The Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale), part of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, has received a $10 million grant from the OpenAI Foundation to help governments bring AI-powered weather services to millions of farmers across South and Southeast Asia and East Africa. The initiative connects agricultural innovation with funding to help millions of smallholder farmers adapt to climate change.

The initiative is led by Paul Winters, the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Notre Dame and executive director of AIM for Scale. AIM for Scale is a global initiative that has previously received support from the International Affairs Office of the UAE Presidential Court and the Gates Foundation.

The funding is part of a broader $60 million investment from the OpenAI Foundation that brings together AIM for Scale; the University of Chicago; the University of California, Berkeley; Precision Development; Digital Green and CIMMYT. Together, the organizations aim to expand access to AI-powered weather and crop disease forecasting tools for 100 million smallholder farmers over the next three years.

For Winters, the funding represents an opportunity to tackle a challenge that has long confronted the development community: how to move evidence-based innovations beyond successful pilots and into sustainable initiatives capable of reaching millions of people.

“Artificial intelligence is creating extraordinary new possibilities for farmers, but innovation alone is not enough,” Winters said. “The real challenge is ensuring that these tools become part of systems that can sustainably reach millions of farmers based in low- and middle-income countries. This funding gives us an opportunity to work with governments to translate rapid advances in AI into services that farmers can rely on year after year.”

Taking AI-powered forecasts to scale

Smallholder farmers grow approximately one-third of the world’s food, yet many lack access to timely, localized information to guide critical decisions about planting, harvesting and protecting their crops. Dry spells, storms and disease outbreaks can threaten an entire season’s production and the livelihoods that depend on it.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence are creating new possibilities for closing this information gap. AI weather models can produce reliable, localized forecasts using substantially less computing power than traditional forecasting systems. AI can also help deliver forecasts and related advice to farmers through text messages, calls, chatbots and other channels.

Research suggests that access to timely forecasts can influence farmers’ decisions about what and when to plant and how much to invest, with the potential to increase incomes and reduce crop losses.

But developing better technology is only part of the challenge.

AIM for Scale will use the OpenAI Foundation funding to help governments move AI-powered weather services from promising pilots to sustainable delivery at national scale. Working with governments, multilateral development banks, academia and implementing partners, AIM for Scale will help connect these innovations with the partnerships, technical assistance and large-scale financing needed to reach millions of farmers.

This work will draw on the complementary expertise of organizations across the broader partnership. The University of Chicago and UC Berkeley will support national meteorological agencies in tailoring and operationalizing AI weather models. Precision Development will work with governments and civil society organizations to turn forecasts into practical advice and deliver it through trusted channels. Digital Green will integrate improved forecasts into FarmerChat, its AI agricultural advisory platform, while using farmer feedback to inform forecasting teams.

A portion of AIM for Scale’s $10 million grant will be awarded through a sub-grant to CIMMYT to advance AI-enabled crop disease forecasting. CIMMYT will strengthen its wheat pathogen forecasting capabilities, using AI and NASA Earth observation data to identify potential outbreaks earlier.

Originally published by April Toler at keough.nd.edu on Sept. 10.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame’s Peace Accords Matrix is expanding its work to Africa’s Great Lakes region, seeking to contribute to the peace process between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda by providing expertise on peacemaking and peacebuilding that will support the work of local stakeholders.

The move extends the global footprint of the Peace Accords Matrix, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. The Peace Accords Matrix provides decision-makers and frontline practitioners with evidence to support the implementation of peace agreements. Its ongoing work includes monitoring implementation of agreements in Colombia and the Philippines.

“We know that agreements succeed or fail during the challenging implementation phase, when political leaders and peace practitioners must juggle competing demands,” said Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, professor of the practice and director of the Peace Accords Matrix. “Strengthening this peace process will be key for the entire Great Lakes region to move beyond cycles of humanitarian crises, protect human rights and support African-led diplomacy.”

Supporting the regional peace process

Decades of conflict and instability in eastern DRC have displaced more than 7 million people, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Renewed violence since 2022 has heightened tensions across the Great Lakes region, a highly populated area in East Africa centered around a chain of lakes that includes Lake Victoria.

The DRC and Rwanda signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in June 2025, and in December the two countries formally established the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity. But implementation has proven difficult amid disputes over the sequencing and verification of commitments, and fighting has continued in eastern DRC.

So far, civil society groups have been chronically underengaged in the implementation process, said Carolina Serrano Idrovo, assistant director of research and grant operations for the Peace Accords Matrix. That risks creating a top-down process that lacks broader societal input and, ultimately, sustainability.

Amid those challenges, the Peace Accords Matrix is identifying civil society organizations to consult as it builds a stakeholder map of the peace and conflict landscape in the Great Lakes region.

“Our work is really about understanding the context as much as we can, mapping the landscape and building trust with key actors so that we can serve as a helpful resource for those at the negotiating table and those in civil society who want to participate more fully,” Serrano said.

The Peace Accords Matrix has engaged Emmanuel Habuka Bombande, a Ghana-based peacebuilder with decades of experience, to help coordinate this work.

Bombande, who co-founded the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, has served as a senior mediation adviser to the United Nations, including with the U.N. mission in the Central African Republic, and previously worked with the Keough School’s Kroc Institute as a fellow. Along with Melinda Davis, a research associate with the Peace Accords Matrix, he is identifying key groups for the Peace Accords Matrix to consult with and planning workshops that will begin in fall 2026.

The resulting stakeholder map, grounded in social network analysis, will expand civil society groups’ understanding of their role in the peace process and identify opportunities to participate in it, addressing a key gap in the fragile implementation process, Serrano said.

“In every context in which we work, we prioritize relationships with local stakeholders,” Serrano said. “They play a critical role in shaping and sharing our analysis.”

Extending a proven model

The latest initiative expands the larger work of the Peace Accords Matrix, which maintains the largest collection of implementation data on intrastate peace agreements and is now active on three continents.

In Colombia, the Peace Accords Matrix is responsible for verification and monitoring of the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement — the first time a university-based research center has directly supported implementation of a peace accord, and the first time researchers have measured one in real time. In the Philippines, it works with Catholic Relief Services-Philippines to track progress on the 2014 Mindanao agreement.

In Africa’s Great Lakes region, the role of the Peace Accords Matrix will continue to evolve as the team builds relationships, Serrano said, adding that the opportunity to work on a new continent reflects the versatility of the Peace Accords Matrix and its capacity to adapt to the needs of local partners.

“It’s not about arriving with answers,” Serrano said. “It’s about listening to the local context so that we can be of service in a way that’s meaningful and supports a sustainable peace.”

The work in the Great Lakes region is supported by a grant from the Vitol Foundation, an independent, Swiss-registered foundation that invests in organizations that strengthen the resilience of the most overlooked communities.

Learn more and contact

To learn more about the Peace Accords Matrix, please visit its website. To contact the program, please email peaceaccords@nd.edu.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on August 25, 2026.

On Tuesday (Aug. 18), Pope Leo XIV appointed two University of Notre Dame faculty members, Emmanuel Katongole and Clemens Sedmak, as consultors to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. University Trustee Kathryn “Katie” Koch, president and CEO of TCW, a global investment management firm, was also named a consultor.

Katongole, a professor of theology and peace studies and director of the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion; Sedmak, a professor of social ethics and director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies; and Koch are among 12 new consultors from around the globe—and the only three selected from within the United States. They have been appointed for a five-year term.

Consultors may be religious or laypeople and are chosen “from among the faithful who are distinguished by their expertise, proven ability, and prudence,” according to the Vatican’s announcement.

“These appointments are a tremendous honor not only for Emmanuel, Clemens, and Katie, but for the University as a whole,” said Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. “We congratulate them on their selection, and we are deeply grateful for the Holy Father’s recognition of their expertise and abiding commitment to the Church. We look forward to the ways their leadership and wisdom will guide the important work of the dicastery.”

Established by the late Pope Francis in 2016, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development supports the Church’s worldwide efforts in the areas of human dignity and human rights, economic justice, care for creation, migration, and displacement, as well as peace, conflict, and humanitarian crises.

Katongole, who came to Notre Dame in 2013, holds a joint appointment in the University’s College of Arts and Letters and Keough School of Global Affairs. A native of Kampala, Uganda, and a priest of the Kampala Archdiocese, he is the founder and president of Bethany Land Institute, a residential agricultural institute that works with young people to realize the vision, spirituality, and practice of Laudato si’ in Uganda. Before joining the Notre Dame faculty, he served as an associate professor of theology and world Christianity at Duke University and was a founding co-director of the Duke Center for Reconciliation. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome, as well as a master’s in religious studies and a doctoral degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

Sedmak, a concurrent professor of theology, holds a joint appointment in Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concerns and the Keough School. His research focuses on issues of poverty, justice, and the Catholic social tradition, as well as a collaboration with Notre Dame colleagues on the Church’s role in acclimating refugees into Italian society. A native Austrian, Sedmak holds a doctoral degree in theology from the Catholic Private University of Linz and doctoral degrees in philosophy and social theory from the University of Innsbruck. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Sedmak served as the F.D. Maurice Professor for Moral Theology and Social Theology at King’s College London. He also held multiple positions at the University of Salzburg and was president of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Social Ethics in Salzburg.

Koch, a Notre Dame alumna, was named a University Trustee in 2023. Prior to moving to TCW, she spent 20 years at Goldman Sachs in a variety of leadership positions, including chief investment officer of public equity. She graduated from Notre Dame in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and English.

Originally published by Carrie Gates at news.nd.edu on August 20, 2026.

Scholars gathered in Rome to consider the intersection of religion and global politics, and a conversation in Jerusalem explored philosophy’s place in confronting complex societal issues. New undergraduate research students arrived in South Bend, Notre Dame families and alumni in Mumbai celebrated students preparing for a new chapter, and researchers in Brazil came together around shared scientific questions. Scroll on for a glimpse of the people, ideas, and unexpected moments that made July memorable across Notre Dame's global network.

DUBLIN

Notre Dame Dublin held its annual end-of-summer celebration for the Irish Internship Program at O’Connell House. The team was joined by the most recent cohort of interns, respective partners, and benefactors, bringing the 8-week program to a close. Across the two months, students were immersed in the work of their host organizations, working alongside Irish employees and gaining valuable, pragmatic experience, as one step in kick-starting their career trajectory.

ROME

Participants of the 2026 Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics pose with Michael Driessen (pictured center), professor of political science and international affairs and director of the MA in international affairs at John Cabot University, who organized the program in collaboration with Notre Dame Rome. Drawing on Rome’s distinctive religious and geopolitical landscape, the two-week program brought together graduate students from around the world working at the crossroads of religion and global politics through public panels, expert lectures, seminars with leading international scholars and members of the diplomatic community, as well as site visits, writing workshops, and a policy dialogue. Photo credit: Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, a valued partner of the Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics.

MEXICO

Notre Dame Mexico concluded the 2026 Global Professional Experience (GPE) and Global Research Experience (GRE) programs in Mexico City. Over seven weeks, students took part in a wide variety of professional and research placements at places like AmCham/Mexico, the Mexico-United States Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS), and Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, among others—while immersing themselves in Mexico's culture and building connections with local partners and communities.

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

The second cohort of the International Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (iSURE) program arrived in July, kicking off eight weeks of research, professional development, and community building. The group of 44 students will gain hands-on research experience, working closely with Notre Dame faculty and graduate students on a variety of projects. Through a personalized and interdisciplinary approach to mentoring and academic immersion, the iSURE program aims to nurture each student’s personal, academic, and intercultural growth throughout their time on campus. 

JERUSALEM

Notre Dame Jerusalem hosted a conversation featuring Prof. Sari Nusseibeh and other distinguished panelists during the launch of The Scout: Philosophy and Us, which explores the practical application of philosophical thinking and methods to address deep societal challenges. 

MUMBAI

Notre Dame alumni, students, and parents gathered at the Novotel Hotel, Juhu, Mumbai for the annual Notre Dame Mumbai student sendoff. This year's incoming Indian students represent various parts of the country, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai—and will pursue majors in a wide range of disciplines, including architecture, biological sciences, business, economics, environmental sciences, and physics.

BEIJING

Beijing Summer students visited the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) to learn about the US-China business environment and the Chamber’s work supporting the American business community in China. Through presentations and an interactive Q&A with Chamber leadership, students gained firsthand insights into business, communications, and cross-cultural engagement.

SÃO PAULO

Notre Dame faculty and researchers joined colleagues from Brazilian universities for a collaborative workshop on energy and chemical conversion at IQ-UNESP in Araraquara, Brazil. The gathering brought together Notre Dame’s David Go and Edward Maginn, visiting researcher José Balena Gabriel Filho, Notre Dame São Paulo Director Thais Burmeister Pires, and fellow researchers to exchange ideas and advance scientific collaboration.

SANTIAGO

Students in Notre Dame Santiago’s summer programs traveled to the Elqui Valley for an evening of stargazing. Known for its exceptionally clear skies and role in astronomical research, the valley offered students a chance to experience one of northern Chile’s most distinctive landscapes while learning more about the region’s connection to the night sky.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, students, and alumni have taken part in over the past month. The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on August 07, 2026.

MEXICO

Mexico City summer students, along with members of the Notre Dame Mexico team, represented the University in the US Pavilion during Aldea Global, an international event celebrating the road to the FIFA World Cup. Through interactive activities, they connected with hundreds of visitors, shared their own global experiences, and highlighted the impact of international education. The group's enthusiasm and engagement showcased Notre Dame's commitment to global collaboration and cross-cultural exchange.

JERUSALEM

Notre Dame Jerusalem welcomed prospective students applying to the ADAM Pre-College Program for interviews and assessments. Over the course of the year-long program, students strengthen their academic preparation while developing language, digital, and personal skills before beginning their university studies.

BEIJING

Notre Dame Beijing executive director Jingyu Wang attended the “Freedom 250” celebration hosted by US Ambassador David A. Perdue in honor of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence. During the event, she met with Shannon Merlo, culture and education policy officer at the United States Embassy. The gathering offered an opportunity to connect with Embassy representatives and friends of the US-China education community in Beijing.

DUBLIN

Bloomsday, held annually on June 16th, is a celebration of James Joyce's modernist masterpiece, Ulysses. This year, Dublin Summer Program students celebrated the day with a trip to Sandycove Beach and the Forty Foot—two of Ireland's most iconic year-round swimming spots—jumping, diving, and swimming in the notoriously brisk Irish Sea.

ROME

Notre Dame Rome and Hesburgh Libraries entered into a collaborative agreement to support staffing, technological enhancement, and operations at the Notre Dame Rome Library. The collaboration will deepen connections with leading local institutions, including the American Academy in Rome and the URBiS library network, creating new opportunities for research, resource sharing, and academic engagement.

HONG KONG

The Notre Dame Folk Choir shared its music with audiences across Asia during a tour that included performances in Hong Kong, Taipei, Macau, and Singapore. One highlight was a performance at the Hong Kong Chinese Church of Christ, where the choir connected with the local community through music.

KYLEMORE

Alongside the Notre Dame Kylemore team, the 2026 Imagallamh Irish Summer School participants hiked through the fields of Connemara, a rugged cultural region in western Ireland, to find hidden Neolithic ruins with a local archaeologist and finished the day with a refreshing swim in the Atlantic.

MUMBAI

Capping off the four-week India Summer program, students explored the rich history, culture, and architectural beauty of Delhi and Agra. A visit to the iconic Taj Mahal highlighted one of India’s most treasured landmarks, while wearing traditional saris provided an opportunity to engage with a local cultural tradition before students returned home.

SÃO PAULO

Rafaella Bonaccorsi Dantas, Notre Dame São Paulo program assistant, accompanied Global Professional Experience (GPE) student Ada Austin on a cultural visit to Rio de Janeiro during the Corpus Christi holiday. The trip included visits to Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, as well as Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, allowing Ada to experience Brazilian culture firsthand and see her first of the Seven Wonders of the World.

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

iSURE students traded their lab coats for baseball caps and experienced an American summer tradition, attending a South Bend Cubs game. Each year, the iSURE program combines a wide variety of research experiences and intentional intercultural engagement to maximize students’ time on campus. 

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month. The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on July 08, 2026.

Projects include theatrical premieres, regional dance and music festivals, multimedia installations, visual art and architecture exhibitions, high-impact arts education programs, international artistic exchange, and more. Biennial programming is open to the public, and events will be held on Notre Dame’s campus, in and around South Bend, and at select global locations.

Occurring every two years, the biennial is an international arts festival rooted in the creative spirit, intellectual energy, and iconic traditions of Notre Dame and the region. Predominantly free programming across the visual, spatial, literary, and performing arts will contribute to the region’s long-term flourishing by enhancing quality-of-life and quality-of-place and by providing new platforms for arts research to positively impact the public.

In his inaugural address, University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., urged the Notre Dame community to be builders of bridges to live out our mission as a leading global Catholic research university. The biennial is one of the most visible ways the Arts Initiative is responding to that call.

“This scale of coordination and collaboration is unprecedented,” said Michael Schreffler, director of the Notre Dame Arts Initiative. “We are grateful to all of our partners for bringing their energy and leadership to fully realize the vision of the biennial’s inaugural theme of symbiosis: a call to contemplate mutually-beneficial relationships through the arts and create them together in practice.”

Community partners leading biennial programming reflect the strength and diversity of arts and culture across the region. Participating regional community partners include:

• Abby Marchesseault Dance Collective
• Acting Ensemble
• Equity in the Arts, an initiative of South Bend Venues Parks & Arts
• Goshen College Music Center
• Fischoff National Chamber Music Association
• The History Museum
• Lubeznik Center for the Arts
• Merrimans’ Playhouse
• New Industry Dance
• Performing Media Festival, produced in partnership with IU South Bend
• Saint Mary’s College, Department of Art
• South Bend Civic Theatre
• South Bend Community School Corporation
• South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership
• South Bend Museum of Art
• South Bend Symphony Orchestra

Campus units awarded funding for partner programming similarly span artistic media and represent a University-wide commitment to interdisciplinary innovation. In addition to projects housed in arts departments, campus efforts are also being led by the College of Science, Hesburgh Libraries, the School of Architecture, and a range of interdisciplinary centers and institutes.

Beyond robust support for partner projects, the biennial also closes gaps in cultural access by attracting prominent artists to the region and making the highest-caliber arts experiences available to the public. In addition to world-class artists hosted by the Arts Initiative, signature performances, convenings, and exhibitions aligned with the biennial’s inaugural theme will be hosted by the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.

A dual emphasis on local and visiting artists is a hallmark of Notre Dame’s biennial. “We’re not aware of any other U.S. university currently curating a biennial of this nature and scale,” said Rebecca Struch, Arts Initiative managing director. “Establishing a groundbreaking biennial in northern Indiana, a place with an evolving but often overlooked arts scene, will advance the region as a global gathering place for arts and inquiry.”

“The Notre Dame Arts Biennial reflects what’s possible when our community and local institutions work together,” said South Bend Mayor James Mueller. “This effort will activate our public spaces, support local artists, and strengthen the connections that make South Bend a vibrant place to work and live.”

The Arts Biennial launches at a pivotal moment for the arts across the region and on campus. Informed by its Catholic character, the University’s most recent strategic framework identifies the arts as a key priority and calls for deeper engagement with South Bend and the region. The South Bend-Elkhart region also recently adopted a new Arts & Culture Plan. The biennial builds on these developments by nurturing the arts as a shared community asset that strengthens social bonds and shapes place-based identities.

A detailed schedule of public programming will be available online at artsbiennial.nd.edu in August 2026. Additional opportunities to get involved remain open through April 30, 2027. To be the first to receive biennial announcements, sign up for the biennial newsletter.

Contact: Rebecca Struch, Arts Initiative managing director, 574-631-9845, rstruch@nd.edu

Originally published by Arts Initiative at arts.nd.edu on July 06, 2026.

When the FIFA World Cup 2026 games kick off this week, bringing global attention to cities across North America, communities from Boston and Miami to Toronto, Dallas and Los Angeles will come together for one of the world’s largest sporting events.

In these same cities, the University of Notre Dame’s Urban Poverty and Business Initiative (UPBI), a program aimed at helping underrepresented populations create and grow independent businesses, is working with local partners to strengthen small business ecosystems. Propelled by a recent gift from The Coca-Cola Company in North America, Notre Dame has expanded its UPBI network into a total of 59 cities, including a strategic activation in 13 soccer host cities — 11 in the United States and two in Canada.

Notre Dame and Coca-Cola hope that their partnership will lead to a permanent and sustainable economic legacy in those host cities long after the tournament concludes.

Housed within Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs at the McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business, the UPBI program works through a national network of partners including universities and nonprofit organizations to equip and support disadvantaged entrepreneurs seeking financial stability through their own business endeavors.

Created by Michael Morris, professor of the practice at the Keough School, the UPBI program combines structured business training, consulting, access to capital and shared research to drive economic mobility. As the national convener, Notre Dame coordinates this learning and maintains the research framework, proving that rigorous academic scholarship can, and should, result in measurable poverty alleviation and local job creation.

To date, the UPBI program has served more than 11,000 entrepreneurs nationwide, created more than 5,000 jobs and helped launch nearly 4,500 individual businesses, reaching 3,000 entrepreneurs annually and advancing more than 750 ventures toward financial stability each year.

“Our goal with UPBI is to blend meaningful research with applied, on-the-ground action to assist entrepreneurs with the skills and know-how to help their businesses flourish,” Morris said.

“We are excited about the UPBI program’s expansion, but proud of the impact that universities and partner organizations have already made in their communities everywhere. Our partners have a profound commitment to strengthen their local economies; and, together, we hope this work will reinforce long-term economic opportunity — well beyond any single moment or event.”

The universities who adopt Notre Dame’s UPBI program will serve as the anchor institution for that locale, proving the public value and relevance of higher education as a vital economic engine for the surrounding neighborhood. Participating institutions deploy faculty expertise, engage students in applied mentoring and provide connection to the broader community — as well as linking with their community-based organizations to provide a support system for participating entrepreneurs.

To learn more about UPBI’s work and the impact of this program, please watch this short video.

For more information or to join the UPBI network, please see our Partner with UPBI page.

Media Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Originally published by Tracy DeStazio and April Toler at news.nd.edu on June 09, 2026.

A new University of Notre Dame study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that human-caused climate change is actively worsening this public health crisis, acting alongside structural socioeconomic disparities that already challenge the next generation’s ability to thrive.

“A single degree of warming alters the foundational conditions of child survival.”

Analyzing 16 years of data from 34 African countries, researchers from Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs have found that every 1°C increase in anthropogenic (human-caused) temperature anomalies is directly linked to a 3.45 percent rise in childhood stunting. The finding highlights opportunities to reduce childhood stunting through policy interventions that address socioeconomic inequality while strengthening maternal education, sanitation and household resilience in poorer communities.

The ‘invisible threads’ of climate-driven stunting

“A single degree of warming might sound negligible in a daily weather report, but on a global scale, it alters the foundational conditions of child survival,” said Arun Agrawal, Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy and co-author of the study.

“We are seeing a direct physical translation of global emissions into child undernutrition. When extreme heat limits food availability and drives up prices, young children are the very first to suffer the biological consequences. Their developing brains and bodies simply do not get the fuel they need, cementing a cycle of intergenerational poverty before they even reach their fifth birthday.”

To uncover these trends, the research team used a two-step approach. First, they used the observed daily near-surface temperatures from ERA5 weather reanalysis data to map real-world climate variability. Then, they paired these numbers with state-of-the-art climate simulations from the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project to strip away natural fluctuations and look directly at human-caused warming.

What they discovered was a striking divergence. While general weather variability showed no direct correlation to stunting, human-induced warming showed a clear and statistically significant relationship.

“This isn't an abstract problem for the future,” said Nabin Pradhan, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Keough School’s Pulte Institute for Global Development and the study's lead author. “These findings underscore the importance of reducing inequality and investing in education, sanitation and household resilience to protect child health in a warming world.”

For the general public, the mechanism connecting a global emission spike to a toddler's development can seem abstract. The study highlights that global warming acts through “invisible threads,” disrupting local agricultural cycles, altering food yields and leading to localized nutritional deficits that leave families unable to eat adequate meals.

The ‘double whammy’ of local inequality

While climate change directly increases stunting rates overall, the study reveals that structural socioeconomic inequality operates as an equally stubborn, parallel threat. The data revealed that community-level inequality is a consistent predictor of stunting. However, climate change does not strictly use inequality as a “bridge” to cause stunting; rather, the two issues stack on top of one another.

“Climate change is not a standalone threat that exists in a vacuum,” said Agrawal, who directs Notre Dame’s Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative. “It acts as a threat multiplier on top of existing social fractures. If a community is already deeply unequal, a climate shock — whether it's a heatwave or a sudden drought — acts as an inescapable trap for the poorest children. The wealthy can buffer against a bad harvest by purchasing food elsewhere, but poorer households are pushed completely off the edge, losing income and losing access to basic services simultaneously.”

The study shows that the direct effects of global warming are most pronounced in rural areas and places with low service accessibility. Families living far from cities, with restricted access to clean water, reliable sanitation and healthcare networks, bear the brunt of the shifting climate.

“When you combine low-service access — like a lack of improved sanitation or maternal education — with a sharp temperature anomaly, you get a worst-case scenario,” Pradhan said. “The groups that contributed the least to global emissions are the exact groups whose children are being structurally disadvantaged by stunting.”

Designing a blueprint for the future

The researchers said that their findings provide a clear, integrated roadmap for international aid organizations and local governments. Because environmental stress and structural inequality are deeply interconnected, treating climate adaptation as a purely environmental issue — such as simply building a seawall or distributing heat-tolerant seeds — is bound to fail.

“If we want to protect the next generation, we have to look at the problem through a holistic lens,” Agrawal said. “Any successful climate initiative must simultaneously be a social inequality initiative. Investments in household resilience, maternal primary education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure are powerful public health interventions that double as climate adaptation tools.”

The researchers also said that empowering mothers through education yields immediate dividends on the ground. Educated mothers are better equipped with the knowledge of optimal nutritional practices and are more likely to seek out medical support during early childhood illnesses. Similarly, reliable access to clean drinking water and sanitation directly reduces repeated infections, a primary biological driver that prevents a child’s body from absorbing nutrients.

Moving forward, Pradhan said the researchers plan to take this macro-level data back into the field.

“While this observational, model-backed data gives us a robust global picture, the next step is establishing deeper causality through long-term, household-level experimental studies,” he said. “Future research should examine how climate change and structural inequalities interact to influence childhood stunting, helping identify interventions that improve child health and resilience in a warming world.”

Elizabeth Ludwig-Borycz, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Center for Health Equity, was also a co-author of the study.

Media Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Originally published by Renée LaReau at keough.nd.edu on June 09, 2026.

ROME

Two graduate students, Inha Park and Noelle Johnson, who recently completed the Dissertation Research Fellowships in Rome, were offered an exclusive tour of the Basilica di San Clemente's Baroque coffered ceiling. The collaboration between Notre Dame Rome and the San Clemente Project will offer new internship opportunities to Notre Dame Rome students beginning in fall 2026. Led by the Hortus Foundation, the San Clemente Project supports the preservation and restoration of the basilica, one of Rome’s most significant sacred and historical sites.

KYLEMORE

After a week of discussions at the Galactic Metal Cycles conference, participants ventured out from Notre Dame Kylemore to experience the landscape and history of the West of Ireland firsthand. Organized by Professor Nicolas Lehner of Notre Dame's Department of Physics and Astronomy, the group hiked along the Killary Fjord Famine Trail in Connemara, guided by renowned field archaeologist Michael Gibbons. The excursion offered a chance to connect while exploring the natural beauty and cultural history of the region.

SANTIAGO

The Notre Dame Santiago team led spring semester students on a horseback riding excursion along the beach of Tunquén, located two hours outside Santiago in Chile’s coastal Valparaíso Region. Known for its relatively untouched landscape, the area offers a rare stretch of shoreline free from major development and is home to archaeological sites connected to pre-Hispanic tombs.

LONDON

At Notre Dame's 181st Commencement, Professor Eamon Duffy, distinguished historian of Christianity and emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree in recognition of his outstanding scholarship and contributions to the study of Christian history. Notre Dame London's Executive Director, Joshua Copeland, and Academic Director, Vittorio Montemaggi, conferred the honorary degree at the Chapel of Magdalene College Cambridge, where Duffy formerly served as president. The conferral was streamed live to Notre Dame Stadium as part of the University's Commencement celebration.

HONG KONG

Notre Dame’s Vice President and Associate Provost for Internationalization, Michael Pippenger, spoke during a gathering in Seoul that brought together alumni, parents, and friends representing eight Notre Dame clubs across 10 countries. The event, which featured Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman, was part of a broader weekend of engagement designed to strengthen connections across Notre Dame’s Asia-Pacific community and reflected a collaborative effort among Notre Dame's Alumni Association, the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, and Notre Dame Hong Kong.

DUBLIN

Dublin Summer students arrived in Ireland and spent their first week out in the West of Ireland, exploring the majestic rural landscape of Connemara. Throughout the program, there is an emphasis on “learning through the soles of your feet,” which encourages students to expand their minds outside the traditional classroom experience.

BEIJING

Notre Dame Beijing hosted an in-person meet-up with Mary Gallagher, dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs, bringing together 35 Notre Dame alumni, current students, and families in Beijing. Dean Gallagher shared her insights on global affairs, the Keough School’s work, and Notre Dame’s continued engagement with China. The gathering offered an opportunity for the local Notre Dame community to connect, exchange ideas, and strengthen ties with the University.

MEXICO

Notre Dame Mexico welcomed a new cohort of Global Professional Experience (GPE) and Global Research Experience (GRE) students to Mexico City. This summer, students will engage in research and pre-professional practicums with leading organizations across Mexico while immersing themselves in the country’s culture and community. The group's welcome weekend included orientation sessions, a trajinera tour in Xochimilco, and the Ballet Folklórico de México at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Students also visited Universidad Panamericana, Notre Dame's partner institution for Spanish and culture classes.

MUMBAI

The Notre Dame Mumbai team welcomed four students to the India Summer: History, Government, Economics, and Culture program with a guided tour of Bollywood Studios, a ferry ride from the Gateway of India, a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Elephanta Caves, and Mass at the Holy Name Cathedral, among other activities.

JERUSALEM

Notre Dame Jerusalem took a moment to celebrate Director of Undergraduate Studies, Gabriel (Gabi) Mitchell, on the completion of his doctorate. As a leading voice on energy and climate issues in the region, Mitchell regularly participates in regional dialogues addressing these topics.

SÃO PAULO

The Notre Dame São Paulo team, together with Global Professional Experience (GPE) student Ada Austin, gathered in Ibirapuera Park to celebrate the semester and bid farewell to student Anna Gonçalves. The group also visited the city's Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC), where they explored the Di Cavalcanti exhibition.

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

The Global Engagement Programs team celebrated new friendships and outstanding achievements at the ASAP and Exchange farewell party, recognizing seven students who earned an intercultural competence badge for their commitment to intercultural learning throughout their semester abroad.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month. The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on June 04, 2026.

Elsewhere, the month reflected both quiet moments and vibrant community life—from quiet scenes in Jerusalem to shared traditions in Santiago and creative work at Kylemore. Notre Dame Mexico joined the Harper Cancer Research Institute to celebrate global advances in collaborative cancer research, while the Global Engagement and Study Abroad teams connected international students with those preparing for experiences abroad. Taken together, these moments offer a snapshot of Notre Dame’s global mission in action.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month.

The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

MUMBAI

Dhiraj Mehra, director of Notre Dame Mumbai, and colleagues from the Notre Dame Global on-campus team led the 2026 Fulbright-Nehru International Education administrator grantees through their journey in the United States, with immersive engagements at the University of Notre Dame and seven other US universities. The group gained insight into the US higher education system and its commitment to excellence in teaching and research, explored the evolving landscape of US–India institutional partnerships, and engaged with the values that shape impactful teaching, learning, and global collaboration.

JERUSALEM

Two Notre Dame Jerusalem staff members captured quiet moments in the Old City of Jerusalem, as the country slowed down and the streets fell silent.

LONDON

Notre Dame London hosted the Nanovic Institute for European Studies’ fifth Barrett Family Lecture, delivered this year by Timothy Garton Ash, professor of European studies and Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow Emeritus at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Ash, also a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, led Notre Dame London students in conversation before the lecture to discuss his talk "The European Crisis" and their London-local study of Europe.

SÃO PAULO

Thaïs Burmeister Pires, director of Notre Dame São Paulo, represented Brazil at the 2026 Notre Dame Alumni Leadership Conference and received both the Global Spirit Award and the Program of Excellence Award on behalf of the Notre Dame Club of Brazil. These recognitions highlight the ongoing collaboration between Notre Dame São Paulo and the Notre Dame Club of Brazil, working together to connect alumni, students, faculty, and partners, while strengthening the relationship between the University and Brazil.

BEIJING

“Get Ready to Study in the US Today” brought together visa experts to share recent updates, discuss trends, and offer practical guidance for students preparing to study in the United States. The event began with a presentation by Perry Landesberg, vice consul at the US Embassy in Beijing, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Notre Dame Beijing executive director Jingyu Wang.

KYLEMORE

Notre Dame Kylemore hosted its Instructor-led Writing Residency, featuring Professor Dionne Irving Bremyer. The residents had time and space to explore the grounds of Kylemore and engage in collaborative discussions regarding their varied bodies of work. The week culminated in a group reading, where shared stories marked a powerful close to the residency.

ROME

Notre Dame Rome hosted "The Sounds of I-Tal-Yah: The Musical Cultures of the Jews in Italy" with a lecture from Professor Francesco Spagnolo and music interludes by Enrico Fink, Gabriele Coen, and the Solisti dell’Orchestra Multietnica di Arezzo. Combining musical sources, including manuscripts and archival recordings, with visual and literary testimonies, the program explored the hyper-local, regional, national, and global dimensions of the Italian Jewish musical experience. Through lecture and live performance, the evening created a compelling dialogue between history, music, and culture.

DUBLIN

As part of the Dynamic Translation Lab, Notre Dame Professor Clíona Ní Ríordáin and University of Galway professor Patrick Lonergan co-organized a symposium marking the 30th anniversary of the publication of the influential book Translating Ireland by Michael Cronin. The collaborative project involved the Keough-Naughton Institute, Notre Dame Dublin, the Royal Irish Academy, Literature Ireland, and the University of Galway. The event featured a 40-person seminar with an international cohort of academics, including participants from the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland.

SANTIAGO

Notre Dame Santiago organized its annual barbecue with friends and supporters who make the work of the academic center possible. This diverse group included study abroad students, their Chilean host families, Chilean students newly admitted to Notre Dame along with their parents, the Notre Dame Club of Chile, and the Brothers of the Holy Cross, who hosted the event at their residence.

MEXICO

Notre Dame Mexico joined the Harper Cancer Research Institute on campus to celebrate global advances in collaborative cancer research. Through a partnership with Centro de Investigación Oncológica (CIO), Una Nueva Esperanza (UNE), and Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), as well as the Puebla Study Abroad Program, pre-med students gain hands-on oncology research experience in Mexico. Students showcased their work through research posters, reflecting the impact of this collaboration since 2017.

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS & STUDY ABROAD

The Global Engagement and Study Abroad teams hosted a series of events to connect visiting international students and Notre Dame students planning to study abroad. In this photo, visiting Chinese students mingle with future participants of the Beijing, China – Summer: Philosophy of Culture, Art & Science program.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on May 01, 2026.

That’s according to a study by University of Notre Dame researcher Madhav Joshi. The study, published in the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, shows how the visible, on-the-ground presence of partners such as foreign countries, multilateral institutions and policy advocacy organizations keeps peace agreements on track by raising reputational costs for leaders who fail to implement them.

“My research provides a template that policymakers and practitioners can apply in post-conflict settings,” said Joshi, research professor and associate director of the Peace Accords Matrix, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. “This evidence-based approach can help support peace agreements.”

Evidence from Colombia

Joshi’s research drew on evidence from the historic 2016 Colombian peace accord between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), which illustrates these dynamics in practice.

The Colombian agreement has had high levels of global involvement, from negotiation to implementation. More than 30 international actors have helped support the agreement, including the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, the Carter Center and the U.S. government.

Joshi used data from the Peace Accords Matrix Barometer Initiative, which is responsible for monitoring and verifying implementation of the accord. This is the first time a university-based research center has played such a direct role in supporting the implementation of a peace agreement, and the first time researchers have measured the implementation of a peace accord in real time.

Drawing on this data, Joshi tracked 578 individual commitments from December 2016 through April 2023. He found that international support, and the depth of that support, directly improved implementation outcomes.

Previous research has shown that domestic leaders often fail to implement peace agreements either because they are politically costly or because leaders lose domestic political support. Joshi found that international partners bring expertise and resources to support the aspects of agreements that are most at risk. Crucially, he also found that partners’ involvement increases the visibility of these agreements. That motivates leaders to work through obstacles rather than risk losing face on the global stage.

“When domestic actors face higher reputational costs, they are less likely to shirk their commitment to implementing peace,” Joshi said.

Colombia’s story reflects these findings, Joshi said. When Iván Duque won the Colombian presidency in 2018 by rallying voters against the peace agreement, extensive international involvement meant he couldn’t walk away from it, despite his campaign promise.

Informing global peace policy and practice

The new study builds on Joshi’s broader body of work, which examines why peace agreements succeed or fail. Previous research has explored how partial agreements can pave the way for more comprehensive deals and how addressing gender issues strengthens accords.

Joshi’s work plays a central role in the Peace Accords Matrix. It maintains the world’s largest collection of implementation data on intrastate peace agreements, informing the work of policymakers and practitioners.

The latest study carries direct implications for how future agreements are designed, Joshi said, adding that partners should be built into strategies from the start.

“To maximize the chances for success, negotiators should design strategies to incorporate partners before the agreement is signed and deploy them as soon as implementation begins,” Joshi said.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on April 28, 2026.

Originally published by Notre Dame News at news.nd.edu on April 13, 2026.

Notre Dame’s global footprint extended to Santiago, where Executive MBA students immersed themselves in Chilean business, and to Beijing, where outreach connected prospective students and families. Dublin honored International Women’s Day, Kylemore welcomed pioneering voices in sport and science, and Notre Dame students engaged in exchanges in Hong Kong, cultural experiences in São Paulo, and immersive learning opportunities in Indianapolis. Across countries and continents, the month highlighted the University’s ongoing commitment to dialogue, discovery, and collaboration.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month.

The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Jerusalem

Amid ongoing regional complexities, Notre Dame Jerusalem continues to find opportunities to contribute to global dialogue. In March, Daniel Schwake, director of Notre Dame Jerusalem, shared perspectives on Christians in the Middle East at the German Parliament, addressing a multi-party audience. Drawing on both personal and professional experience, as well as the work of scholars affiliated with the center, his remarks emphasized the importance of moving beyond simplified narratives toward a more nuanced understanding—one that affirms shared responsibility and a commitment to the well-being of all.

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Mexico

The Evening Celebration of Fulbright Excellence was co-sponsored with Fulbright COMEXUS and supported by Notre Dame Mexico. The event brought together distinguished Fulbright alumni from the University of Notre Dame, along with US and Mexican government representatives, for an evening of connection and recognition. It also featured a delegation of Notre Dame faculty and alumni engaging with leading academic institutions in Mexico City. The evening included remarks from Michael Pippenger, Notre Dame's vice president and associate provost for internationalization, and Maria Mercedes Salmon, director of Notre Dame Mexico, who served as the master of ceremonies.

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Kylemore

Lisa Caulfield, director of Notre Dame Kylemore, welcomed Irish former National Hunt jockey Rachael Blackmore in conversation, where she reflected on her trailblazing career and her role in breaking gender barriers in elite horse racing. The discussion formed part of the Naughton Family Foundation Scholars’ Retreat Weekend, an event that brings scholars together for adventure and teambuilding activities, in-house entertainment, and opportunities to learn from inspiring speakers. The 2026 speaker lineup also featured Teresa Lambe, Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the University of Oxford, and Eimear O’Connor, a race engineer at PREMA Racing.

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Rome

Following the recent launch of the Global Alliance dedicated to integral ecology and sustainability by the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education and the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Rome hosted the event, Sustainability of Hope: Envisioning a New Horizon for Planetary Flourishing. The event brought together over 50 scholars and leaders to mark the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative, focused on fostering collaboration and solutions for a more just and sustainable future.

Among the speakers was Cardinal Fabio Baggio, director general of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and one of the founders of the Global Alliance, whose presence underscored the importance of working together to drive meaningful change.

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Mumbai

Kevin Kelly, the Irish ambassador to India, addressed attendees of the India–Ireland Conference: Shared Histories and Interconnected Pasts, organized by the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies in partnership with Notre Dame Mumbai. Held in the megacity and union territory of Delhi, the event brought together scholars, students, and partners to explore the deep historical and cultural connections between the two countries.

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Dublin

Notre Dame Dublin celebrated International Women’s Day at O’Connell House, gathering in community to acknowledge the achievements of women. The event featured Betsy Cornwell, a New York Times best-selling author and Notre Dame alum, who shared her memoir Ring of Salt: A Memoir of Finding Home and Hope on the Wild Coast of Ireland.

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Hong Kong

Catherine Leung, director of Notre Dame Hong Kong, gathered with spring semester inbound and outbound students participating in the bilateral exchange between the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Notre Dame. The group also welcomed Edgar Cheng, a Notre Dame alumnus and longtime sponsor who was instrumental in establishing the program.

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São Paulo

The Notre Dame São Paulo team helped spring semester students Anna Gonçalves and Frederick White get acquainted with South America's largest city, starting with lunch at Italian restaurant Mata Città and followed by a visit to the Ipiranga Museum, home to an exhibit that details the story of Brazil’s independence.

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Beijing

Zach Klonsinski, senior assistant director of Notre Dame's Office of Undergraduate Admissions, visited Notre Dame Beijing and led outreach at several local high schools, including Tsinghua University High School, Dulwich College Beijing, Keystone Academy, the Affiliated High School of Peking University, and Beijing National Day School, among others. He met with students, teachers, and parents to discuss undergraduate opportunities at Notre Dame and strengthen the University's presence in these communities.

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Santiago

Notre Dame Santiago hosted the 4th annual gathering of Executive MBA students (EMBA) from the Mendoza College of Business. During the week, 60 students attended classes with Mendoza professors, explored Chilean business culture, and participated in a special session with LATAM, one of South America’s most established and successful airlines.

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International Students & Scholars

Led by the ISSA team, a group of 31 students and scholars visited the Indiana State Museum and Saraga International Grocery—an expansive destination for global foods. While in Indianapolis, participants also explored sites across the city, including the Indianapolis Zoo, Newfields Art Museum, the Indiana Statehouse, Mile Square, and the Canal Walk.

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Global Engagement Programs

Alongside the Notre Dame's Global Engagement Programs team, the University's visiting international students continued their intercultural development during an excursion to the Amish communities in the Michiana area. Students learned more about Amish home and farm life, art and craftsmanship, homesteading, food production, and more.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on March 31, 2026.

The ranking is based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and research impact. Out of 150 universities included, Notre Dame’s score of 92.2 bested the University of Oxford (89.2), Harvard University (89.1), Durham University (88.7), and Boston College (88.3).

“To be ranked No. 1 in the world for two years in a row is a momentous accomplishment for which all our faculty and staff deserve great credit,” said Fr. Khaled Anatolios, the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology and chair of the department. “As a department, we take the measure of our own performance less from external rankings than from fidelity to our mission. Nevertheless, these consistently top rankings demonstrate that our fidelity produces scholarly results that are literally second to none in commanding international admiration.”

Guided by the ideals of “faith seeking understanding” and bringing together “things new and old,” the department has six principal areas of research — moral theology, history of Christianity, liturgy, biblical studies, systematic theology, and world religions and world church.

In addition to offering a doctorate and four master’s degree programs, Notre Dame’s theology department maintains a strong commitment to undergraduate education by supporting more than 800 theology majors or minors and teaching the theology courses that all Notre Dame students take as part of the University’s Core Curriculum.

Originally published by Arts & Letters at al.nd.edu on March 26, 2026.

Beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, Notre Dame will ensure that families with annual income below $150,000 will receive need-based financial aid that covers the cost of tuition. Families with income below $200,000 will receive need-based aid that covers half the cost of tuition. In addition, most students from families with annual income below $60,000 will receive need-based financial aid that covers tuition, fees, housing and food. This announcement reflects the University’s long-standing commitment to ensure a Notre Dame education is affordable and accessible to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, and this expansion of Pathways to Notre Dame provides the clarity that families need during the admissions process.

University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., launched the Pathways to Notre Dame initiative in his September 2024 presidential inauguration speech, when he announced that Notre Dame would be need-blind and loan-free for all students, domestic and international. “In order to be the community of learning we are called to be, cost must never be a barrier. By expanding the Pathways to Notre Dame program with this announcement, we continue to make strides to make a Notre Dame education more affordable," Father Dowd said. "We are committed to making every effort to welcome talented young people from a variety of backgrounds to a Notre Dame community that will help them to develop their gifts. I have no doubt that the students who come to Notre Dame thanks to Pathways will enrich our community in every way.”

“I am grateful that Notre Dame is expanding the Pathways to Notre Dame program,” said Micki Kidder, vice president for undergraduate enrollment. “With this announcement, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to ensuring that cost will never be a barrier between a promising student and a Notre Dame education, and we are ensuring that families have greater clarity as they consider this important and formative step for young scholars. Navigating the financial aid process can often feel like the most daunting part of the college selection journey. By implementing income-based scholarship thresholds, we are providing the clarity families need to see that a world-class education is within their reach.”

As the preeminent global Catholic research university, Notre Dame remains dedicated to every member of its community. Notre Dame will continue to meet 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students, both domestic and international. For the past three decades, Notre Dame has provided significant need-based scholarship support to meet families’ full financial need. However, the Pathways to Notre Dame program expands the University’s commitment to affordability in historic ways. In the next four years, supported by the generosity of many members of the Notre Dame family, the University’s undergraduate financial aid commitment will exceed $1 billion.

Originally published by Media Relations at news.nd.edu on March 18, 2026.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month.

The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Mexico

Notre Dame Mexico hosted the Notre Dame Alumni Association's Latin America & Caribbean Regional Meeting, convening club leaders and university partners from across the region. Representatives from nine countries gathered to strengthen alumni engagement, share campus updates, and advance regional collaboration. University leaders—including two deans and many colleagues from Notre Dame's colleges and schools—reinforced Latin America’s strategic importance to the Notre Dame community. The three-day meeting combined strategic dialogue with cultural experiences, fostering new pathways to advance the University’s global mission.

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Jerusalem

Notre Dame Jerusalem hosted local schools, giving students the opportunity to explore the academic center's facilities and resources while learning more about Notre Dame's need-blind admissions and pre-college programs.

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Kylemore

Notre Dame Kylemore spring study abroad students visited Northern Ireland, exploring Derry, Giant’s Causeway, Ballycastle, and more. In addition to excursions like this, students who are part of the Galway program have the unique opportunity to conduct international research in a live lab at the University of Galway.

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Beijing

Notre Dame Beijing welcomed Notre Dame undergraduate students for the spring semester. Students in the Beijing program take courses at two top-10-ranked universities in Asia—Peking University (PKU) and Tsinghua University—as well as at The Beijing Center (TBC), which offers a distinctive experience in Chinese culture with a focus on education and fostering multicultural connections guided by the Jesuit tradition.

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Dublin

Students joined the Notre Dame Dublin team on a second-hand book and thrift-store crawl. These immersive adventures led study abroad students around the city of Dublin to discover cultural gems while encouraging them to adopt sustainable and environmentally conscious practices.

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Global Engagement Programs

As part of their intercultural workshop series, visiting international students and the Global Engagement Programs team tackled the topic of “awareness of others” by volunteering at Cultivate Food Rescue. Participants learned about food insecurity and made a direct impact in the South Bend-Mishawaka community by packaging over 500 meals during their shift.

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London

The 15th Annual Notre Dame London Shakespeare Lecture, "Shakespeare Now (but not Hamlet)," was delivered by University of Oxford Professor of Shakespeare Studies Emma Smith. Supported by ongoing collaborations with the Shakespeare Institute, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Boika Sokolova, and honoree professor, Sir Stanley Wells, the yearly Shakespeare lecture continues to nourish a growing global community of Shakespeare scholars and practitioners.

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Rome

Notre Dame Rome students explored how Europe and the European Parliament work, thanks to Professor Valentina Zaffino and a visit to Europa Experience in Rome. The group explored the European Union through interactive exhibits and multimedia installations and learned how the economic and political union tackles its most important challenges.

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São Paulo

At the Latin America & Caribbean Regional Alumni Meeting, held in Mexico, Thaïs Burmeister Pires, director of Notre Dame São Paulo, connected with Maria Mercedes Salmon, director of Notre Dame Mexico, and Martijn Cremers, dean and professor of finance at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. The three discussed insights on the growing opportunities for business education in their respective countries as well as ways to strengthen bridges between Latin America and Notre Dame.

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Hong Kong

Catherine Leung, director of Notre Dame Hong Kong, showed some of Notre Dame's international partners around the city during the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference and also took part in the University of Hong Kong's annual partner day alongside staff from the #1-ranked university in Asia.

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Mumbai

Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization, visited India, meeting with several of Notre Dame Mumbai’s key academic partners across the country, including leaders from Miranda House College, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, IIT Delhi, and IISc Bengaluru. He also served as the chief guest at the launch of TISS Global. The visit included meetings with the Archbishop of Mumbai and gatherings with Notre Dame alumni and parents, strengthening relationships and exploring opportunities for deeper academic collaboration in India.

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International Student & Scholar Affairs

Led by Cynthia Reeves, ISSA's senior scholar immigration specialist, a group of the University's international scholars from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, and India visited the office of Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., to learn more about his life and legacy at Notre Dame.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on March 11, 2026.

More than 184 million people in rural sub-Saharan Africa rely on shared handpumps for clean water. However, more than 50,000 of the pumps are broken, leaving millions in jeopardy of losing their safe water supply.

New research from the University of Notre Dame studies how local nongovernmental organizations in Ethiopia, Malawi and the Central African Republic decide when to maintain and repair 3,584 community handpumps when information about pump functionality is incomplete or uncertain. The ongoing research has helped NGOs provide more consistent and safe access to water for more than a million people across the three countries.

“Our results show that well-timed preventive maintenance can substantially reduce downtime and, in many cases, lower logistics costs — an important factor for NGOs with limited budgets,” said lead author Chengcheng Zhai, assistant professor of information technology, analytics and operations at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Her findings in the paper, titled “Keep the Water Flowing: The Hidden Crisis of Rural Water Management,” are forthcoming in the journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management and won the 2024 Service Science Best Cluster Paper Award from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, a prestigious international research recognition.

Along with co-authors Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, Notre Dame’s Greg and Patty Fox Collegiate Professor of IT, Analytics and Operations, and Rodney Parker, Kurt Bretthauer and Jorge Mejia from Indiana University, Zhai examined detailed data on mechanic visits and water-point functionality from three countries that use very different approaches to water handpump maintenance.

Based on field research, Zhai and colleagues learned that the NGOs operating in the Central African Republic visit each water handpump once per year as part of a pre-scheduled rotation. The NGO in Ethiopia has an incoming call center that relies on community reporting of handpump breakdowns. The NGO in Malawi runs an outgoing call center, which contacts each community to inquire about the handpump condition so broken ones can be repaired.

The team developed a dynamic optimization model, called the Markov Decision Process, that adapts to each NGO’s current maintenance model and identifies optimal schedules for mechanics to visit and conduct the necessary maintenance and repair services, with the goal of reducing water pump downtime while balancing the logistics cost.

“Under this approach, NGOs perform both preventive maintenance and any needed repairs during each scheduled visit,” Zhai said.

Using this model, the NGO observes how many pumps are reported broken in each cluster and how long it has been since the last visit, and then decides which cluster its mechanics should visit next.

There are a number of complicating factors in determining maintenance practices. NGOs responsible for maintaining the water sources operate with limited staff and budgets. They must carefully plan their mechanics’ travel routes to keep pumps working while minimizing downtime and the costs of transportation and spare parts. At the same time, they must decide how much to invest in collecting information from communities about pump failures and whether their maintenance strategy should be more proactive (scheduled visits) or reactive (responding to reported breakdowns).

It can be tough to figure out if fixing things as they break or sticking to a strict schedule actually works best.

“If there is plenty of data and the water pumps are reliable, reacting as things break is best,” Zhai said. “But if repair demand is high, sticking to a scheduled, proactive plan works better.”

Applying their analytics model across thousands of water handpumps and multiple time periods revealed substantial reductions in downtime.

Enhanced logistics including well-scheduled preventive maintenance and repair service reduced maintenance downtime by 47 percent to 62 percent in Ethiopia, up to 53 percent in Malawi, and by 42 percent to 55 percent in the Central African Republic), with varying cost impacts ranging from savings in Malawi and Ethiopia and a 15 percent to 19 percent increase in the Central African Republic.

“This vital research offers a clear path to keeping water flowing, delivering sustainable, safe water access for underserved rural communities across Africa and strengthening health and long-term resilience,” Zhai said. “Our findings are critical for NGOs working with tight budgets and incomplete information.”

While NGOs may assume preventive maintenance increases costs, the study shows that when preventive maintenance is scheduled optimally, significant logistics savings are achievable. For organizations with limited budgets, these savings can free up resources for other critical activities. Even in cases where costs rise, the major improvements in pump uptime can justify the added expense.

“This paper is part of our comprehensive research agenda on water management in sub-Saharan Africa. We are using analytics to improve the location, allocation, maintenance and funding of water projects in countries like Malawi, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic,” said Pedraza-Martinez, who also serves as faculty director of the Meyer Business on the Frontlines program. “Moreover, thanks to a collaboration with the Frontlines program at the Mendoza College of Business, MBA students are building on our research to advise NGOs and social enterprises focused on water management, helping these organizations improve their strategies and operations. This is research with a positive and tangible social impact.”

Contacts: Chengcheng Zhai, 574-631-5445, czhai2@nd.edu; Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, apedraz2@nd.edu

Originally published by Shannon Roddel at news.nd.edu on March 10, 2026.

The two-year grant will fund targeted technical assistance to governments seeking to integrate evidence-based agricultural solutions into major public programs designed to increase farmer incomes and improve food security. In particular, the funding will support AIM for Scale’s work with governments to develop clear plans for national expansion and to deploy national and international consultants who work alongside government teams during critical phases of multilateral development bank project design and implementation, helping ensure large public investments are effectively designed and funded.

AIM for Scale works with governments to help integrate proven agricultural solutions into large, nationally funded programs that can reach millions of farmers.

“Strong evidence already exists for many agricultural innovations that can improve farmer livelihoods,” said Winters, the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Sustainable Development at the Keough School and executive director of AIM for Scale. “This grant allows us to work directly with governments to turn that evidence into scalable, nationally embedded programs that can reach millions of farmers.”

As AIM for Scale’s engagement with target country governments — Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, India, Peru and other partner countries — has progressed to support the scaling of the initiative’s first two innovation areas of focus, Weather Services for Farmers and Digital Advisory Services for Agriculture, a common challenge has emerged: many governments have clear priorities and strong evidence, but lack the technical capacity to turn those priorities into large, investment-ready programs that can be supported by multilateral development banks.

This grant directly addresses that gap.

Through targeted technical assistance, the project will support governments during critical phases of multilateral development bank project design and implementation. The goal is to ensure that proven innovations are not only incorporated into major public investments, but embedded in ways that are context-specific, evidence-based and sustainable within national delivery systems.

Initial country engagement will focus on Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda, where major public investment programs are already being designed and the demand for technical support is high.

The grant will finance a combination of global coordination and country-level delivery activities, including technical expertise and staffing within the AIM for Scale Secretariat; specialized consultants to support governments and multilateral development bank task teams; embedded country-level technical assistance; and workshops and convenings to co-design interventions, align stakeholders and share lessons across countries.

Approximately half of the grant will be allocated to a sub-award for C4Impact Advisory Group, a Rwanda-based social enterprise founded by Agnes Kalibata, former minister for agriculture and animal resources of Rwanda and former president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. C4Impact brings deep experience supporting governments, regional institutions and development partners across Africa.

Through the dedicated $1.28 million subaward, C4Impact will lead in-country delivery, working closely with government counterparts to conduct readiness assessments, support government-led action plans, broker partnerships and financing and ensure innovations are politically supported and embedded within national systems.

Together, these investments are intended to act as a catalyst to help governments unlock and shape much larger multilateral development bank-financed programs and accelerate nationwide adoption of proven agricultural innovations at a national scale.

Originally published by April Toler at keough.nd.edu on February 24, 2026.

This photo gallery highlights some of the valuable interactions and experiences Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students have taken part in over the past month.

The selection was curated by Notre Dame Global staff working on campus and in the University's 12 global locations.

Rome

During Orientation Week at Notre Dame Rome, Professor James Schwarten led students from the Rome International Scholars program to explore Garbatella, a neighborhood with an engaging history, strong local identity, and eclectic architecture inspired by the English garden city model.

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Kylemore

Mick O’Dea—esteemed Irish portrait and figurative painter, former president of the Royal Hibernian Academy, and recent recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Dublin City University—visited Notre Dame Kylemore to speak on portraiture and share insights from his career. He also joined Kylemore’s MFA Art Programme residents on a hike across the sweeping vistas of Diamond Hill, drawing inspiration as they work toward their final exhibition.

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Mexico

The Notre Dame Mexico team kicked off the spring 2026 study abroad program in Puebla by welcoming nine Notre Dame students for a semester of academic enrichment, professional internship placements, and deep cultural immersion. From orientation to city exploration, Puebla will provide the students with countless opportunities for growth, connection, and discovery over the next four months.

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Jerusalem

Gabriel Mitchell, director of undergraduate studies for Notre Dame Jerusalem, delivered congratulatory remarks to participants who completed the ADAM coding program. The program provides participants with an opportunity to strengthen their academic skills, gain fluency in foreign languages, deepen their digital literacy, and pursue personal growth.

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London

The spring 2026 cohort of almost 200 spring semester Study Abroad students at Notre Dame London participated in hands-on Shakespeare workshops delivered by Actors From the London Stage. By exploring the epilogue of The Tempest through physical performance, students forged personal connections to the text and to one of London’s most important cultural figures.

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Hong Kong

Notre Dame Hong Kong welcomed five spring semester students from the Mendoza College of Business who will take classes at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a top 10-ranked university in Asia. Among other culturally immersive activities, students were treated to a variety of local favorites, including Hong Kong's famous pineapple buns. 

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Beijing

Notre Dame Beijing hosted a delegation from the National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR), with 15 delegation members, led by Elizabeth Knup, a NCUSCR board member and honorary Senior Fellow at the Asia Society. A highly respected U.S. organization, the NCUSCR plays a longstanding role in advancing dialogue, research, and cooperation between the United States and China.

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São Paulo

The Notre Dame São Paulo team welcomed two new students for the upcoming semester. Notre Dame undergraduate students Anna Gonçalves and Frederick White attended orientation, shopped for essentials, and participated in several cultural activities, including a visit to the Mirante at SESC and Museu do Itaú, to get them acquainted with their new Brazilian home.

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Global Innovation Team

Notre Dame Global and the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures welcomed Fulbright visiting scholar, Dr. Richard Watuulo, from Kyambogo University in Uganda. During his three months at Notre Dame, Watuulo will conduct research exploring how to maximize national education curriculum with 21st-century skills for university-level learners. 

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Global Engagement Programs

Visiting international students participated in the first of four intercultural workshops led by Dr. Carrie Anne Thomas, associate director of global education for Notre Dame Global. The first session challenged students to reflect on their cultural identities as a foundation for learning, adapting, and thriving in new cultural contexts.

Originally published by Cory Hankins at global.nd.edu on February 11, 2026.

Access to justice remains one of the most powerful pillars of the Notre Dame Law School Exoneration Justice Clinic (EJC), directed by Professor Jimmy Gurulé. In partnership with Strathmore University—Notre Dame Law School’s partner university in Kenya—the EJC is creating what Gurulé calls a “global ripple effect,” extending the fight for human dignity and legal rights far beyond U.S. borders. Last semester, the EJC students joined the Strathmore Legal Aid Caravan, a grassroots outreach initiative that brings legal education, awareness, and services directly to communities living far from formal legal services and representation. The Caravan takes place every November and spans five days, reaching rural regions where residents often have little or no access to the legal system. This work will continue as an ongoing, annual commitment.

In November 2025, Professor Gurulé and two third-year law students, Albert Kwon and Ava Moreno, traveled to Narok County, Kenya, visiting communities across the Narok East and Narok West sub-counties. Alongside members of the Strathmore Law Clinic, they listened to the stories of the Maasai People, educated residents about their legal rights, and conducted formal intakes of cases from individuals seeking assistance. Community members shared issues ranging from family and property disputes to gender-based violence and environmental concerns. The Caravan also assessed community understanding of the Kenyan Constitution and the legal protections it guarantees, and facilitated human rights training sessions to deepen legal awareness and answer questions.

Over five days, the team spoke with roughly 100 residents each day—many of whom had never received legal counseling in their lives. “In many cases, you can just see the relief when they leave these counseling sessions,” said Gurulé. “That was therapeutic in and of itself, to provide them some hope that their issues would be addressed.”

For several residents, one of the greatest barriers to justice is legal invisibility. With a Constitution that is only about 15 years old, countless Kenyans remain unaware of the rights they possess or how to assert them. Without that knowledge, they are vulnerable to misinformation, exploitation, and systemic inequality. The Strathmore Legal Aid Caravan helps change that reality. By offering one-on-one counseling, community education, and pathways to continued legal support, the EJC helps ensure that individuals are not only heard—but that they are also empowered.

Third-year law students Albert Kwon and Ava Moreno described their experience as “life-changing,” emphasizing how proximity—sitting with the Maasai People, listening to their stories, and helping them navigate the law—deepened their understanding of legal advocacy, access to justice, and human dignity in profound ways.

After their trip, Albert and Ava delivered a comprehensive presentation to the entire EJC class, reflecting on key takeaways, observations, and the legal issues the Caravan addressed. Albert shared, “I think everyone in the EJC at this point has been on at least one client visit. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but the first expression, in many cases, is a face of relief, and it is somewhat a face of hope. It’s a feeling that I have never forgotten from my first client visit. For this trip, imagine seeing that same reaction possibly hundreds of times over the course of one week.”

Ava recalled meeting a woman who volunteered as a translator for the Caravan. The woman shared that she was a survivor of female genital mutilation and that serving as a translator gave her the opportunity to receive legal education for the first time. She told Ava that she had never felt so empowered and encouraged the EJC to continue this work and reach even more remote communities so that others could understand their rights under a still-young Constitution.

“My biggest takeaway is that access to justice is so important and it’s never going to stop,” said Ava. “I think that woman really exemplified that this opportunity is so amazing, and we have to keep providing that access to justice with the same energetic and passionate outlook.” Her encounter with the volunteer translator reinforced the urgent need for education, advocacy, and sustained presence.

At the heart of this initiative lies another essential dimension: service beyond the courtroom. During their trip, Professor Gurulé, Albert, and Ava visited Karuka Primary School, where Notre Dame Law School made a donation to support repairs to the school’s water gutters. The Law School also plans to assist with future solar panel repairs. These efforts underscore that access to justice is not only about resolving legal disputes, but also about improving daily life, fostering human dignity, and strengthening community resilience.

At its core, the EJC in Indiana and the Strathmore Law Clinic in Kenya share a common mission advanced through the Strathmore Legal Aid Caravan: building life-changing human connections as lawyers and law students meet face-to-face with those denied access to justice, listen to their stories, and help them navigate the law with dignity and hope.

Notre Dame Law School’s fight for justice is not theoretical; it is lived, shoulder-to-shoulder, with communities around the world. It demonstrates real-world problem-solving, cultural humility, measurable social impact, and a commitment to ensuring that legal education serves and empowers communities far beyond the courtroom. The Strathmore Legal Aid Caravan serves as a powerful extension of Notre Dame Law School’s mission to “educate a different kind of lawyer”—one grounded in service, dignity, and global solidarity.

Originally published by Arienne Calingo at law.nd.edu on January 08, 2026.