The Notre Dame Family will be celebrating the Advent and Christmas season at our inaugural Gold and Blue Christmas Concert from Notre Dame LIVE on Wednesday, December 8th at 8:00 PM ET at go.nd.edu/jolly.

UR staff and families are invited to attend the concert in person at Leighton Concert Hall, free tickets are available at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Ticket Office starting at 6:45 PM, December 8th. Because this will be a live broadcast, doors close at 7:45 PM. Please contact Lin Wang with any questions.

Dear UR,

Please join us in welcoming Stephanie Washington to the DC Team! Stephanie transitioned from her role as Marketing and Communications Coordinator in the Alumni Association, a position she held since 2018, on 11.11.21. Many of us know Stephanie from our Covid lockdown days for her impactful contributions to the UR DEIU dialogue. She has been a MyND3 Communications Advisory Group Member since 2019 and an Employee Resource Group Committee Member since 2021. Previous to her ND tenure, Stephanie worked for the South Bend Community School Corporation, in church work, and as a youth counselor. She holds a Bachelors degree in Law and Society from Purdue University. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys playing video games with her 7-year-old son, Dante.

Deena and Lori

As you may have noticed, coffee options for the past few weeks in ESC have been difficult. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to resolve this situation. The current supply chain issues as well as some on-campus policy shifts around Keurig machine requirements has caused us to pause and evaluate options going forward.

The great news is that we have a solution we are working to set-up and the not so great news is that it will most likely be between mid-December/early January before the installation can be complete. I am hopeful it will be sooner rather than later.

• For coffee drinkers:
  • We are installing two (2) brew-to-cup machines for coffee (dark and medium roast), hot chocolate and cappuccino.
  • The two (2) machines will be identical in terms of options offered.
  • The locations will be in the Cafe (replacing the current machine) and the Catering Kitchen (adjacent to the Family Room).
  • These are more sustainable options as no k-cups or paper filters are utilized. The machine will grind the coffee beans based on the cup size chosen (8 oz, 10 oz, etc.)
• For tea drinkers
  • We will install a single stand alone keuring in the ESC “One” copier area (south end of the suite adjacent near Du Lac room).
  • This machine will be for tea (we will continue to stock Green & English Breakfast teas) or your own k-cups.

In order to install the new machines (they are Keurigs), a different type of water filtration system is required. These filtration systems are currently being installed in the various sinks so they are ready when the machines arrive. We anticipate the machines being on campus sometime in mid-December.

Please note, the water coolers that are in the Cafe and the northside copier area are staying put and will be available as always.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding as we have worked to find a solution that can work for the team.

If you do have any questions, please feel free to reach out the Lana Taylor or Dawn Smith.

Dear UR family,

Mark Futa has shared the news with me that he has accepted a position as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Carleton, Inc. Mark’s last day will be February 25th, 2022. We are sad to see Mark leave the University but the Central team could not be happier for Mark. Mark is a tremendously talented leader who has been a good friend to us all. He has faithfully served Our Lady’s University and his benefactor families for four years with pride and integrity. We will miss his self-deprecating humor and willingness to do whatever was required to make the team better. I, personally, will also miss his tremendous example as a father as he always employs that right balance of love and discipline for the betterment of his kids. Fortunately, though, Mark will remain in the area so we look forward to seeing him around town and at St. Joe High School sporting events. Thank you so much, Mark. God bless you, Marla, and the entire Futa family. We wish you well in your new ventures.

Jason Scarlett

Please join me in welcoming Sydney Kuhn to the Marketing Operations, Annual Giving team as the new Digital Marketing Specialist.

Sydney has spent the last 2 years as the Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs and now is “spreading her wings” into the digital space, where she will own the creation of our crowdfunding campaigns for student groups and campus partners, implement social strategy for our @NDLoyal channels, launch and expand our texting communication tool, and manage online activities for Notre Dame Day.

Sydney’s personality, eagerness to learn, and grit are fantastic value-adds to our team and we are excited to have her join us!

– Lauren Dolzan

Colleagues,

Please note that on Wednesday, December 1st at 12:15PM, Fr Jim Bracke will lead a prayer that remembers all loved ones of students, staff and faculty who have died. During this holiday season, it is important to give thanks for our loved ones we have lost.

The prayer service will be held at Coleman-Morse in the 1st Floor Lounge. All faiths or those of no faith are invited to join.

Please sign up to join us on Monday, December 6th at 3PM in the Eddy Street Cafe for our second ever UR Cookie Exchange! Please identify what cookie you plan on sharing, as well as if you have any allergies. To help keep our gathering self, please separate your cookies into separate plastic bags (about 6 cookies per bag) so other participants need only to grab a bag. Please indicate whether you’re able to join by Wednesday, December 1 so that we know how many cookies are needed. Happy Baking!

Please help us honor the life of Margot Witous, daughter of Jess Witous, by donating new or gently used mittens, hats, scarves, or coats to the Christ Child Society of South Bend throughout the month of November. Donations can be dropped off at Christ Child Society of South Bend at 2366 Miracle Ln. Mishawaka, IN 46545 or in one of the collection bins at our Eddy or Grace Hall offices starting later this week.