Hello again and good morning.

Our colleague Maria Di Pasquale has accepted the position of Associate Director of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. She will begin her transition into this new role in November.

Maria graduated cum laude from Notre Dame with degrees in art history and English and earned an M.A. in art history from Williams College and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation examined the work of Catholic painters who were members of the avant garde in late 19th-century France.

Following a career in higher education and the private sector, Maria returned to her undergraduate alma mater in 2011 as the inaugural academic advancement director for the College of Arts and Letters. Perhaps inspired by the painters she explored in her dissertation, Maria came to define the academic advancement profession with aplomb and consistently pushed boundaries with new and experimental ideas.

Maria’s contributions are broad and deep, and because of her work, our strength as a university has increased. In serving simultaneously the College of Arts and Letters and Development, she best served Notre Dame. Thanks to Maria, we have an academic advancement profession that helps fuel the growth of our University and challenges its practitioners to personal distinction.

We’ll remember Maria for many things. At this time, we congratulate her for taking on this new challenge, and give thanks that she remains here at Notre Dame.

-Michael Loungo