An endowment provided by a University of Notre Dame alum who served in the 1991 Gulf War and his wife is expected to elevate a Notre Dame endeavor focused on examining the impact of national security policy.
The financial gift from Kevin and Cynthia O’Brien will endow a newly created executive director position at the O’Brien Notre Dame International Security Center as well create fellowships and support research, the university said. The amount of the gift was undisclosed.
“For nearly two decades, the Notre Dame International Security Center has been an exemplary force both in impactful research and in shaping the lives and careers of future leaders,” College of Art & Letters
Dean and Political Science Professor Kenneth Scheve said in a news release. “This incredibly generous support from the O’Briens empowers us to expand our commitment to fostering critical conversations and forming influential voices on national security policy for generations to come.”
Established in 2008, the security center provides a forum for scholars at Notre Dame and elsewhere to come together to explore issues in national security policy. The center provides teaching, research opportunities and public affairs programming.
The O’Briens’ gift is expected to advance the ambitions of the center. The funds will endow the executive director position, launch a fellowship to support two graduate students and two postdoctoral scholars, provide funds for a research seminar, and expand support for a doctoral program for active-duty officers.
“Our country needs leaders with a holistic understanding of history and policy, and Notre Dame is a place where students can uniquely develop this understanding with an eye towards future service,” said Kevin O’Brien, a 1988 Notre Dame graduate who later won a Bronze Star during Operation Desert Storm while serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy.
After earning a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania, he spent 21 years working at private equity firms. He is now an investor and board member for several early-stage health care technology companies, the university said.
Cynthia O’Brien earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and master’s degrees in business administration and environmental health from Temple University. She worked as a hazardous material specialist and professor of environmental engineering technology before devoting more than 20 years to service on nonprofit boards.
“I vividly remember being a 23-year-old newlywed when Kevin, at age 24, was deployed to the Persian Gulf. I was hoping that the people deciding to send our troops to war had exhausted all forms of diplomacy and understood what a military member and their family sacrifices for our country,” Cynthia O’Brien said.
She said she believes security center faculty, including its director, international relations professor Michael Desch, “are educating incredibly bright students who will then be making policy and advising decision-makers on international security, protecting the best interests of active duty military members and their families.”