Message from the
President
I am pleased to offer this report on the University of Notre Dame’s finances for fiscal year 2019.
It has been a year of great achievement and many successes, thanks to the leadership, innovation, and dedication of many. We were fortunate on July 1 to welcome Shannon Cullinan as our new executive vice president, and he and his team are doing a superb job, as evidenced by the University’s robust financial outlook. The University’s approach of careful stewardship and planning in times of prosperity for the possibility of an economic downturn has served us well in the past and continues to do so today. I am grateful to Shannon and to Scott Malpass, vice president and chief investment officer, for all that they and their teams do to ensure that our financial resources will remain strong into the future.
For the past 15 years, Notre Dame has been blessed to have as provost a remarkable leader in Thomas Burish. Tom announced this fall that he will step down as provost at the end of this academic year. While Tom’s extraordinary accomplishments during his tenure as provost are too numerous to mention, I will cite a few.
Undergraduate education, long one of Notre Dame’s strengths, has become even stronger during Tom’s provostship as we have enjoyed the greatest gains in our history in the quality and diversity of and financial support for our students. During Tom’s tenure, total research and development expenditures at the University have increased from $82 million to $243 million. The University’s significant research investments included development in nanotechnology, global health, energy, environment, imaging, and advanced studies. And Notre Dame has strengthened and enhanced partnerships across the globe, including through the establishment of our first new college or school in 100 years, the Keough School of Global Affairs.
Tom would be the first to insist that this progress is due not to him, but to the dedicated and talented faculty at Notre Dame, and to the deans, administrators, and staff who support the University’s central work of education and research. It has been my privilege to work closely with Tom over these past 15 years, and I can attest to his insight, clear and consistent sense of priorities, uncompromising standards, and truly tireless work. I am profoundly grateful to Tom for his many contributions and, most especially, for positioning Notre Dame so well as we look forward to the next chapter in the University’s history.
I am also deeply grateful to our friends and benefactors whose generosity has allowed the University to recruit the best faculty and students, provide them with excellent facilities and the resources they need, and make increased scholarships and other financial support possible. It is an exciting time for Notre Dame, as we continue to strive to be a force for good as the premier Catholic research university in the world.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President