Gift to fund homelessness reduction research, curriculum at Notre Dame
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The University of Notre Dame is seeking to reduce homelessness using one of the largest donations in its history to establish an education framework to conduct research, train students and address the root causes of poverty.
The Notre Dame Poverty Initiative, funded by a $100 million gift, will connect efforts at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) and the Pulte Institute for Global Development. The offices have a history of research and have existing partnerships with service providers and charities, the university said.
“Notre Dame’s Catholic mission gives a distinctive orientation to all we do, including our research, and nothing reflects that mission more powerfully than the Poverty Initiative, which will study and combat the causes and consequences of poverty,” President Rev. John Jenkins said in a news release. “I believe Notre Dame is uniquely positioned to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people burdened by poverty.”
The effort will be led by professor Jim Sullivan, a professor of economics who directs both the Poverty Initiative and LEO. It will have a local-to-global approach and will connect several departments across campus, including the Center for Social Concerns and the Building Inclusive Growth Lab.
Notre Dame said the strategy is to focus on research, curriculum and proven programs to create impact.
Researchers will study pressing issues confronting people in poverty with an eye to inform policy, philanthropy and practice. Students will be able to follow a curriculum that prepares them to address such challenges through research and experimental learning. The university also plans to turn research into action through not-for-profit and corporate avenues.
“This gift will ensure that Notre Dame is the place where undergraduate and graduate students come to study poverty, where prominent faculty come to conduct poverty-related research and where policymakers, philanthropists, practitioners and providers look to discover new pathways to break the cycle of poverty,” Sullivan said. “The Poverty Initiative exemplifies Notre Dame’s mission to be a force for good in a world deeply in need.”
Notre Dame said the gift is the largest single donation to an academic priority at the university.