The University of Notre Dame’s board of trustees has selected the Rev. Robert Dowd to serve as the school’s 18th president, the university announced Monday. His term will begin July 1.
In his current role as vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at Notre Dame, Dowd oversees a variety of service and academic endeavors on campus, including the Center for Social Concerns, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the new Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.
“Informed by our Catholic mission, we will work together so that Notre Dame is an ever-greater engine of insight, innovation and impact, addressing society’s greatest challenges and helping young people to realize their potential for good,” Dowd said in a news release.
He previously worked as an assistant provost for internationalization, where he oversaw the university’s study abroad program in Dublin and the Sao Paulo Global Center in Brazil.
A native of Michigan City, Indiana, Dowd graduated from Notre Dame in 1987 with a degree in psychology and economics and later that year entered the Moreau Seminary, the university said. He professed his vows to the Congregation of the Holy Cross in 1993 and was ordained a priest in 1994. He went on to work in campus ministry at Notre Dame, serving as associate rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and as an assistant rector in one of the university’s residence halls.
Dowd joined Notre Dame’s political science department as a professor in 2004 after receiving graduate degrees from UCLA, the news release said. His academic research focused on African politics, identity politics, and religion and politics.
Dowd will succeed the Rev. John Jenkins, who has served as president since 2005. Jenkins announced in October that he would step down at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
During his tenure, Jenkins advanced Notre Dame’s mission as a Catholic research university and finalized Notre Dame’s admission into the Association of American Universities, the university said.
He also oversaw Notre Dame through the coronavirus pandemic, becoming one of the first universities to announce a return to in-person classes for the fall 2020 semester.
Each of Notre Dame’s presidents since its founding in 1842 have been religious members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross.