Notre Dame lands ‘transformative’ gift for liberal arts institute
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A University of Notre Dame alum who is a senior adviser at a New York City private equity firm and his wife have made what the university describes as a “transformative” gift toward liberal arts education and research.
The gift from Allison and Thomas Franco will provide an endowment for what was known as the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, Notre Dame said. The Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good aims to advance humanities research and put additional emphasis on public engagement.
“In a time when many institutions are divesting from these disciplines, we are uniquely positioned to lead — providing a home where faculty and students can dream up ideas and extend these conversations beyond the classroom,” Notre Dame Provost John McGreevy said in a news release. “This generous gift empowers us to advance research excellence and public engagement, further strengthening our ability to uncover the truths, ideas and values that shape our world.”
The amount of the gift was not disclosed.
The financial support complements a more than 15% increase this year in funding for institute research, the university said. In large part because of the institute, Notre Dame said the university leads the nation in National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships won since 2000, and last year three Arts & Letters faculty won Guggenheim fellowships.
“We are living in a time that needs big ideas that can make a difference — and the liberal arts are the disciplines we must turn to to provide those ideas,” said Thomas Franco, a 1974 Notre Dame liberal studies graduate who is a senior adviser and former partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York. “Studying the great books shaped not just the course of my career but the course of my life, and I am exceptionally excited about the way humanities research forged at Notre Dame can shape our society for the better.”
Among the new initiatives planned, the Franco Institute will add an emphasis on public engagement to help shape conversations on societal challenges, the university said.
Next spring, the institute will launch the Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton Culture and the Public Good Symposium. Named for two prominent Catholic thinkers of the 20th century, the annual event will culminate a year of research on a specific topic and gather speakers across a range of backgrounds.
“Our hope is that the institute will help to ensure the humanities continue to be a discipline in which Notre Dame remains world-renowned,” said Allison Franco, a licensed clinical social worker. “We are especially excited about the Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton Culture and the Public Good annual symposium, which will bring together renowned thinkers, artists, writers and spiritual leaders to engage on the consequential issues of our time.”