Today, we offer our deepest condolences to Larry Helmsing upon the passing of his mother, Katherine (Kathy) Helmsing, on Tuesday, January 4 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The full obituary may be found here.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 am, Friday, January 14 at St Peter’s Catholic Church, 518 East Dewald Street, Fort Wayne with calling one hour prior. Calling will also be held from 5 to 8 pm on Thursday, January 13, at D.O. McComb and Sons Covington Knolls Funeral Home in Fort Wayne.

Please keep Larry and his entire family in your prayers.

~IT&S Team

We are writing to update you on the job responsibilities of Angel Hess:

Angel has transitioned to a role supporting Kim Borza Donaldson, in addition to Melissa Lechlitner-Lewis and Mike Brown. In addition to this support, Angel will continue to manage communications with the Advisory Council for the Student-Athlete, Athletics leadership gift acknowledgments, and Athletics Advancement office operations. She also assists with Athletics gift reporting, Athletics Department communications, and event management for Athletics Advancement and the Monogram Club.

Angel is a wonderful member of the Athletics Advancement team, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her on Athletics priorities!

– Kim Borza Donaldson & Brian Powell

Congratulations to Dawn Smith on her new grandson! Greyson Lawrence Danley was born on Monday, January 10th weighing in at 7lbs 3oz. Mom (Dawn’s daughter) Lexy, Dad Philip, and big brother Delcan are all doing great!

Best wishes to their whole family!

Happy birthday to all our UR colleagues celebrating their special days in January! We hope this new year brings you new joy!

1/1 – Stacy Koebel
1/3 – Andrea Swanagan
1/3 – Eileen Gieselman
1/5 – Nancy Cole
1/6 – Dylan Reed
1/7 – Drew Buscareno
1/11 – Colleen Bailey-Knapke
1/11 – Stu Fortener
1/12 – James Riley
1/13 – Laura Walker
1/17 – Anne Overly
1/19 – Jeff Fersch
1/19 – Jay McAllister
1/21 – Matthew McVeigh
1/23 – Heather Christophersen
1/23 – Nadia Erickson
1/24 – Melissa Lechlitner
1/24 – Suzanne DeGuilio
1/25 – Kelly Courington
1/25 – Lou Nanni
1/26 – Chris Baguer
1/26 – Joanne Norell
1/29 – Chris Palmquist
1/30 – Geoff Stookey
1/31 – Bryan Reaume

More on masking: 

• Throughout the Spring Semester, those who are not fully vaccinated—having not received the original vaccine and the booster—will be required to mask indoors and test weekly.
• The current indoor masking requirement applies in all campus buildings, including in classrooms, laboratories and studios. When the campus-wide masking requirement is lifted, faculty may continue to require students to mask in these instructional spaces.
• Visitors are required to wear masks inside campus buildings at all times until further notice.
• While the current masking requirement is in effect, students, faculty and staff are required to wear masks at all times inside South Dining Hall, North Dining Hall, Duncan Student Center, LaFortune and other eateries except when actively eating or drinking.
• Throughout the semester, we urge anyone experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms to stay at home, call their medical provider, and, as appropriate, get tested. Even if you are negative for COVID, please wear your mask indoors on campus while symptoms persist to avoid spreading illness.
• Finally, as has been true throughout the pandemic, we strongly encourage anyone who feels more comfortable masking—for any reason and without needing to offer an explanation—to do so.

As we look to finish the 2021 calendar year, we want to remind you about gift deadlines and instructions. These details are outlined in the 2021 Calendar Year-End letter.

As a reminder, if a benefactor’s gift is not postmarked by December 31, 2021 or in a University account by December 31, 2021, it cannot be considered a 2021 gift for tax purposes. Please encourage your donor’s to send their gifts early to avoid any unforeseen challenges (i.e. USPS delivery, banking systems, etc.)

Happy Holidays!

The Notre Dame UR Family extends its deepest condolences to Dawn Smith. Her grandmother, Patricia Ann Pallo passed away on Monday, December 20th.

You can find Mrs. Pallo’s obituary using this link.

Please keep Mrs. Pallo, Dawn and Gary, and their extended family in your prayers.

-Lana Taylor

Thanks for all the great matching gift questions the last couple of weeks, please keep them coming! As promised, here is an updated list of assigned prospects who made a gift between July 1 and Dec 20 who have not yet made a claim. There are 347 gifts represented for a total of $6.165M in potential matches.

Let me know how I can help. You can check any employer’s matching program details at: https://giving.nd.edu/ways-to-give/matching-gifts/ including deadlines and links directly to employer forms.

Top matching gift companies with a December 31 deadline or other notable deadline for your quick reference.

You can contact me via email at lcurry@nd.edu with any matching gift questions.

-Leslie Curry

Congratulations to Tim Willis on his new grandson! You can see Campbell Timothy Willis with his Mom, Maggie, below. Best wishes to the entire family!

Friends,

I am pleased to announce that Lauren Donahue has joined the NY Metro team as regional director, effective December 13.

For the past three and a half years, Lauren served as the Program Director for New Student Engagement at Notre Dame, where she was a member of Fr. Gerry’s leadership team for student affairs. Lauren provided leadership on matters involving strategic planning, student development, health and well-being, residential life and was the co-director of the Moreau First Year Experience course. From 2014-2018, she served as Rector of Cavanaugh Hall.

I am excited about all that Lauren will bring to our team! Please join me in welcoming her to University Relations.

Thank you,
Ryan