Wednesday, September 11, 2024
The Notre Dame community celebrated the historic Inauguration of Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as the 18th president of the University—only the third president to be inaugurated in the University’s 182-year history. The three-day celebration kicked off Wednesday, September 11, with the Inauguration Picnic on Library Lawn. Students, faculty, staff, and their families enjoyed food from several food trucks and tents, and music from Irish band The High Kings.
Thursday, September 12, 2024
The celebration continued Thursday, September 12, with the Notre Dame Forum Inauguration Series addressing the topic “What do we owe each other?” The series featured four “fireside chats” with distinguished leaders in technology, global development, philanthropy, and foreign affairs. Equally notable were the moderators—leaders from business, finance, the media, and the academy—who led the thoughtful and inspiring conversations before fielding questions from audience members in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Leighton Concert Hall.
Friday, September 13, 2024
Inauguration Day on Friday, September 13, began with a processional to the Inauguration Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Faculty and invited guests participated in the procession in their academic regalia. In the afternoon, the group processed to the Convocation and Inauguration Ceremony, held in Purcell Pavilion in the Joyce Center, for the formal investiture of Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as the University’s 18th president.
Thousands of students, faculty, staff, Church leaders, and community members, along with the University Board of Trustees, gathered to take part in the Convocation and Inauguration Ceremony. John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, formally opened the ceremony, which included an invocation by Rev. Hugh Page Jr., vice president for institutional transformation and advisor to the president.
The celebration wrapped up with a concert by Grammy- and Oscar-winning artist Jon Batiste, followed by a drone show in the evening sky.