Message From Notre Dame Alumni Board President-Elect Ceyl Prinster’76
Notre Dame Forum – DVD Available Soon!
The Notre Dame Forum is an annual event that enhances our mission as a Catholic university by bringing together world leaders, scholars and students to discuss some of the world’s most challenging issues while integrating moral considerations and faith perspectives. This year the Forum topic was immigration, which is one of the most difficult dilemmas of our day and has become one of the most hotly debated topics of the presidential race.
The Forum panel included the Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano, Florida Senator Mel Martinez – a Cuban immigrant himself, Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, and Mayor Louis Barletta of Hazelton, Pa. All these leaders have extensive experience wrestling with the problems caused by the immigration dilemma. The panelists engaged in a lively discussion moderated by Ray Suarez, senior correspondent of The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS and they also responded to questions posed by Notre Dame students.
In addition to engaging students, one of the goals of the ND Forum is to expand the dialogue to the broader Notre Dame family in order to come together as a community to reflect on this topic and make a contribution to national, ecclesial, and global discussions.
For the first time since the Notre Dame Forum was instituted by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., in 2005, the Forum will be available in a DVD format to alumni and other interested groups as a tool for learning, reflection and dialogue.
The DVD features a one-hour edited version of the Forum plus an eight-minute vignette of a woman who is living illegally in this country. The DVD also includes audio podcasts featuring ND professors discussing the key issues in the immigration debate from the economic, social, legal and moral perspectives. Also available will be a list of discussion questions to guide groups in their dialogue and suggested readings for further study.
Many ND clubs are eager to host continuing education activities, and this DVD of the Notre Dame Forum is a great resource for a dynamic and interactive event in a home, church or other community setting. In addition, several Notre Dame professors with expertise in immigration issues will be available to visit clubs as part of the Hesburgh Lecture Series.
Look for the announcement of the availability of the DVD in the coming weeks on the Alumni Association website. With immigration as one of the most debated topics of the 2008 presidential election, this DVD is a timely and thought-provoking resource to help the Notre Dame community understand the complexities of the issue. I encourage you to take advantage of it. Check back to the Alumni Association website in the coming weeks for instructions about how to obtain the Forum video.
Thanking Father Ted
On another note, another important resource I want you to know about is a very special book just published called Thanking Father Ted: Thirty-Five Years of Notre Dame Coeducation. Edited by Ann Therese Darin Palmer ’73, ’75MBA, the book is a collection of letters written to Father Theodore Hesburgh on the occasion of his 90th birthday to thank him for the gift of coeducation and discuss its impact on their lives.
Contributing to the book were more than 150 alumnae from the classes of 1972 through 2011, as well as Notre Dame celebrities including Fr. Jenkins, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz, Regis Philbin, Joe Theismann and Joe Montana. The book provides a unique and personal “grassroots” portrait of a great leader from the perspective of the members of the Notre Dame family who have known and loved him over the course of a lifetime.
The publication of the book coincided with the 35th anniversary of coeducation at Notre Dame in addition to Fr. Ted’s 90th birthday. Book-launch celebrations have been held in a number of cities, including Detroit and Chicago, where the Glee Club sang and more than 200 people attended a luncheon.
The book is available on amazon.com . Profits from the book benefit the Thanking Father Ted Foundation scholarship fund. Check it out for a great Christmas gift and memento of our beloved Fr. Ted!
In the spirit of the season, I ask Our Lady to bless the entire Notre Dame family with the peace and joy of the Child Jesus.
Sincerely yours in Notre Dame, Ceyl Prinster, President-Elect, NDAA
