Our Commitments
“This is who we are, and who we are called to be—seekers of truth, sustainers of hope, builders of bridges, extending and expanding these gifts we’ve been given, to others and to the world . . . That’s why Our Lady is depicted on the Dome, with arms and hands open. Never closed off to anyone; always ready to receive; always ready to embrace.”
From the Inaugural Address of University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on September 13, 2024
"… As a Catholic university, we are committed to defending the dignity of every human person, to promoting a just society in which every person can flourish, and to attending particularly to the needs of the most vulnerable. Through our work of research and teaching, we seek to address racism, inequality, and discrimination. We have a responsibility as the premier Catholic research university in the world to serve church and society in this way and to offer credible witness to true inclusivity. As a community, Notre Dame strives to reflect these values in life on campus and natural extensions of purpose beyond the campus.
The University’s mission statement speaks to these commitments:
The University seeks to cultivate in its students not only an appreciation for the great achievements of human beings, but also a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many. The aim is to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice…
In all dimensions of the University, Notre Dame pursues its objectives through the formation of an authentic human community graced by the Spirit of Christ.
On our campus, we must examine the ways in which we can better live the ideals we profess.
The Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross—the document that guides the life and ministry of the Holy Cross order that founded Notre Dame—states: 'There are networks of privilege, prejudice, and power so commonplace that often neither oppressors nor victims are aware of them. We must be aware and also understanding by reason of fellowship with the impoverished and by reason of patient learning. For the kingdom to come in this world, disciples must have the competence to see and the courage to act.'
These are the ideals that must guide our aspirations for the University and our decision-making. We must fight against racism and all forms of injustice and inequity in our nation and the world. On our campus, we must examine the ways in which we can better live the ideals we profess . . . Our over-arching aspiration is to act to ensure that EVERY member of the Notre Dame community feels not merely 'welcome' here, but rather that this is truly their home."
From the Notre Dame Board of Trustees' Task Force Report, June 2021
Building the Beloved Community
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion arises from our aspirations about the community we seek to be and lies at the heart of our mission as a Catholic research university. In keeping with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, we commit ourselves to:
- Respect the dignity of every person.
- We affirm the transcendent dignity and worth of every human person, from conception to natural death, regardless of race, nationality or ethnic group, religious tradition, gender, socioeconomic class, immigration status, sexual orientation, or anything else.
- Build a Notre Dame community in which all can flourish.
- Human beings are inescapably social, and the flourishing of each individual is possible only in a social context in which we each have responsibilities to others and others have reciprocal responsibilities to us. Together, we strive to realize the common good — that which enables any sort of community and its members to flourish individually and collectively.
- Live in solidarity with all, particularly the most vulnerable.
- We are called to live in solidarity with all people, which arises from recognizing that the well- being of each person is a concern for us all. We are all, in one way or another, our sister’s and brother’s keeper. Solidarity demands that we strive to overcome fragmentation and separation to see the deeper unity we share with all people.
Spirit of Inclusion
“Strangers and sojourners no longer...” (Ephesians 2:19)
The University of Notre Dame strives for a spirit of inclusion among the members of this community for distinct reasons articulated in our Christian tradition. We prize the uniqueness of all persons as God’s creatures. We welcome all people, regardless of color, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social or economic class, and nationality, for example, precisely because of Christ’s calling to treat others as we desire to be treated. We value gay and lesbian members of this community as we value all members of this community. We condemn harassment of any kind, and University policies proscribe it. We consciously create an environment of mutual respect, hospitality and warmth in which none are strangers and all may flourish.
One of the essential tests of social justice within any Christian community is its abiding spirit of inclusion. Scriptural accounts of Jesus provide a constant witness of this inclusiveness. Jesus sought out and welcomed all people into the Kingdom of God — the gentile as well as the Jew, women as well as men, the poor as well as the wealthy, the slave as well as the free, the infirm as well as the healthy. The social teachings of the Catholic Church promote a society founded on justice and love, in which all persons possess inherent dignity as children of God. The individual and collective experiences of Christians have also provided strong warrants for the inclusion of all persons of good will in their communal living. Christians have found their life together enriched by the different qualities of their many members, and they have sought to increase this richness by welcoming others who bring additional gifts, talents and backgrounds to the community.
The spirit of inclusion at Notre Dame flows from our character as a community of scholarship, teaching, learning and service founded upon Jesus Christ. As the Word through whom all things were made, Christ is the source of the order of all creation and of the moral law which is written in our hearts. As the incarnate Word, Christ taught the law of love of God and sent the Holy Spirit that we might live lives of love and receive the gift of eternal life. For Notre Dame, Christ is the law by which all other laws are to be judged. As a Catholic institution of higher learning, in the governance of our common life we look to the teaching of Christ, which is proclaimed in Sacred Scripture and tradition, authoritatively interpreted by Church teaching, articulated in normative understandings of the human person, and continually deepened by the wisdom born of inquiry and experience. The rich heritage of the Catholic faith informs and transforms our search for truth and our understanding of contemporary challenges in higher education.