Father Bob on what Notre Dame’s mission asks of us
Notre Dame students inspire University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., every day. In their curiosity and desire to lead lives of meaning and purpose, Father Dowd sees the heart of Notre Dame’s mission: forming students who seek truth, encounter new perspectives, and put their gifts in service to others. Listen in as Father Dowd reflects on Notre Dame’s distinctive role as a Catholic research university and how that mission shapes the University’s engagement with the defining issues of our time, while preparing students to help shape what comes next. He also reflects on what Notre Dame’s mission asks of the University today—and what it means to carry that mission forward.
Experience the Episode
Notre Dame students inspire University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., every day. In their curiosity and desire to lead lives of meaning and purpose, Father Dowd sees the heart of Notre Dame’s mission: forming students who seek truth, encounter new perspectives, and put their gifts in service to others.
Listen in as Father Dowd reflects on Notre Dame’s distinctive role as a Catholic research university and how that mission shapes the University’s engagement with the defining issues of our time, while preparing students to help shape what comes next. He also reflects on what Notre Dame’s mission asks of the University today—and what it means to carry that mission forward.
This episode was originally released on August 20, 2026. To explore more, please visit their website.
Meet the Speaker: President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.
In December 2023, the University’s Board of Trustees elected Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as Notre Dame’s 18th president, effective June 1, 2024. He also serves as professor of political science. Prior to serving as president, he was vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives.
In his role as vice president and associate provost, he oversaw the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, iNDustry Labs, the Institute for Educational Initiatives, the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, the McGrath Institute for Church Life, the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, the ROTC programs, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. He also directed the approval and review process of institutes and centers more generally.
Father Dowd was previously an assistant provost for internationalization with Notre Dame International, where his primary responsibilities included leadership of the Dublin Global Gateway, Kylemore Abbey Global Centre, and the São Paulo Global Center along with planning for future engagement with Africa.
The author of the book Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from sub-Saharan Africa, Father Dowd focuses his research on African politics, ethnic politics, and the relationship between religion, political institutions, national identity, and human development. His current research explores religion and the integration of migrants/refugees in Europe and North America and the effects of faith-based schools on citizenship and civic engagement in Africa.
He is the founder of Notre Dame’s Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity and a fellow of the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies in the University’s Keough School of Global Affairs.
A Notre Dame alum, Father Dowd earned an M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and was ordained a Holy Cross priest in 1994. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from UCLA.