly how the invitations and tickets will be apportioned.

• You will find the report of donors with a prospective 2024 graduate in the Dev. Resources Google Drive HERE. Please note, this is an extensive workbook containing four tabs, including both parents and grandparents of 2024 graduates. Please carefully review the list to determine donor eligibility for consideration and if any of your donors are not reflected on the reports.

APPROVALS

• All requests will be updated and approved in the Development Resources Google Drive HERE by Friday, May 3, 2024.

GENERAL ADMISSION AND SEVERE WEATHER TICKET INFORMATION 

General Admission Tickets

If the Commencement Ceremony is in the stadium, tickets for general admission (GA) are required. The number of GA tickets per graduate is not limited but graduates must request GA tickets as instructed by the Registrar’s Office. Please reference the Registrar’s guidance on the Commencement website. Please note GA tickets are all mobile this year and will be sent to all graduates the week of May 13, 2024.

Severe Weather Tickets

The Office of Leadership Events does not handle severe weather tickets.

• All students, regardless of whether they have GA tickets or preferred seats from Development, will receive severe weather guest tickets as instructed by the Registrar’s Office.

  • Undergraduates are allotted up to three (3) severe weather guest tickets from the Registrar; graduate students are allotted up to two (2) severe weather guest tickets. These tickets will be emailed a few days before Commencement if there is a chance we move to the Joyce.

• If the Severe Weather Plan is activated:

  • The Commencement Ceremony will move from Notre Dame Stadium to the Purcell Pavilion; graduates will be notified via the ND Emergency Alert system.

  • Graduates and faculty in academic attire will be admitted to the Purcell Pavilion without a ticket. However, only guests with a severe weather ticket will be seated in Purcell Pavilion.

  • The Commencement Ceremony will be broadcast live in the Joyce Center North Dome, auditoriums in the DeBartolo Hall classroom building, and other large auditoriums in nearby buildings as announced. This will allow guests without a severe weather guest ticket to view the event live.

  • It is very important to note that donors approved for stadium preferred seats will not have preferred seats should the Commencement Ceremony move to Purcell Pavilion. Please communicate to your donors that should the Severe Weather Plan be implemented, they will need to find general seating in Purcell Pavilion utilizing their graduates three allotted severe weather tickets.

TICKET DISTRIBUTION

Commencement tickets are scheduled to be distributed as follows. All tickets will be sent via email (general admission and preferred seating)

• Monday, May 13: Every student will receive an email with their general admission ticket. This ticket can be shared via email with all of their guests.

• Wednesday, May 15: Development Preferred seating will be delivered to the Development Fundraiser. Please make arrangements with your approved donors to pick up credentials to gain access to Mass or Commencement preferred seating.

ACCOMMODATIONS

A limited inventory of rooms at the Morris Inn is managed by the Office of Leadership Events, and is available for the honorary degree recipients and Trustees. All donor requests have been approved HERE. Please review and email Stephanie Mead if you have questions or additional requests by Friday, April 19. Guest confirmations have been sent, please communicate with your benefactors if they have been approved.

QUESTIONS/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Please contact the Office of Leadership Events with questions at sep@nd.edu

Our UR Finance team has developed some new training resources that are relevant to individuals who manage or contribute to a budget as well as all individuals who use any University-issued cards, Concur or are involved in any contracts. These resources are now part of the onboarding process for new hires but we thought that it would be helpful to communicate the availability of these short, video-based trainings:

• FOAPAL Basics

• What is a JV and how do I process one?

• Managing a Budget

• Contract Basics

• Concur Basics

• Card Types

Please let Patty Kokesh, Rachel Myers or Rachel Schaefer know if you have any questions.

As a reminder, the department maintains a townhome property within Eddy Street Commons for use by significant benefactors, guests of University leaders, and internal UR staff members. While donor and University leadership requests will always take top priority, the condo is generally available for work-related stays for UR staff, and should be kept in mind as a cost-effective option for remote employees. Any remote staff traveling to campus for meetings and/or donor visits are allowed to submit a request for use of the townhome, and the property may also be shared by multiple staff members of the same sex if all parties are amenable. Requests for full family stays are allowed as well, though in the event the condo is being shared by multiple parties, again, all involved must be amenable. The condo itself consists of 4 bedrooms (including a total of 2 queen beds, 1 full bed, and 2 twin beds), 3.5 bathrooms, as well as a 2-car garage, though one spot within the garage is currently being used to house our golf cart.

All requests for use of the Development townhome should be submitted through this Google Form at least six weeks prior to the requested dates, when possible. All requests will be reviewed by Brian Diss, Marty Harshman, and Sara Liebscher to determine approval, which if granted will be communicated four weeks prior to check-in. The only costs incurred for internal staff for use of the property is a $285 cleaning fee, which will be charged to (or split across) the appropriate staff member budget lines at the conclusion of the stay. Please contact Brent Henningfeld with any questions about the townhome or the process to request a reservation.

Dear Colleagues,

I write to inform you that, after careful discernment and consideration, Jason Scarlett has accepted an opportunity to move from his current role as Senior Director for the Central region to take on a Regional Director role, working with a portfolio of highly engaged and generous Notre Dame benefactors.

Jason has served as Senior Director for the Central region for the past 3 years, a team he has been an integral member of for more than 14 years (in what was previously the Midwest region). During his time as Senior Director, Jason has led the team to more than $220 million in production and record years in production and mission giving this past fiscal year.

If you have worked with Jason, you know of his passion, selflessness and commitment to Notre Dame and his teammates. We have talked openly about where he can continue to best provide leadership to the team and the University. It is fitting that, just today, Jason booked a $17.4 million leadership gift from the Reisert family, with whom he has cultivated a wonderful relationship. It is one of many that Jason has built and strengthened in his more than 14 years at Notre Dame, over which time he has closed 122 leadership gifts for $152 million in direct support of the University.

For as difficult of a decision as this was, Jason, along with George, Jerry, Sara, Lou and I all agreed that, at this time, we need Jason’s leadership, experience and track record of success in the field, working with several of our topmost benefactors to further Notre Dame and its mission. Jason will continue to lead the Central team until a new Senior Director is in place.

With Jason’s transition, we now have two open Senior Director positions. George, Jerry, Sara and I will be in touch next week regarding next steps in the process to identify the right leaders for these teams. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions at all.

In the meantime, please join me in thanking Jason for his continued leadership and congratulating him on this exciting new chapter in his Notre Dame journey.

All the best,
Ryan

Team,

Please feel free to stop by the ESC 3rd Floor Cafe where we have an assortment of pies available in celebration of Pi Day! And a very special thanks to our pie suppliers:

Colleen Bailey-Knapke
Ernestine Gardner
Stephanie Washington
Bailey Smith
Katie O’Friel
Grace Prosniewski
Wendy Garcia Sigala
Pamela Mullin
Bec Grose
Sondra Solloway

Dear Colleagues,

I’m happy to share that Angie Palsak has been promoted to an Assistant Program Director on the Development Administration Team. In this role, Angie will join forces with Kristin Schoenfeld, Samantha Checkley, and Roz Palusci in partnering with the ERD’s and SRD’s. With the addition of Angie, a few partnerships are moving to better align the ERD with the SRD and regions who work most closely.

Beginning March 18, the following partnerships will be in place:
Kristin Schoenfeld will work with George West, Tim Kelly, and Nadia Erickson
Samantha Checkley will work with Ryan Brennan, Jason Scarlett, and Shelby Carroll
Roz Palusci will work with Jerry Barca, Ashley Gerard, and Sean Sharpe
Angie Palsak will work with Erin Newkirk, Joe Dietz, and myself.

Angie joined the Development team in December of 2022 as a development coordinator. Angie has been supporting fundraisers and co-leading the efforts to create training modules for new development coordinators. Angie came to Notre Dame with a host of experience after spending time at a financial institution and another higher education institution where she served for eighteen years.

Erin, Joe, and I are eager to begin working with Angie on a daily basis.

Thank you,
Amy

Dear colleagues,

In light of previous organizational changes, we conducted an assessment of how to best provide professional development opportunities within University Relations and that has led to the difficult decision to discontinue the UR position: Program Manager, Learning & Leadership Development, effective March 7, 2024.

I want to thank Bryan Reaume, who has faithfully served in this position for the past 8 years. Bryan’s commitment to our team and our mission has been evident in everything he accomplished during his tenure, including the launching of our UR CASE internship program, the monthly Learn and Lead sessions, and several cohorts of the Burns Leadership program. I am grateful to Bryan for his service in this role, and wish him well as he continues to serve the University outside of University Relations.

Over the coming months, I will collaborate with the UR Senior Leadership team and partners in NDHR to evaluate the current and future needs for professional development programs within University Relations and develop a long-term strategy in this area. Our people are the most critical component to our success as a division, and our investment in your continued learning and growth is of utmost priority. I welcome your participation and feedback in this process, and will offer times and forums for you to provide this feedback in the near future.

Moving forward, Stephanie Washington, Associate Director of Learning and Leadership Development, will continue to lead the execution of our onboarding efforts, and will report to Adria Logan. Additionally, Adria, Stephanie, and the Talent Acquisition team will provide oversight for the 2024 UR Summer Intern cohort. I am grateful to each of them for being willing to take on these efforts this year.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Brian

Many of you have received emails from me about various huddle rooms that you have booked on the third floor of ESC in the coming weeks. I wanted to send a more comprehensive update about these rooms as well as what options exist for small meetings and calls over the next few weeks. The following rooms will be impacted by various furniture swaps just after the dates shown below:

• Leahy (offline after February 28th)

• Cavanaugh (offline after February 28th)

• Badin (offline after February 28th)

• 3777 (offline after March 8th)

• 3778 (offline after March 8th)

• First-come first-served huddle rooms next to George West’s current office and Anne Overly’s former office (not available after February 28th)

At the upcoming Blueprint, we will be going through an updated floor plan and instructions for booking newly created huddle rooms where the vacated Annual Giving and Prospect Management offices existed. Until then, we ask that you use the following rooms on a first-come, first–served basis for small meetings and calls:

• Office #3121, Katie Kerby’s vacated office, will remain available throughout construction

• All other offices lining the Annual Giving area have furniture swaps taking place February 29th and March 1st but are available for drop-in meetings/calls starting the week of March 4th

• The two huddle rooms near the Family Room in the “Blue Room” area will remain available throughout construction

• Cavanaugh Room has furniture swaps taking place February 29th and March 1st but is available for drop-in meetings/calls starting the week of March 4th

• Badin Room has furniture swaps taking place February 29th and March 1st but is available for drop-in meetings/calls starting the week of March 4th

• The Family Room, when not in use, can be a great place to have an impromptu meeting with a colleague

And then there are still a couple of currently bookable rooms available that are ideal for smaller meetings as well, both of which will remain available throughout construction:

• Rockne Room

• Hammes Room

• Holy Cross Room

During this transition period, we understand that finding a space for a small meeting may be more difficult but we appreciate your patience as we work through this. Please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Patty Kokesh