F E A T U R E   S T O R I E S

Dates for Second Annual Sports Weekend Announced
   Last January, the Alumni Association welcomed ND alumni and their families back to campus for the first Alumni Sports Weekend. More than 400 guests visited campus to cheer the Irish hockey team and the men’s and women’s basketball teams to victory in the Joyce Center. Come Jan. 9-10, 2010, the Alumni Association once again will welcome alumni and their families back to campus for the second annual Alumni Sports Weekend.  [Full Story]
 

Eddy Street Commons Opens for Business
   Notre Dame has never had a real “college town”—an area of shops and restaurants to which students can walk easily. But that has changed with the recent opening of the Eddy Street Commons. Thanks to collaboration between Kite Realty, Notre Dame, and the City of South Bend, the Commons opened this fall and will unfold to completion over the next two years.  [Full Story]
 

Fighting for Peace
   John Paul Lederach, professor of peace studies with the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Studies, has been an active peacebuilder for more than 30 years. A recipient of Notre Dame’s Reinhold Niebuhr Award, Lederach travels to areas of “protracted conflict” (extended and repeated cycles of open violence and deep polarization) to provide conciliation training, direct mediation, and to help develop grassroots organizations. Here, Lederach sits down to answer a few questions for ND Today readers:  [Full Story]
 

University Welcomes Innovation Park
   ND students and faculty will work together to transform innovations into viable marketplace ventures, thanks to the new Innovation Park at Notre Dame. A grand opening celebration for the research park took place Oct. 23 at the park’s first building, which is located at 1400 E. Angela Boulevard (view the video).  [Full Story]

University See Also...

Ryan Hall: History in the Making
   Ryan Hall, the new women’s residence hall located north of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore, and south of Welsh Family Hall, welcomed its first residents in August (view the video). The new multi-story residence hall is approximately 74,000 gross square feet with 123 rooms and 248 beds. Learn more about Ryan Hall.

Academics See Also...

Engineering Welcomes New Associate Dean
   As the College of Engineering prepares to open the new Stinson-Remick Hall, it welcomes Dr. M. Brian Blake, an accomplished leader at Georgetown University, to its faculty as associate dean for strategic initiatives and professor of computer science and engineering. After spending most of his career as a researcher and administrator on “The Hilltop,” Blake recognizes that coming to Notre Dame has allowed him to pursue new challenges as a researcher and educator.  [Full Story]

Alumni Association See Also...

ND Welcomes Educators for Conference
   Last month, K-12 educators from across the country were welcomed to Notre Dame for the 16th Annual Excellence in Teaching conference, held October 9-11. Building on the success of last year’s program, 160 educators attended the conference, 113 of whom were sponsored by 69 ND clubs. Those who gathered for the weekend came away with inspiring and practical applications to share with their own schools.  [Full Story]

Spirituality and Service See Also...

‘Tender, Strong, and True’ to Launch
   Looking for ways to liberate Christmas from the pressures of materialism? Struggling with a relationship that fills you with bitterness? Confronting job loss? Feeling spiritually empty? The Alumni Association’s new monthly online series “Tender, Strong, and True: Living the Gospel Daily” addresses these topics from a faith-based perspective.  [Full Story]

Athletics See Also...

NCSA Ranking
   Notre Dame ranks among the top five NCAA Division I institutions in the country in combining athletic and academic achievement, according to the annual rankings released Oct. 5 by the National Collegiate Scouting Association in Chicago.  [Full Story]
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Noteworthy See Also...

Alumnus Elected Governor of Virginia
   Former Virginia Attorney General and Notre Dame alumnus Bob McDonnell ’76 was elected governor of his state in an off-year election Nov. 3. McDonnell, who majored in business management at Notre Dame, defeated Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, 59 percent to 41 percent.  [Full Story]