President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, founder of the Kroc Institute
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., is President Emeritus of the
University of Notre Dame, which he led for 35 years. Now 94 years old,
he is widely considered one of the most influential figures in higher
education in the 20th century.
The recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of
Freedom, Father Hesburgh has held 16 U.S. presidential appointments and
been a leading force in major social issues ranging from civil rights
to nuclear non-proliferation to Third World development and immigration
reform. His stature as an elder statesman in American higher education
is reflected in his more than 150 honorary degrees.
Father Hesburgh stepped down as head of Notre Dame in 1987, ending
the longest tenure among active presidents of U.S. institutions of
higher learning. His major retirement role has been developing several
Notre Dame institutes and centers he was instrumental in founding,
including the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the Kellogg
Institute for International Studies, and the Center for Civil and Human
Rights.
Father Hesburgh was educated at Notre Dame and the Gregorian
University in Rome and was ordained a priest of the Congregation of
Holy Cross in 1943. He received his doctorate from the Catholic
University of America in 1945. He joined the Notre Dame faculty that
year and served as chaplain to World War II veterans on campus in
addition to teaching in the Religion Department. He was appointed the
head of that department in 1948, and the following year was appointed
executive vice president in the administration. At the age of 35 in
June 1952, he was named the 15th president of Notre Dame.
