University of Notre Dame names Dowd, vice president, as new president

The University of Notre Dame has selected a new president who said he hopes to position the school as an "ever-greater engine of insight, innovation and impact."

The Catholic university's board of trustees announced Dec. 4 that Holy Cross Fr. Robert Dowd has been named Notre Dame's 18th president, effective July 1.

Dowd -- an alumnus of Notre Dame, located in northern Indiana, and an Indiana native himself -- has since 2021 served as the school's vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives. He also is an associate professor of political science, a university fellow and trustee, and religious superior of the Holy Cross community at Notre Dame.

Dowd will succeed fellow Holy Cross priest, Fr. John Jenkins, who said in October that he had decided to step down at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year after serving as president for 19 years -- a tenure that was marked by both significant advances in the school's development and occasional controversy.

Jenkins described his successor as "an accomplished scholar, a dedicated teacher and an experienced administrator," as well as "a faithful and generous priest."

"He will lead the university to being even more powerfully a force for good in the world," said Jenkins in the announcement.

Jack Brennan, chair of Notre Dame's board of trustees, said in the university's Dec. 4 statement that Dowd was "an ideal person to lead the university into the future," given "his character and intellect … broad academic and administrative experience" and "deep commitment" to Notre Dame.

Dowd said in the statement that he was "deeply humbled and honored by the board's decision," as well as "grateful for Father Jenkin's selfless and courageous leadership for almost two decades," which "positioned the university extremely well in every way."

"We will build on those efforts," said Dowd. "Informed by our Catholic mission, we will work together so that Notre Dame is an ever-greater engine of insight, innovation and impact, addressing society's greatest challenges and helping young people to realize their potential for good."

Dowd graduated from Notre Dame in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and economics, and entered Moreau Seminary -- the major seminary for the Congregation of the Holy Cross -- shortly thereafter. Following his 1994 ordination, 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's residence halls.

Having served in East Africa for 18 months while in seminary, Dowd earned a master's degree in African studies in 1998 and a doctorate in political science in 2003 from the University of California, Los Angeles.

He joined Notre Dame's political science faculty in 2004, with his research focusing on how Christian and Islamic religious communities impact support for democratic institutions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

In his 2015 book Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa, published by Oxford University Press, Dowd stated his research found that "religious diversity has prompted religiously inspired support for a liberal democratic political culture," one "characterized by social tolerance and civic engagement" -- a conclusion that countered other analysts' claims that religious diversity was an obstacle to liberal democracy in developing nations.

Along with his research and current roles in Notre Dame's executive administration, Dowd oversees several entities at the school, including the Center for Social Concerns, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate, iNDustry Labs, the Institute for Educational Initiatives, the Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society, the McGrath Institute for Church Life, the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, the school's Office of Military and Veterans Affairs and ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) programs, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.