Hesburgh of Notre Dame: Assessments of a Legacy
Michael James
Director, Institute for Administrators in Catholic Higher Education; Lecturer, Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College
Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Time: 12 - 1pm
Location: 24 Quincy Road, Room 101
This volume is the first comprehensive assessment of the life and legacy of Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC (1917–2015), an educator, priest, public servant, and long-serving President of the University of Notre Dame. Despite being a transformative figure in Catholic higher education who led the University of Notre Dame for 35 years and wielded influence with U.S. presidents on civil rights and other charged issues of his era, secular accounts of history often neglect to assess the efforts of religious figures such as Hesburgh. In this volume, the editors and their authors turn a fair-minded but critical eye to the priest’s record to evaluate where he fits into the long development of Catholic higher education and Catholics’ role in American public life.
Michael J. James is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and director of the Institute for Administrators in Catholic Higher Education at Boston College where he also lives on campus as a Resident Minister. Prior to coming to Boston College, James served as vice president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities; as co-director of the Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities; and on the planning committee for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering. He is the author of several books and a wide variety of articles. His current role on the editorial board of Claritas: A Journal of Dialogue and Culture continues his history of engagement with professional journals, including more than five years as editor at The Journal of Catholic Education and The Journal of Catholic Higher Education. As director of the Institute for Administrators in Catholic Higher Education, James leads an annual seminar for global scholars and practitioners—a highly regarded opportunity to address enduring issues such as developing a Catholic campus culture and nurturing the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Hesburgh, Theodore M. The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994.
Hesburgh, Theodore M. The Hesburgh Papers: Higher Values in Higher Education. Kansas City, KS: Andrews and McMeel, 1979.
Hesburgh, Theodore M., and Reedy, Jerry. God, Country, Notre Dame: the Autobiography of Theodore M. Hesburgh. Chicago, IL: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999.
Miscamble, Wilson D. American Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame's Father Ted Hesburgh. First edition. New York: Image Press, 2019.
Parmach, Robert J. “Theodore M. Hesburgh and His Philosophy of Catholic Higher Education.” Religious Education 107, no. 2 (2012): 174–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2012.660421.
Ream, Todd C. Hesburgh of Notre Dame: The Church’s public intellectual. New York: Paulist Press, 2021.
Schmuhl, Robert. Fifty Years with Father Hesburgh: On and Off the Record. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2016.
When Rev. Theodore Hesburgh – widely-regarded as one of our country’s most effective university presidents – passed away in 2015, the New York Times published an article summarizing his momentous life. The article discusses Father Hesburgh’s contributions to Notre Dame (where he served as university president for 35 years), the Catholic Church, and the U.S. political system. It offers a glimpse into the important impact he had on these institutions and helps us understand his lasting influence.
Michael James delivering his luncheon colloquium.
Photo Credits: Christopher Soldt, MTS
Micheal James, director of the Institute for Administrators in Catholic Higher Education and a lecturer in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College, presented his book at a luncheon colloquium titled Hesburgh of Notre Dame: Assessments of a Legacy. The book focuses on the life and contributions of Notre Dame's acclaimed president, Fr. Theodore Hesburgh. The project timeline was influenced positively by the opening of the Hesburgh archives, which sent Ream and James on a "pilgrimage back to Notre Dame." Despite some setbacks during the pandemic, James discovered in the archives many pieces of Hesburgh’s life that are now featured in this new book.
There were a few stories from Hesburgh’s life that James wanted to emphasize during his presentation. One of the most illuminating anecdotes James shared was a story from Hesburgh's childhood, wherein he witnessed his mother consoling one of their Jewish neighbors during a time of heightened anti-semitism. James characterized this experience as Hesburgh's first encounter with the reality of prejudice and the call to seek justice. Inspired by this event, Hesburgh's fight for justice characterized much of his life and, in return, shaped Catholic higher education.
James then discussed Hesburgh’s identity at the University of Notre Dame, which was largely related to his work beyond the bounds of campus. He shared a classic campus joke: "What's the difference between God and Fr. Hesburgh?"… "God is everywhere, and Fr. Hesburgh is everywhere but campus." This comedic point led James to discuss how broadly Fr. Hesburgh's work for Catholic higher education spanned, from fundraising, to commencement speeches, to writing essays on patterns of educational growth. James shared that his book considers eight areas of the social-political fabric that Fr. Hesburgh's influence reached. The most important to Hesburgh was the Church; he was a priest above all. He also remained very connected to his passions for higher education, science and technology, civil and human rights, foreign relations and peace, service, athletics, and leadership. These areas of influence account for James' claim that Hesburgh's vast and varied legacy was bound closely to his devotion, the fruits of which spanned from the campus of Notre Dame to the far-reaching corners of the world.