The University of Notre Dame Alumni Association and the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley invite you to celebrate the women’s basketball team as they begin their journey through the NCAA tournament. We will be hosting a pre-game party for all Notre Dame fans at Taphouse on the Edge on Friday, March 16th, from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.  Touted one of four #1 seeds, our Lady Irish take on Cal State Northridge with a 5:00 p.m. tip-off at the Purcell Pavillion. Complimentary appetizers will be served during the event.

We will be hosting this event again on Sunday, March 18th, if the women’s team advances. It will again be held at Taphouse on the Edge, with the time TBD.

Please contact Sharon Rankert (srankert@nd.edu or 574-807-5373) with any questions.

Taphouse on the Edge is located at 1803 South Bend Avenue, South Bend, IN 46637.

– Sharon Rankert

As our team continues to grow, we need to be more efficient and effective in how we use our limited storage space. The Eddy Street Offices will be having a week (plus a few days) to “Spring Clean” and purge unwanted items from our work areas. A future date will be planned for our Grace Hall offices.

• Starting today and through Tuesday, March 20^th, any useable but unwanted items can be dropped off in the Surplus Room (office 3111, Ann Moran’s former office on the East side.)
• On Wednesday and Thursday, March 21^st and 22^nd, staff may look at the items in the office and take any that they can use in their work space.
• On Friday, March 23^rd ND Surplus come and remove the remaining items.

A few notes:

• Please put only usable items in the Surplus room. Please dispose and/or recycle broken or ripped items. We will have additional trash and recycling receptacles available the week of the 19^th.
• Think about items stored in areas away from your personal workspaces. Vicki and I will work on removing unwanted items for storage closets across the floor but we will not clean out file/storage cabinets located throughout the building.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for your assistance as we Spring Clean our shared office space.

Carolyn Hardman

Please join me in welcoming Darius Walker as our newest fundraiser in the West Region. He will be serving benefactors in the Los Angeles area, and his first day with our Development family will be on Monday, March 12. Darius is a 2009 graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in Marketing, a three-time Monogram winner, and Captain on the football team. He currently ranks fourth all-time in career rushing yards at Notre Dame. Darius will be living in Los Angeles with his wife, Margaret. They’re expecting their first child in July. Margaret, a 2004 grad of Notre Dame, currently works in entertainment marketing at NBC.

Darius has spent the last four years in private wealth management at Morgan Stanley. He also worked as a TV sports announcer covering college football and basketball for a variety of networks including Fox Sports, ESPN, and Facebook. Prior to broadcasting, Darius played four years in the NFL as a running back with the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos before retiring in 2011. In his spare time, Darius enjoys staying fit and preparing his house for a new baby boy.

I am thrilled to have Darius join the University Development team.

Stu Fortener

Donor Services has an open position for a Coordinator. If you are interested in exploring this position please visit jobs.nd.edu and/or contact Ann Moran or Stacy Koebel.

Donor Services has an open position for a Financial Analyst . If you are interested in exploring this position please visit jobs.nd.edu and/or contact Ann Moran or Stacy Koebel.

— 

The Development Associate role is now posted.  We encourage any interested colleagues to visit jobs.nd.edu to apply and/or contact Ann Amico Moran or Micki Kidder.  The posting will be available for five days.

Friends and Colleagues,

Confession is good for the Soul.  A year ago when word began to spread that we would be looking at an evolving workspace as to accommodate 50+ new employees, I was pessimistic.  I enjoy my office and the ability to return from nomadic life on the road to my own space.  So when asked to serve on the Work Environment Committee, I made up my mind that I would fight for the status quo.

Three weeks ago, the committee traveled to Grand Rapids to visit Steelcase, Notre Dame’s office space partner.  I was able to experience an open concept environment with dozens of work spaces to choose from – both shared and private.  Neat as the physical spaces were, what changed my mind about the open work concept was the energy and collaboration of the office.  Their office was full of light, joy and sense of shared purpose.  It felt like the new Duncan Student Center.  Can I envision our sacred work magnified through a space like this?  Yes.  Is this a magic bullet for collaboration? No. That is our responsibility, but a reimagining of our space will certainly play an important role.

I humbly ask, on behalf of the entire committee, to please take a look at this virtual tour (click on the # and “p”) of what our work space could be like.   Furthermore, ask us questions and engage us in dialogue.  As a team we are meeting again this week and are grateful for the opportunity to bring to the larger team all of your suggestions and concerns.  We will continue to update you in the coming weeks and months as we navigate a transformation in our work space.  And if you need to remember how fun and joyful of a team we have, just ask Darrell.

Gratefully,
Aaron

The Integrated Work Environment Committee

Aaron Wall

Amy Schell

Conor Montijo

Dan Santucci

Eileen Murdock

Laura Midkiff

Lin Wang

Lynn Hubert

Nathan Utz

Scott Jessup

TJ Pillari

Marty Harshman – Co-Sponsor

Brad Goff – Co-Sponsor

— Aaron Wall

Dear colleagues:

I am excited to share that Julia Ongetich has been promoted from an assistant director to a program director in the Donor Communications, Recognition & Stewardship unit. Julia has demonstrated great leadership, creativity, and dedication in her work in stewardship, enhancing the experience for University benefactors at every level. As just one example, she was responsible for the very creative new Stewardship Calendar, which has received many accolades. Please join me in congratulating Julia, and note that she will be returning from maternity leave on Friday, March 30. She and baby Nile are doing very well.

In Notre Dame,

Katherine Lane

Please join us in congratulating Lauren Brown as she joins the Special Events & Stewardship team in the role of Assistant Director, Special Events & Stewardship. As a member of the Executive Events team, Lauren will work on significant university events such as dedications and groundbreakings; Advisory Council events; and a variety of community and events in collaboration with the President’s Office, including Commencement. Lauren will also manage those student workers working with the Special Events team. Lauren will report to Cristi Ganyard in this role.

Lauren began working at the university in the winter of 2015.  She began her Notre Dame career working as an administrative assistant in regional development with Scott Jessup.  Lauren began working as the Development Associate in partnership with Micki Kidder in June of 2016. In this role, Lauren’s commitment to the mission, unparalleled work ethic, and giving demeanor have provided tremendous value and impact to our team.

Lauren enjoys the opportunity to engage with the Notre Dame community, using her skills and talents to help draw Notre Dame alumni, parents, and friends closer to Our Lady’s University. Lauren is excited to continue her passion for maintaining and strengthening benefactor relationships through her involvement in Special Events & Stewardship.

Prior to her time with Notre Dame, Lauren’s efforts were focused on community service and volunteerism. Lauren served with AmeriCorps and various nonprofit affiliates for 4 years providing community services to underserved populations throughout our nation. Lauren is focused on a lifetime of learning and will graduate in December of 2018 with her MBA from Indiana University South Bend.

Lauren is a proud South Bend native and is very happy to serve her hometown community through the mission driven work of the University of Notre Dame.

Lauren’s first day with the Special Events & Stewardship team will be Monday, March 19.  Congratulations to Lauren as she embraces this exciting new career opportunity!

In Notre Dame,

Micki Kidder and Cristi Ganyard