Dear Colleagues,

Please join me in congratulating Natalie Sargent as she begins a new role in the Provost’s Office as the Director of Faculty Awards & Recognition, effective June 1.

Enhancing Notre Dame’s pipeline of national recognition and awards for faculty is an area of strategic importance for the University, and Natalie will be working with the provost, the Provost’s Office team and senior leaders across the academy to lead strategy and facilitate collaboration.

During her tenure as Academic Advancement Director, and in collaboration with many of you, over $106M has been raised to date for the Mendoza College of Business including for the Business Honors Program and the Meyer Business on the Frontlines Program.

On behalf of the AAD team, we wish Natalie well and will commence the search for our next Academic Advancement Director for Mendoza as soon as possible. If you or anyone in your network would be interested in this role, please reach out to me at any time.

Thanks!

KO

Friends,

I am both proud and grateful to announce that Mary Bueno will be retiring from her role as Development Associate, Advancement Services effective June 30, 2023 after 10 loyal years of service to Notre Dame.

Mary joined the Development team in 2013 after a career in administrative support positions at both Attco Machine Products and Honeywell International. Mary quickly became a beloved member of the Annual Giving team, providing assistance with nearly every annual giving effort, from Notre Dame Day to donor experience support for Giving Society members. Above all, she served as a trusted advocate, cheerleader, counselor, and friend to so many of us who have been blessed to work with her. Whether with a high five, a hug, or simply a smile, Mary has the rare ability to make every day better just because you have the chance to work with her.

I personally am so grateful to Mary for joining the Advancement Services team this past year, bringing with her the same can-do and “how can I help” approach to a new role and team. Mary will be incredibly missed, but we are thrilled that she and her husband, Manny, will be jumping into this exciting new phase of life!

Please join me in thanking Mary for all she has done for Notre Dame and our team. We will miss you, Mary!

Brian

Hello UR Team! If you are interested in joining us for our next UR Walks, please fill out this form. Brian Diss will be leading the walk from Grace Hall. As there may be some non-pavement, trail walking, we advise that appropriate footwear be considered. Signing up also helps us to contact those who are interested just in case we need to cancel at the last minute due to inclement weather. We look forward to catching up with you while getting in our steps. Happy trails!

Colleagues,

It is with excitement for our longstanding colleague Cheryl Schlimpert that we share news about her new endeavor. Beginning June 1st, Cheryl will join the Accounting and Financial Services team in the Controller’s Office, assuming the new role of Endowed Programs Manager. In this role, Cheryl will be developing processes to increase the utilization of endowed resources, enhance communication among constituent departments, and improve the monitoring of unique gift arrangements and related donor restrictions.

Cheryl is a proven solutions leader and has worked extensively with our annual endowment reporting process for the past several years, providing project and data management to the University Stewardship Initiatives team. In addition, Cheryl is the technical force behind the Student Thank You Note project which produces more than 8,000 student letters annually. Cheryl has also automated a significant number of processes for the broader Stewardship team, including the annual Stewardship & Dedications budget.

Cheryl’s mindset toward continuous process improvement and automation has helped the Stewardship & Donor Relations team immensely in recent years. She will be missed for both her technical expertise and her stewardship heart. Gratefully, Cheryl isn’t going far, and supporting the University’s efforts toward more consistent spending of endowed funds will serve our generous benefactors well. We look forward to working closely with Cheryl in this new capacity. Please join us in offering all good wishes to Cheryl as she embarks on this new and exciting opportunity!

We will be posting for Cheryl’s replacement as Project and Data Assistant Manager in the coming days. Please contact Cristi Ganyard if you have questions or would like to discuss this role.

Katherine Lane and Cristi Ganyard

UR Friends and Colleagues,

I write to share the news that Amy Walter will be leaving her role as Development Coordinator to pursue an opportunity in ND Athletics as the Building Services Coordinator. Her last day will be Friday, May 5th. We are grateful for her many contributions to our DC team and wish her much success as she embarks on this new role.

Please join me in extending best wishes to Amy as she transitions to her new campus position.

All the best,

Angie Dennig and the DC team

Happy birthday to all our UR employees celebrating their special days in May! We hope your year is filled with sunshine and fun!

5/1 – Meredith Sharwarko
5/4 –  Tashana Kenny
5/5 – Emily Naff
5/7 – Courtney Mattison
5/7 – Grace Prosniewski
5/9 – Eleanor Hanson
5/9 – Barbara Josenhans
5/9 – Gavin McGuire
5/10 – Michele Wolff
5/12 – Mary Prebys
5/13 – Thomas Speranza
5/14 – Josh Flynt
5/14 – Beth Dietz
5/15 – Mary Flynt
5/15 – Laura Marks
5/17 – Jacqueline Clinton
5/17 – Krista Ybarra
5/18 – Ron Linczer
5/18 – Maya Sison
5/19 – Lori Rush
5/20 – Sarah Kriegshauser
5/21 – Isabel Dance
5/21 – Kiran Mistry
5/21 – Ben Nowalk
5/21 – Terrell Robinson
5/22 – Andy Mason
5/22 – Stephanie Washington
5/24 – Beth Graybill
5/26 – Kate Mueller
5/26 – Bailey Smith
5/28 – Steven Horstmann
5/29 – Amelia Ruggaber
5/31 – Patrick Charles
5/31 – Jennifer Powell

It is my pleasure to welcome Claire Brown to the Stewardship & Donor Relations team, reporting directly to me in her role as Program Director, University Stewardship Initiatives. Claire’s first day will be Wednesday, April 26th, and she will serve as the stewardship partner to the College of Arts & Letters, Notre Dame International, as well as leading the Endowed Professorships and Directorships program on behalf of the Stewardship & Donor Relations team.

Already a proud member of the Notre Dame family, Claire received her Notre Dame B.A. in Anthropology, with honors, in 2011. She went on to complete her M.A. and Ph.D. studies in Anthropology at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

As an undergrad, Nanovic Institute study grants instilled in Claire a love for the people, culture, and landscape of Ireland, leading Claire to spend a number of years there following her undergraduate experience. Claire worked from 2020 to 2022 as a postdoctoral research fellow at Teagasc – Ireland’s Agriculture & Food Development Authority, Galway, Ireland. Prior to that, from 2015 to 2018 Claire served as a Program Manager and Affiliated Scholar at Notre Dame’s Kylemore Abbey Global Center. In this role she was responsible for organizing and managing all visiting international academic programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Claire also designed and led communications campaigns to recruit students and faculty to Center programs. Further, Claire has served as a research assistant at Notre Dame and a graduate student teaching assistant at Binghamton University, and has authored a number of publications and papers as part of her academic research.

Claire’s Notre Dame roots, successful academic background, and experience in higher ed administration will serve both her and the University very well as a stewardship partner to our academic units. Please join me in offering a warm welcome to Claire Brown as she joins the University Relations family.

Cristi Ganyard

Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. ~Robin Wall Kimmerer

Happy Earth Day! 

Celebrated for the first time on April 20, 1970, Earth Day brought together millions of Americans wanting government regulations in place that would end pollution, mostly by large corporations.  Since then, Earth Day has become a call for individuals and communities to learn about and live more sustainably, push for policy change, and to recognize that sustainability is crucial to ensure the equity and equality of all living beings. 

Throughout most of history, a reciprocal relationship has existed between people and nature. At times it may seem that we have lost that relationship with nature and the earth. Nearly every religion, culture and tradition offer a connection to the earth: Creation stories. Creation stories often keep humans rooted to nature, reminding us that the earth naturally creates and sustains life. While Creation stories vary widely, from God’s spoken words breathing life into existence to a pregnant woman falling from the sky who was saved and cared for by animals, they remind us that humans belong within the complex nature system.   

Below are four short clips of creation stories from various traditions: 

Genesis Creation Story (Judeo-Christian faith tradition)

Sky Woman Falling (Haudenosaunee tradition)

Hindu Creation Story (Hindu faith tradition)

The Earth with Kaang (African San Bushmen Creation story)

Earth Day does not have to be (and should not be) the only time we focus on living more sustainably. Some suggestions for incorporating more sustainable practices in our everyday lives are included below. And please keep in mind – progress over perfection! Not everyone can practice all of these suggestions, but choosing one or two things from the list that feel feasible for your life at this time will make an impact! 

1. At work:
   1. Keep reusable lunch items at work such as silverware and a cloth napkin.
   2. Use a mug or water bottle for drinks.
   3. Invest in reusable sandwich and snack bags.
   4. Limit your paper towel use to one each time you dry your hands. Enjoy this Ted Talk on the topic.
2. While grocery shopping:
   1. Use reusable produce bags instead of the thin plastic bags in the produce section and reusable bags for packing your groceries.
   2. If possible, buy from the bulk area of the grocery store using jars from home or investing in jars for bulk food. Local grocery store, Purple Porch, carries spices, grains, coffee and many other bulk options.
3. Outdoor spaces:
   1. Visit one of the many beautiful county and state parks near us. The more time we spend in nature the deeper connection we feel to nature (not to mention so many other health benefits!). 
   2. Suggested read: Florence Williams’ The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative. 
   3. Plant native plants in your yard. They attract pollinators – and the more plants taking up yard space means less mowing!
4. Clothing
   1. Buy thrifted clothes at places like Clothes Mentor, Once Upon a Child, and ThredUp (online). 
   2. Buy fewer clothes. Value what you buy and invest only in clothes you really like and need. 
   3. Buy clothing made with natural fabric fibers instead of synthetic fabrics. You’ll reduce the amount of microplastics in rivers and oceans that shed during washing. 
   4. Upcycle your clothes using companies like For Days where you can send textiles to be recycled. You pay $20 up front for a bag, but then you receive $20 to spend in their store!

If you are interested in joining us for our next UR Walks, please fill out this form. We will meet at the first floor lobby of ESC on Tuesday, April 25 at 11:30AM. Sara Liebscher will be leading the walk. As there may be some non-pavement, trail walking, we advise that appropriate footwear be considered. Signing up also helps us to contact those who are interested just in case we need to cancel at the last minute due to inclement weather. Interested in learning more about the health benefits of walking? Check out this article.

On Thursday, June 1, 2023, the Badin Guild will host a cocktail reception from 2-4 p.m. in 215-216 McKenna Hall for Badin Guild members and their guests. Please see this list of registered attendees for details on benefactors who will be attending this event. If you have questions regarding this event, please contact Laura Walker.