The University of Notre Dame has updated its staff values, emphasizing its Catholic mission. The updated values now place 'Catholic Mission' at the top of the list. The change was made after the initial revision had removed the direct reference to the Catholic mission. The revision was prompted by feedback received by the university.
24 days ago
In late October 2025, the University of Notre Dame unveiled a refreshed set of staff values during town hall meetings on October 29 and 30.1
These new values—community, collaboration, excellence, and innovation—replaced the previous five, which included explicit references to accountability, teamwork, integrity, leadership in excellence, and leadership in mission.1
The prior mission value directly stated that staff "understands, accepts and supports the Catholic mission of the university."1
Heather Christophersen, Notre Dame’s vice president for human resources, explained that the updated values expressed the university's Catholic mission and identity by weaving related principles like dignity, respect, and service throughout.1
However, the new list omitted a direct mention of the Catholic mission, placing it instead in a preamble as an overarching principle.2 3 4
The initial revision sparked concerns, as reported by The Observer, Notre Dame's student newspaper, which noted the absence of explicit mission language.1
Critics interpreted the change as potentially diminishing the university's commitment to its Catholic roots.2 3 4
On November 21, 2025, university president Holy Cross Father Robert A. Dowd acknowledged this in a staff announcement, stating that "constructive feedback" highlighted confusion over the preamble's placement.1 2 3 4
He clarified that the intent was to elevate the mission's importance, but some viewed it as a sign of reduced emphasis.1
This feedback prompted a swift revision to restore clarity.2 3 4
The revised staff values now prominently feature "Catholic Mission" as the first of five core values.1 2 3 4
It is described as: "Be a force for good and help to advance Notre Dame’s mission to be the leading global Catholic research university."1 2 3 4
The other values—community, collaboration, excellence, and innovation—remain, now explicitly guided by the Catholic mission.1
This update applies primarily to the university's approximately 4,500 non-faculty support staff.1
Father Dowd emphasized that the mission has guided Notre Dame since its founding and will continue as its "guiding force."1 2 3 4
Father Dowd invited staff to reflect on embodying the mission, praising their generosity, kindness, and dedication to "Our Lady’s university."2 3 4
He stressed that the Catholic mission "guides and informs all that we do and how we work together," aiming to dispel any doubts about commitment.1 2 3 4
This reversal underscores Notre Dame's ongoing effort to balance its Catholic heritage with modern institutional values.1
No conflicting perspectives emerged across reports, with all sources highlighting the positive intent behind the changes.2 3 4
The quick response to feedback demonstrates responsiveness to the university community's concerns about Catholic identity.1
It reaffirms Notre Dame's aspiration as a premier global Catholic research institution amid broader discussions on faith in higher education.2
Observers may see this as a stabilizing move, ensuring the mission remains central to staff culture.3 4
The episode highlights the sensitivity surrounding explicit religious language in Catholic universities.1
Assess how Catholic identity shapes institutional values in higher education
Catholic identity serves as the cornerstone of higher education institutions rooted in the Church's tradition, infusing their missions with a commitment to truth, human dignity, and service to the common good. Far from being a mere label, this identity shapes institutional values by integrating faith into the pursuit of knowledge, fostering holistic formation of students and faculty, and orienting academic life toward evangelization and cultural renewal. Drawing from foundational Church documents and teachings, this assessment reveals how Catholic universities embody a unique synthesis of intellectual rigor and spiritual depth, ensuring that education transcends secular utilitarianism to promote the flourishing of the human person in light of the Gospel.
At its core, Catholic identity in higher education is not static but dynamically lived through the institution's connection to the Church. As articulated in key magisterial texts, a Catholic university must manifest its identity in every facet of its operations, from governance to daily community life. This identity emerges from the Church's heart (ex corde Ecclesiae), ensuring that the university speaks to contemporary challenges while remaining faithful to Christian revelation. For instance, it requires a Christian inspiration that permeates the entire community, not just isolated individuals or programs, fostering a reflection on human knowledge through the lens of Catholic faith. This foundational commitment distinguishes Catholic institutions by upholding the objectivity and coherence of knowledge, countering fragmentation in modern academia and promoting dialogue between faith and empirical sciences.
Institutional values are thus shaped by an explicit link to the Church, including adherence to its teaching authority in matters of faith and morals. University authorities, including chancellors and boards, bear primary responsibility for safeguarding this identity, recruiting personnel who actively promote it. Bishops play a vigilant role, ensuring that Catholic institutions align with sound doctrine and can even revoke the "Catholic" title if fidelity falters. This ecclesial bond prevents the university from drifting into secular autonomy, instead anchoring values in the pursuit of truth as revealed by Christ.
One of the most distinctive ways Catholic identity molds institutional values is through the harmonious integration of faith and reason, viewing them as complementary paths to truth rather than opposing forces. Catholic universities are called to form students who engage in critical thinking with professional excellence, yet always oriented toward serving the common good with "rich humaneness." This synthesis demands that research, teaching, and service be guided by Christian inspiration, providing meaning beyond mere professional outcomes. Theology, in particular, offers an essential contribution to reconciling fragmented knowledge, seeking a "unitarian reconciliation" under the awareness of creation's underlying divine meaning.
Faith and reason together form a pillar of Catholic education, as emphasized in the tradition from St. Thomas Aquinas onward. Institutions must prioritize intellectual achievement for its own sake, subordinating it to the ultimate end of beatitudo—divine happiness with God—rather than worldly success. This shapes values like academic rigor infused with ethical formation; for example, curricula must include courses in Catholic doctrine and ensure that all disciplines respect Church teachings on morals. Pope John Paul II underscored that Catholic universities lead in resolving the outdated science-faith conflict, illuminating the created order with the light of Christ. In practice, this means faculty, especially theologians, must be faithful to the Magisterium, while all teachers respect Catholic doctrine in their work. Such integration counters relativism, building a culture where knowledge serves human transcendence rather than materialistic ends.
Catholic identity profoundly influences institutional values by centering education on the holistic flourishing of the human person, oriented toward God as both Creator and Final End. This vision, rooted in the dignity of each individual as created in God's image, rejects utilitarian reductions that treat people as means to economic or social ends. Universities foster a Catholic ethos through moral conduct aligned with Church teaching, personal prayer, and sacramental life, habituating students to live virtuously and impact society positively.
The three pillars of Catholic education—faith and reason, virtue, and the sacramental principle—exemplify this formation. Virtue education cultivates habits that lead to eudaimonia graced by beatitudo, training students to love what is truly good. Institutions must communicate Christ fully, avoiding mutilated catechesis, so that faith is assimilated through witnesses whose lives embody Gospel values. This shapes values like personal transformation over mere information acquisition, motivating students to serve others with solidarity and fraternity. By defending human dignity against materialism and promoting a new humanism, Catholic universities produce "great-souled persons" equipped for cultural renewal. Faculty and students are called to this synthesis, bearing witness to Christianity in a community where scientific pursuit meets authentic living.
Institutional values in Catholic higher education are decisively oriented toward the common good, reflecting the Church's social teaching and mission of evangelization. Catholic universities must courageously address societal issues, speaking "uncomfortable truths" to safeguard authentic goods, even against public opinion. This involves studying modern problems—like technology's impact or cultural contradictions—and proposing solutions rooted in religious and ethical values. Globalization's challenges, such as inequality, demand a response of solidarity, tracing communion among peoples to our shared Fatherhood in God.
Intellectuals and educators play a pivotal role in building a culture of life and ecology, offering contributions nourished by the Gospel. Local Catholic experts in education, welfare, and administration base their work on Christian principles for the common good. Universities harmonize local traditions with modern values, defending family and liberty while promoting dialogue with cultures. Bishops ensure these institutions advance justice and peace, delegating responsibilities without abdicating oversight. Ultimately, this shapes values of service to the human family, forming builders of a fraternal world.
The community itself embodies Catholic identity, with all members—faculty, administrators, students—sharing responsibility to promote it. Non-Catholic participants must respect this identity, ensuring Catholics do not become a minority. Faculty hiring and tenure processes should evaluate contributions to Catholic culture, both in and beyond the classroom. This communal witness extends to evangelization, making faith tangible through activities that counter relativism and build a Catholic culture of customs, arts, and institutions that humanize life. The university becomes a "microcosm of the universal Church," prophetic in communion and fraternity.
In conclusion, Catholic identity transforms institutional values in higher education by weaving faith into the fabric of intellectual life, prioritizing human dignity and the common good over secular metrics of success. This enduring vision, as seen in Ex Corde Ecclesiae and papal teachings, equips Catholic universities to renew culture, form saints, and serve the Church's evangelizing mission amid modern challenges.