Leadership
Notre Dame International strives to be a leader in global education, but the leaders on campus and at the global Gateways and Centers also empower and enrich the communities they serve. Their leadership and expertise, as highlighted in this section, expand understanding, transform thinking, and allow the Notre Dame community and beyond to reach further.
Mexico Global Center explores new strategic programming, partnerships at NAFSA
The largest international education conference, the National Association of International Educators (NAFSA), convenes between 8,000 and 12,000 professionals in the field from around the world. This year, Mexico Global Center Director, Maria Mercedes Salmon, joined a group of Notre Dame International (NDI) colleagues to advance goals of increased strategic engagement and enhanced experiences for Notre Dame students and faculty.
Women Who Empower: Jackie Oluoch-Aridi
This story is part of Notre Dame International's series titled "Women Who Empower."
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
Jackline Oluoch-Aridi lives by her favorite African Proverb and is a firm believer in the power of collaboration. Oluoch-Aridi brings that passion to NDI, fulfilling the University’s mission to facilitate rich faculty collaborations on the African continent. Since coming on board to NDI, she’s established Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with several partner institutions.
Why a Notre Dame VP was tapped by the State Department to travel to Africa
Michael Pippenger was pleasantly surprised by the opportunity in September to represent the United States as a citizen diplomat building ties to universities in Uganda, where Notre Dame has a long history. The State Department's U.S. Speaker Program recruited Pippenger, Notre Dame's vice president and associate provost for internationalization, to speak about a topic close to his heart: the importance of global partnerships in higher education.
Listen the podcast to learn more.
NDI Provides Leadership
Juan Esteban Montes (Santiago) is the principal leading force in the stewardship of research and outcomes through the Luksic Family Collaboration Grant & ND-UC Chile Luksic Scholars Joint Research Awards. The grant encourages the ND community to find new ways to collaborate with colleagues from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) on research, exchanges, and conferences, and in particular to increase the flow of ND faculty and staff going to Santiago.
Brigitta Richmond (South Bend) served as chair of the Communities of Practice Asia Pacific Islands Group through the Diversity Abroad Network for International Educators. She was invited to chair the Communities of the Middle East and Africa team and present at the annual Diversity Abroad Conference in Chicago in 2024.
Hong Zhu (South Bend) was selected for the Fulbright International Education Administrators award to Germany in the 2023-2024 academic year. The Fulbright Program, world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange, is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Vittorio Montemaggi named academic director of the London Global Gateway
The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England (UNDE) announces the appointment of Vittorio Montemaggi as its new academic director. In this role, Montemaggi will provide academic leadership for UNDE’s teaching, research, and scholarship in conjunction with Notre Dame International’s London Global Gateway.
As the academic director, Montemaggi will assume responsibility for the oversight and development of UNDE’s undergraduate programs. He will also foster collaborations related to research, graduate students, visiting faculty, and visiting scholars. His extensive experience and expertise will contribute to UNDE’s collective endeavors and strategic priorities of the University of Notre Dame.
NDI encourages students, staff, faculty and alumni of its worldwide community to participate in Global Day of Action
The Global Day of Action is part of a week-long festival on campus celebrating Earth Week (April 17 - April 21) in partnership with the Office of Sustainability. Notre Dame’s global locations hosted a variety of events, including the launch of an after-school program serving vulnerable immigrant communities in Chile, city and campus-wide clean-ups in Jerusalem, the launch of a local kitchen garden and sustainable student cookbook in Dublin, and student presentations focused on local action to protect the environment as well as a virtual bingo competition in South Bend.
NDI honored at Ragan Employee Communications Award ceremony
On Friday, April 28, 2023, Notre Dame International was recognized at the Ragan Employee Communications Award ceremony in Chicago. NDI's Global Town Hall, which was a recipient among some of the biggest brands in the world, received honorable mention in the "Virtual Town Hall" category. Dyann Mawhorr and Colleen Wilcox accepted the award on behalf of the NDI communications team. Jo Byrne (London) and Costanza Montanari (Rome) are also recipients of the award, which was submitted in 2022.