A $55 million gift to the University of Notre Dame will permanently support an initiative that aims to preserve American democracy through research, teaching and public engagement, the university announced this week.
The endowment from Francis and Kathleen Rooney establishes The Rooney Democracy Institute, formerly known as the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy. Notre Dame said the gift will provide permanent support for institute programs and expand research efforts.
“Notre Dame’s long tradition of cultivating civil discourse and our ability to convene prominent voices across a range of perspectives have enabled us to lead important conversations about democracy for decades,” President Rev. Robert Dowd said in a news release. “Thanks to the extraordinary generosity and vision of Francis and Kathleen, generations of students and scholars will have the opportunity to engage with the political challenges and opportunities of their times in the context of both democratic principles and Catholic social teaching.”
Establishing Notre Dame as a leading institution for the study and preservation of democracy was a key priority outlined in the school’s most recent strategic plan, “Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework.”
An earlier gift from the Francis and Kathleen Rooney Foundation established the Rooney Center in 2008. The center has fostered research on a range of topics, including representation and politics in legislatures, democratic participation, democratic inclusion, religion and American democracy, and political psychology.
Francis Rooney represented Florida as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms and served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, the central governing authority of the Roman Catholic Church. He was previously CEO of an investment and holding company and chairman of the construction company behind AT&T Stadium in Texas and other major projects.
Kathleen Rooney has served on numerous museum, philanthropic and community boards in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Naples, Florida.
The Rooneys have three children who all are Notre Dame alumni.
“Notre Dame is the gold standard for trust in higher education, and that perspective is needed nowhere more right now than in American politics,” Francis Rooney said. “Ever since Kathleen and I set foot on this campus many years ago, we felt that Notre Dame was blessed — and we are filled with hope for the way Notre Dame can be a blessing to our nation in the years ahead.”