杏吧原创

Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., was elected in December 2023 as the 杏吧原创鈥檚 18th president.

As president, he has devoted himself to furthering the University鈥檚 mission as the preeminent global Catholic research university. Committed to ensuring that a Notre Dame education is affordable and accessible to all students, in September 2024 he announced the , making Notre Dame the first highly selective faith-based university in the United States to be need-blind and loan-free for all students, both domestic and international.

Hailing from Michigan City, Indiana, Father Dowd graduated from Notre Dame in 1987, earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology and economics, and entered Moreau Seminary in the fall of that year to explore his vocation to religious life and priesthood. During his time in the seminary, he asked to be assigned to East Africa and spent 18 months there. After professing final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1993 and being ordained a priest in 1994, he worked in Campus Ministry at Notre Dame, serving as associate rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and as an assistant rector in one of the University鈥檚 residence halls.

Father Dowd is a professor of political science at the University, having been part of that department since 2004. He completed his graduate studies at UCLA, earning an M.A. in African studies in 1998 and a doctorate in political science in 2003. Specializing in comparative politics, his research and teaching focuses on African politics, identity politics, and religion and politics. He has explored the effects of religious beliefs and institutions on the integration of migrants/refugees in Europe and the effects of faith-based schools on citizenship and civic engagement in Africa. He is the author of numerous articles in leading academic journals as well as a book, Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa, published by Oxford University Press.

Prior to being elected president, Father Dowd served as vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives, was a member of the President鈥檚 Leadership Council, and oversaw several institutes, centers, and other academic units, including the Institute for Social Concerns, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate, iNDustry Labs, Institute for Educational Initiatives, Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, McGrath Institute for Church Life, Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, ROTC programs, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. Father Dowd also served as religious superior of the Holy Cross Priests and Brothers at Notre Dame.

Previously, Father Dowd served as assistant provost for internationalization with Notre Dame Global, where his primary responsibilities included overseeing the Dublin Global Gateway and Kylemore Abbey Global Centre in Ireland and the S茫o Paulo Global Center in Brazil. He played a key role in establishing an office in Nairobi, Kenya, to promote and support Notre Dame鈥檚 research and educational partnerships in Africa. Father Dowd is the founder of , which is dedicated to forging community-engaged research partnerships in the Global South.

Since 2020, Father Dowd has served as a Fellow and Trustee of the University. He also serves as a member of the Committee on Catholic Education Higher Education Working Group of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is a Trustee of Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, and is a board member of the American Council on Education (ACE).

Father Dowd has ministered to students on campus for many years as a priest-in-residence in Dillon, St. Edward鈥檚, and Cavanaugh Halls.

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