Regional Associates

As promised earlier this month, I am very pleased to announce the promotions of a five outstanding professionals to the newly created role of Regional Associate (“RA”). Please join me in congratulating Deena Chamberlin, Eileen Gieselman, Marcia Hittner, Roz Palusci, and Kristin Trosper on their promotions to Regional Associate. I look forward to acknowledging their past contributions as well as the impact of their expanded roles going forward.

These five colleagues were promoted based upon not only their sustained level of excellence, accountability, collaboration and technical acumen, but also their capacity for an expanded scope of responsibility and leadership potential. Most importantly, they have exemplified an excellent commitment to Notre Dame’s mission, vision and values. In addition to retaining their existing administrative responsibilities, the Regional Associates will serve a critical role in a specific Development region providing strategic guidance and activity on one of the following four tracks: Prospect Management, Stewardship, Special Events, or Product Knowledge.

In considering these promotions, we were reminded of the high caliber and depth of our Regional Development Administrative Assistant team, and are grateful for the tremendous work displayed across the entire team. For those colleagues that illustrated an interest in the role, I am grateful for your interest and look forward to outlining a map for achieving excellence in the RA role.
Please join me in congratulating Deena, Eileen, Marcia, Roz, and Kristin, and thank you all for your continued commitment to Notre Dame.

-Laura Midkiff

Put Your Feet Up!

The “Put Your Feet Up” Campaign kicks off this week! Please help support Relay for Life by purchasing a purple foot for $1. These can be found at the front desk of Eddy Street, LaFortune, Hammes-Mowbray Bookstore, the dining halls and in most campus buildings. Our purple feet at ESC will be posted on the Cafe windows.

Thank you  for your support and please contact Leah (1-7164) for any questions regarding the Eddy Street location.

Relay for Life April 17th

Notre Dame Relay for Life

Friday, April 17

Compton Family Ice Arena

6 p.m. – 12 midnight

Hello Friends,

We are just four short weeks away from the 2015 Notre Dame Relay for Life event and, as the #1 fundraising team on campus, team UR Walking on Sunshine is ready to kick it into high gear.

FAQ’s

Where do I register?  http://main.acsevents.org/goto/URwalkingonsunshine

What is the cost of registration?  $10 per person, children under 12 are free, includes 2015 RFL t-shirt

Can I register my family with one registration?  Unfortunately, no.  Everyone entering Compton must be registered individually.

Can I register the night of relay?  Yes. However, online pre-registration is encouraged to avoid long lines and immediately join in on the evening festivities.

Do I have to walk all night?  No. This year’s event is not an overnight event.  It begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 12 midnight.

What if I can’t make it to the event on April 17?  That is not a problem, you can still register as a team member or make a team donation, neither of which require you to participate in the event.

What can I expect? Live entertainment, free children’s activities, open family-skate, silent auction, zumbathon, karaoke, ice sculpting, ND band, ND athletes, luminary ceremony, reflection area, $5 meal options and various food vendors.

The “Put Your Feet Up” campaign also kicks-off this week.  Purchase a $1 purple foot at LaFortune, Hammes-Mowbray Bookstore, the dining halls and in most campus buildings.

This week (March 23-27) is Purple Week.  There are numerous events and fundraisers going on across campus.  Visit http://relay.nd.edu for a list of all Purple Week activities and events along with additional fundraisers and current event information.

Committee Members

Jessica Brookshire                      1-5829

Katie Carter                                   1-6181

Leah Corachea                            1-7164

Rachel Hughes                           1-1481

Libby Mountsier                           1-1009

Roberta White                              1-8696

Fiscal 2015 Budget Deadlines

University Relations Staff,

It is that time of year when we focus on the preparation of the budget for next fiscal year.  The annual operating budget process includes proposed salary increases that are effective July 1, 2015, and the non-salary budgets.  Please note that managers are receiving a separate memo today that includes details on University performance review guidelines, how to access specific merit increase charts, etc.  The following communication is intended to highlight the budget process and timeline internal to University Relations (UR) and to ensure you are familiar with the process and key contacts.

The Budget Team

  • Mark Witucki – Alumni Association
  • Mary Ellen Koepfle, Suzanne Dunne, Geoff Stookey, Brenda Carr – Development

Fiscal 2015 Budget Process and Deadlines

Merit recommendations are provided by managers based on employee performance during fiscal 2015.  These recommendations are reviewed by the appropriate Associate Vice President and ultimately approved by Lou Nanni.  We work closely with representatives from Human Resources and the Office of Budget & Planning to ensure the recommendations are consistent with University guidelines.

There are no incremental increases for non-salary budgets this year. If necessary, members of the budget team will work with your manager to re-allocate funds within the respective org to better align the budget plan with the spend activity.

Please note the following deadlines:

  • May 1          Self-reviews finalized in Endeavor (send forward to your supervisor by May 1)
  • Note: supervisors may designate an earlier deadline for the self-evaluation
  • May 1          Managers finalize merit recommendations
  • May 11        Associate Vice Presidents review and finalize merit recommendations
  • May 15        Endeavor closes. Managers complete review (send forward to HR by close of business)
  • Note: make sure Endeavor shows overall rating for your employee before sending forward
  • May 15        Vice President approves merit recommendations
  • June 15        Compensation statements sent to managers for distribution
  • June 23        Staff salary notifications are available online in InsideND

Should you have any questions regarding the performance review process or the budget process, please contact a member of the Budget Team.

Volunteer for Notre Dame Day

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for your enthusiasm and excitement for Notre Dame Day 2015! Many of you have reached out to express interest in volunteering during Notre Dame Day. We will be coordinating the staff schedule and ask that you complete the form at the link below indicating available times you are able to volunteer.

All types of support are needed, from organizing, technical support, social media support, runners, assistants, etc. These positions will vary, but each role is critical to the success of Notre Dame Day.

Please complete the form by Tuesday, March 31.

As we continue to build the staff schedule we will be in contact with you regarding specific roles. Thank you for volunteering your time to this exciting day!

https://ndspecialevents.wufoo.com/forms/notre-dame-day-volunteer-form/

Amy Schell

Sympathy to Bill Kempf

Bill Kempf’s mother-in-law, Willa Mary Peek, passed away on March 21, 2015.               See the obituary at

          http://www.turrentinejacksonmorrow.com/obituaries/willa-peek-50621

Funeral Services for Willa Mary Peek will be held at 10:00 a.m.,
Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Porter Loring Mortuary, 1101 McCullough,
San Antonio, Texas. Interment will follow at Oakhill Cemetery in
Smithville, Texas. The family will receive friends during a visitation
from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Friday evening at the mortuary.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Holy Week Prayer at the Grotto

Next week begins Holy Week.  As we enter into this most solemn week, you are invited to join the Alumni Association on Monday, March 30th at 1 p.m. at the Grotto to pray the prayers submitted by members of the Notre Dame community throughout the world. Visit this link to submit prayer requests on your own. 
Angie Appleby Purcell, MDiv. 97, Director of Spirituality

Annual Giving & Strategic Marketing Spring Mailer Drops

on behalf of Amy Schell

Annual Giving & Strategic Marketing’s Quarterly Spring Mailing finished dropping on March 19.

The direct mail piece included an insert, BRE & reply card, and Notre Dame Day marketing piece, a Save the Date coaster. There were 12 versions of the insert creative based on segmentation, and 65,188 total mailings were sent. The strategy was to renew and recapture benefactors who have made a gift in the past 5 years, but with no FY 15 unrestricted gift. Standard exclusions were applied.

Creative design was based on the concept of all the thoughts that go through the mind of a Notre Dame student on a daily basis, and how those relate to this total experience and education of mind, body, heart, and spirit that is so generously made possible by our benefactors.

Email follow-up to unassigned prospects will begin March 22 and conclude by March 27; 30 unique emails were created to coincide with different segments.

Thank you to the entire team for your collaborative efforts putting together this campaign, especially for your ability to be agile once the initial schedule changed due to the events surrounding Father Hesburgh’s passing. A special thanks to the IS data team for their support, to Pablo Martinez, campaign program manager, and to Lindahl Chase, who provided creative direction.

Lawrence Principe, Professor of Chemistry and the Humanities, to Explore Mythical Conflict Between Science and Religion

All are invited to attend this important lecture hosted by the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. Principe is an eminent Catholic scholar who bridges the conversation between science and the humanities – he holds doctorates in both. As always, please let me know if you have any questions and/or interest in the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study.

Rudy Reyes Jr.University Director of Foundation Relations

The College of Science, the History and Philosophy of Science Graduate Program, and the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) are pleased to announce a jointly-sponsored public lecture by Lawrence Principe, Professor of Chemistry, Drew Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the Singleton Center for the Study of Premodern Europe at Johns Hopkins University, titled Scientism and the Myth of the “Warfare” Between Science and Religion.”

The lecture will be held on Thursday, March 26 at 4:00 p.m. in Room 140 of DeBartolo Hall.

The notion that there exists, and has always existed, a “warfare” or “conflict” between science and religion is so deeply ingrained in public thinking that it usually goes unquestioned. The idea was however largely the creation of two late nineteenth-century authors who confected it for personal and political purposes. Even though no serious historians of science acquiesce in it today, the myth remains powerful, and endlessly repeated, in wider circles. This talk will explore the myth’s origins, its empty foundations, how it became “common knowledge,” and why it continues to be perpetuated, and also show how religious motivations, individuals, and institutions have historically been the primary drivers of scientific exploration and discovery.

In addition to his public lecture, Professor Principe will offer a student seminar on the Scientific Revolution and a faculty book seminar focused on his work,The Secrets of Alchemy.

Questions regarding Professor Principe’s lecture and seminars may be directed to Don Stelluto, Associate Director (dstellut@nd.edu).

Brief Biography of Lawrence Principe

Lawrence Principe is Professor of Chemistry, Drew Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the Singleton Center for the Study of Premodern Europe at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on early modern (1500-1750) science and technology and the history of chemistry/alchemy. His work includes resituating alchemy in its due context–intellectual, social, philosophical, technological, religious, and experimental–and displaying its importance and influence in the history of science and in European culture. Due to his great interest in understanding how alchemists thought about the world and their work and what they did, Professor Principe has adopted a research strategy that includes traditional historical methods of textual analysis, contextualization, and archival research as well as a more innovative method of replicating alchemical processes in a modern laboratory using historical apparatus and materials that try to approximate the impure substances ordinarily used in the past. He holds Ph.D. degrees in organic chemistry as well as in the history of science.

He is the author of The Secrets of Alchemy (University of Chicago Press, 2013), and The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011), which is available in Chinese, English, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish,  Arabic, and soon in Korean; co-author of three additional books, including The Alchemical Laboratory Notebooks and Correspondence of George Starkey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004); editor of four more books, including Chymists and Chymistry: Studies in the History of Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry, (2007); and author of more than forty articles. His numerous awards and honors include an Othmer Fellowship from the Chemical Heritage Foundation (2001), and the Pfizer Prize from the History of Science Society (2005). In 2004, he was the first recipient of the Francis Bacon Award for the History and Philosophy of Science.

2015 Badin Guild Weekend – Save the Date

This year’s Badin Guild weekend has been set for September 25-26, 2015 – Notre Dame vs. Massachusetts home football game.  Badin Guild members will receive save-the-date postcard within the coming weeks and invitations will be sent mid-summer.  Please contact Laura Snell with any questions at lsnell@nd.edu.