Alliance For Catholic Education

A funny thing happened on the way to creating this podcast with Fr. Bob…  When we first went to record this episode, he was vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives. In that role, he oversaw the Institute for Educational Initiatives, among other wonderful institutes and centers on campus.  Then, in December 2023, the University’s Board of Trustees elected Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as Notre Dame’s 18th president. Fr. Bob graciously re-joined us in-studio so we could get everyone up to speed, so to speak, and hear from Fr. Bob himself about when he first got the news and how humbled he is to serve in his new role as priest-president. https://president.nd.edu/

As we wait in joyful hope, it’s time for our year-end gift to you, highlighting a few memorable moments from this year’s Think. Pair. Share. conversations, as we talked all things modern education with some of the best minds—and hearts—in the field. Thank you to our listeners, the team at the Institute for Educational Initiatives and the Alliance for Catholic Education, and of course to our guests: Fr. Nate Wills, CSC, Kati Macaluso, Alec Torigian, and Taylor Kelly. We look forward to continuing the conversations in 2024!

From following in Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C.’s clarinet playing footsteps, to leading others in the mission to educate by embracing one’s belovedness and radiating it out to a world in need Taylor Kelly, an associate director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame, discusses her role walking alongside others as they discover their capacity for human flourishing and spreading joy to others, as well as the Laetare Medal, the Holy Half Marathon, and being a member of “The Oldest Band in the Land.”

From Fr. Ted Hesburgh hand-in-hand with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to providing radical accompaniment, opportunity, and formation to students, in order to help enable their fullest flourishing Alec Torigian, national coordinator for ACE’s Pursuing Achievement Through Higher Education initiative, discusses his role walking with middle to high school aged students on their educational journey while working in concert with the Church to close the opportunity gap in this country, as well as ultimate frisbee, Larry Bird and the Intentionality Brothers, and regilding or “regoldenizing” the Golden Dome.

From the Grotto and St. Bernadette to Breen-Phillips Hall and Coach Leahy, envisioning a future for Catholic schools that fully integrates faith formation with the disciplines, increases academic rigor, and deepens clinical partnerships for the betterment of all students Dr. Kati Macaluso, the academic director for ACE Teaching Fellows, discusses her new role working alongside faculty in service to teachers who said yes to bringing young students to wholeness in the image of a God who loved them into being, as well as dorm trivia and Notre Dame’s unofficial G.O.A.T. leprechaun.

From seminary life in Old College and full house Masses at Keough Hall, to leading team prayer in the storied locker room of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Fr. Nate Wills, CSC, director of the Alliance for Catholic Education’s Blended Learning Initiatives and faculty in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, discusses his vocation within a vocation, empowering Catholic school teachers and leaders to use the tools of technology for greatest impact, as well as hearing the Pope’s call in person, ND fun facts, and chatting with Delilah.

Our year-end compilation of a few fun and memorable moments from this year’s conversations, as we talked all things modern education with some of the best minds—and hearts—in the field. Thank you to our listeners, the team at the Institute for Educational Initiatives and the Alliance for Catholic Education, and of course to our guests: Fr. Lou DelFra, CSC, Nicole McNeil, Nikhit D'Sa, Katy Lichon, John Staud, Fr. Joe Carey, CSC, Kate Schuenke-Lucien, Matt Kloser, Andrea Christensen, Will Newkirk, and Gina Svarovsky. We look forward to continuing the conversations in 2023!

From Thanksgiving family traditions like tropical turkey, secret stuffing, and pleasant pumpkin rolls, to becoming agents of change by building empathy and designing pathways through STEM and engineering to make the world better Dr. Gina Svarovsky, founding faculty director of the Center for Broader Impacts and associate professor in Notre Dame’s Center for STEM Education, discusses feeling empowered by the engineering design process to research, discover, and build solutions, as well as gears as art forms, raccoons as pets, and gratitude at Thanksgiving.

From jack-o-lantern tales and top-o-the-chart treats, to the authentic power of truth and healing in the Indigenous experience Will Newkirk, Director of the American Indian Catholic Schools Network, discusses standing together as co-conspirators of hope—at the intersection of Indigenous culture and Catholic identity—looking to the future by witnessing, sharing, and celebrating stories, as well as candy corn’s mixed upside and Star Trek’s spooky role in Halloween lore.

From coffee ice cream and hoagies, submarines, or po’boys, to how designing instruction that optimizes motivation over memorization in the classroom also optimizes learning. Andrea Christensen, Director of Education, Schooling and Society, shares why teaching her students is the privilege of her life and how we all have a role to play in affecting positive change in schools, as well as, celebrating punctuation marks, talking like a pirate, and wishing every day was National Literacy Day.

From banter, bits, and doing it all for the music and the fans, to the animating power of STEM education as a force for good in the world Dr. Matt Kloser, founding director of the Center for STEM Education, shares how “The Story of Science” is an unfinished narrative we can all help write, as well as, S’more Than Coffee playing tennis with John McEnroe, and closing out the show on keyboards with Bruce Springsteen.

From summertime foods, frisbees, and exploring Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, to the transformational power of finding the “secret sauce” at St. Procopius and all Catholic schools Kate Schuenke-Lucien, the Director for Haiti in the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child, shares how the universality of loss connects us and how being a voracious and joyful reader animates her work building resilient child development and education systems that draw on the three pillars of Haitian society: the home, the school and the church, as well as being an aspirational vegetarian, and the fine culinary rivalry between Chicago and Wisconsin (hot) dogs.

From handmade Father’s Day gifts and the origin stories of “Cup of Joe” and FJ’s cookies, to the fine art of welcoming people on the journey and building community for all Fr. Joe Carey, CSC, the chaplain for the Alliance for Catholic Education, discusses being called to love everyone he meets and serve others in the imitation of Jesus; listening, affirming, and helping people along the way, as well as being related to the Gerber baby, the secret ingredient in his famous cookies, and laying the groundwork for a rom-com vs Disney showdown.

From graduation trivia and Roberto Clemente, Jerome Bettis and all things Pittsburgh athletics, to leading the revitalization of Catholic schools Dr. John Staud, the executive director of the Alliance for Catholic Education program discusses choosing hope and the example of Christ and the body of Catholic Social Teaching as the radical animating principle guiding the work of ACE, as well as, laurel berries, mortar boards, and listening to The Who and Zeppelin at ten.

From Easter traditions and proper chocolate-bunny-eating etiquette to embracing and empowering the transformative power of the Latino community within Catholic schools Dr. Katy Lichon, Director of Catholic School Advantage and the English as a New Language Program, discusses the domestic Church and how the legacy of Catholic education can inform our future; celebrating all gifts, talents, and cultures, as well as, Easter egg hunts, rolls, and what can happen when you give a mouse a cookie.

From St. Patrick and his feast day to five-day cricket extravaganzas and adopting a human-centered approach to research application in the lived experience of children and teachers Nikhit D’Sa, Assistant Professor and Senior Associate Director for Research at the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child discusses social emotional learning, teacher wellbeing, and the role of play in low-resource and fragile contexts, as well as, corned beef and cabbage, four-leaf clovers, and the Emerald Isle.

From The Shamrock to The Dome, traveling a providential path to understanding how children learn and what role education plays in the development of a just society Nicole McNeil, professor of psychology and Director of the Education, Schooling, and Society program considers the science behind children’s cognitive development and the duality of the power of education to change people’s lives.

From Philly soft pretzels and New Year’s celebrations to the essential role of lay people as “Agents of Spirituality” in our Church. Fr. Lou DelFra, CSC, faculty member and Director of Pastoral Life for the Alliance for Catholic Education, reflects on ACE as a movement of the Holy Spirit and its culture of discernment, as well as middle schoolers as litmus tests for relevancy and celebrating Catholic Schools Week with a joyful and boisterous racket.

A year-end compilation of just a few of the fun and memorable moments from our inaugural year of conversations. Thank you to our listeners, the team at the Institute for Education Initiatives and the Alliance for Catholic Education, and of course to our guests: John Schoenig, Chrissy Trinter, Ernest Morrell, Neil Boothby, Maria McKenna, Kevin Baxter, Kristin Valentino, Mark Berends, Luis Fraga, Anna Haskins, Chloe Gibbs, and Mike Macaluso. We look forward to continuing the conversations in 2022!

From reflections on being the Notre Dame leprechaun to inspiring lifelong, engaged readers. Dr. Michael Macaluso, faculty member of the Alliance for Catholic Education and fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives, explores the implications literacy has on how we understand and therefore interact in the world, the origins of the new Alexandria Award, as well as his thoughts on a zombie apocalypse, mistaken lyrics, and DC versus Marvel comics.