Connecting the Golden Dome With the Capitol Dome | May 2023
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Confronting the College Athletics Crisis
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Last month, we welcomed two of Notre Dame’s finest student-athletes to DC for a series of meetings with policymakers on the current crisis facing college sports. Kiki Van Zanten, a forward for the Women’s Varsity Soccer team, and JD Bertrand, a linebacker for the Varsity Football team, joined Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick for discussions on Capitol Hill, at the White House, and with local alumni on the changing landscape of college sports under the new Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules. Learn more about how ND is supporting our student-athletes, like JD and Kiki, and leading the effort to preserve college athletics in a recent NYT op-ed here.
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Commencement & Championship Doubleheader
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Seniors from the ND Men’s Lacrosse team celebrated two special occasions in Annapolis this weekend - advancing to the Final Four and graduating in a commencement ceremony hosted at the Naval Academy. The team was honored to have Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Chris Grady (ND ‘84), serve as their on-the-road commencement speaker. Keep cheering for the Men’s Lacrosse team as they take on No. 2 Virginia on Saturday, May 27 at 2:30 p.m.
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LEO’s Foster Care Policy Recommendations
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May is Foster Care Awareness Month. With over 200,000 children entering foster care each year, identifying and supporting interventions that effectively improve outcomes for these children is critical. Rachel Fulcher-Dawson from ND’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) will be visiting DC this week to share insights with child welfare leaders and congressional offices on how the federal government can improve evidence-building and evidence-use for foster care prevention programs across the country.
Read LEO's foster care policy brief here.
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The promotion of civil discourse is a hallmark of Fr. Jenkins’ presidency and ND’s engagement in DC is a key piece of this important effort. As part of this work, we were honored to convene more than 300 members of ND’s policymaking and public service community for our inaugural ND in DC Gala last month. Hosted by Fr. Jenkins, this special celebration provided an opportunity to reflect on ND’s unique role in promoting civil discourse, advancing innovative research, and championing evidence-based policy solutions. We hope this will be the start of a new tradition for our ND family in DC and look forward to future celebrations.
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A special thank you to Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN) for joining Fr. Jenkins in a discussion about working across party lines and modeling civil discourse in these polarized times.
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Updating Congress on Colombia’s Peace Agreement Implementation
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In April, representatives of Notre Dame’s Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) Barometer Initiative team traveled from South Bend and Bogotá for more than a dozen meetings on Capitol Hill. ND has the rare responsibility as a research university to be embedded as an impartial third-party monitor in the historic 2016 Colombia peace accord. During meetings with congressional staff, including several ND alums, the PAM team shared on-the-ground observations about the challenges to fully implementing the Colombia peace accord and offered insights into how to scale their methods for other conflict zones around the globe. Visit PAM's website to explore ND's policy briefs on Colombia.
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Supporting Global Democracy |
The annual Notre Dame Forum invites a year of campus-wide dialogue and discernment about issues of importance to the University, the nation, and the world. Fr. Jenkins recently announced the upcoming ND Forum will be dedicated to the “The Future of Democracy.” With polarization, partisan animosity, ideological extremism, and social distrust on the rise, Americans of all political stripes are worried about the future. As the University considers how democracy can be reinvigorated at home and abroad, we look forward to engaging the ND in DC community in this important discussion. In the meantime, explore previous forum themes here.
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ND Valedictorian Headed for DC |
Congratulations to Kristen Friday and Miguel Coste who were selected as valedictorian and salutatorian of the 2023 graduating class. These impressive students exemplify ND’s mission 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.” We look forward to having Kristen join the ND family in DC after graduation, where she plans to work at Palantir Technologies as a software engineer. Read the full announcement here.
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Fighting Against “Forever Chemicals”
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One ND researcher is on a mission to help eliminate harmful “forever chemicals” from military bases. Engineering Professor, Kyle Doudrick, was recently awarded $3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to support his research on contamination from the firefighting foam and construction materials commonly used on military bases that put the health of our servicemembers and their families at risk. For more information on ND’s work fighting the harmful effect of PFAS, check out this panel discussion held on campus. You may recognize one of the panelists, Professor Graham Peaslee, whose research was featured in a 2019 segment of "What Would You Fight For?"
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Science for Service Spotlight |
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Congress found bipartisan success last year in passing the CHIPS & Science Act, which bolsters U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and advances research and workforce development initiatives in critical technologies. U.S. Senator Todd Young (IN) was a driving force behind this historic legislation and ND researchers are ready to capitalize on the new investments and innovations these programs will bring to Indiana and our country. Meanwhile, ND students are getting incredible hands-on experience in semiconductor design at the state-of-the-art ND Nanofabrication Facility. Unique opportunities like this prepare ND students to be at the forefront of solving global technology challenges.
Read about their experience as “CHIP Makers'' in this one-of-a-kind classroom here.
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*NEW* Dome to Dome: Community Notes |
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Keep reading for recent career updates and accomplishments from our ND community in DC.
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The Pentagon recently announced that William “Bill” Houston (‘90), has been nominated for the rank of admiral and to lead the nuclear naval reactor program for the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy. Christian Schultz (MBA ‘00) returned to private law practice at Arnold and Porter after 10 years as a trial lawyer with the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Heather Dziedzic (‘03) was recently promoted to Vice President of Policy for the DC-based American Biogas Council. Karen De Los Santos (‘08) recently left Capitol Hill to begin her new role as the Chief of Staff to White House Budget Director, Shalanda Young. Jonathan Ng (‘07), Senior Counsel at USAID, co-authored an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review with a critique of innovative finance practices for international development. Theresa Puhr (‘16, MGA ‘19), a current Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), begins her next rotation at the Embassy of Tokyo. Meanwhile, Emily Belin (‘16), a forensic accountant at the Department of Justice, recently returned to DC after a 3-month assignment working in Panama. Earlier this year, Sarah Galbenski (‘21) began working for Dr. Jill Biden in the Office of the First Lady at the White House.
We welcome new additions to the ND in DC community, including Renee Griffin (‘17), who recently moved to DC to work as an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP, and Jason Braun (‘01) who will attend the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. Also Emma Hildebrand (JD ‘23), who completed the ND Law DC Externship program last spring, is returning to the Department of Justice as part of the DOJ Honors Program. If you know any DC newcomers, encourage them to sign up for our future emails!
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