Building bridges to a beloved community at Notre Dame

The transcript has been formatted and lightly edited for clarity and readability.

Jenna Liberto:
On one of the coldest days of the winter so far, the warmth between these two University leaders is apparent as they walk to our interview in LaFortune Student Center. Father Bob Dowd, University president, and Rev. Hugh Page, the vice president of institutional transformation, have a long history as colleagues both called to a vocation in ministry and higher education. They talk with me about the University’s commitment to creating a place where everyone feels they can belong, in this episode of Notre Dame Stories.

Introduction:
Welcome to Notre Dame Stories, the official podcast of the University of Notre Dame. Here we take you along the journey where curiosity becomes a breakthrough for people using knowledge to be a means for good in the world.

Jenna Liberto:
Father Dowd, Dr. Page, thank you so much for the conversation we’re about to have. It’s great to be with you both today. Father Bob, you’re a Catholic priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross, and Dr. Page, you’re an Episcopal priest. How do your vocations serve, I wonder, as foundations for your commitment to the issues of justice, to human dignity, and to love?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Want to start, Hugh?

Rev. Hugh Page:
Well, sure. You know, I think for the work that I do as a cleric, as a scholar, as a teacher, as an academic administrator, the throughline, for me, is the building of community, the fostering of relationship, and the identification of the core teachings of the Gospel, especially around love. And making those the animating force of everything that I do, whether I’m working in a parish on a Sunday or teaching a class, mentoring students or being involved in campus meetings.

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C:
Yeah, and … Basically, Hugh just shared I think a, you know, just sort of a beautiful idea of what I think priesthood is all about and what ministry in a church is all about. And for me, I think priests, in a special way, are called to be bridge builders. I talked a lot about bridge building in my Inaugural Address a few months ago, and priests, in a particular way, are called to be bridge builders. Hopefully, priests help people to connect with God and with each other, and certainly when I was growing up that’s what priests did for me. And, no doubt, my own calling to the priesthood was inspired by my interaction with priests who were very good bridge builders.

And I think that here at Notre Dame, as I mentioned in my Inaugural Address, we’re all called to be bridge builders. I think our Catholic mission calls us to be bridge builders. Although priests are bridge builders in particular ways, all of us are called to build bridges in one way or another. So certainly, my commitment to making sure that Notre Dame is a place where all the members of our community feel at home is grounded in my own idea, my own vocation as a priest, as well as president of the University.

Jenna Liberto:
Dr. Page, you serve as vice president for institutional transformation and advisor to the president, of course. Can you talk about what institutional transformation really means?

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yeah. Now, you know, I made some notes because I don’t want to embarrass myself or my colleagues in the theology department, but I think of this as, fundamentally, a theological enterprise. For me, institutional transformation is an eschatological journey in becoming the very best version of ourselves at any given point in time, and that it reflects, at least, four things: first, the ethical mandate for love that we find at the heart of the Christian tradition. Second, the Global Church, the most diverse institution in the world, some would argue. Third, the voices of the marginalized, the minoritized, and those who are rendered voiceless in our larger world. And this is fully resonant with the notions at the heart of Catholic social tradition.

So it’s a journey toward becoming the very best version of Notre Dame in conversation with those three areas at the heart of it. And transforming from the inside out is how we impact our world, right? Absolutely. And, you know, it’s an iterative process. So it’s transformation that involves dialogue. Transformation, in the words of Father Bob, involves creating pathways and bridge building, and it’s an internal process, an external process, and has to fully engage us for the foreseeable future.

Jenna Liberto:
Now Father Bob, at a time when some institutions are distancing themselves from initiatives that are aimed at inclusion, the commitment here at Notre Dame is strong and remains strong. I’ve heard you talk about the commitment to ensuring that every student that arrives on our campus feels like they belong as being the heart of our mission. Can you speak more about that?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Sure. You know, I think that, for us, our efforts to ensure that Notre Dame is an inclusive community is grounded in our mission—is grounded in our Catholic mission—and so, we want to make sure that everyone who’s a member of the Notre Dame family here, everyone who’s part of our campus community, feels at home.

Now some of us have been around longer than others, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve been here quite a long time and many other people have been around here quite a long time, but that doesn’t mean that Notre Dame “belongs” to us. Notre Dame is named in honor of Our Lady—of Mary the Mother of God, Mary the Mother of Jesus—and if it belongs to anybody, it belongs to her. And when we look at her image on the top of the Dome, we see her hands open, her arms outstretched in welcome, and she certainly, I would think, wants everybody to feel at home. And we need to do everything our best to exemplify that spirit of Notre Dame, to have those open arms and making sure that everybody feels valued and everybody feels at home here.

So for us, here at Notre Dame, our efforts in promoting inclusion and a spirit of welcome and belonging is grounded in our Catholic mission, in our identity as Notre Dame, an institution of learning that is named in honor of Our Lady.

Jenna Liberto:
Certainly, she embraced new ideas, didn’t she?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Yeah, that’s right. Absolutely.

Jenna Liberto:
Having heard you both speak, you both tend to talk about similar themes, I would say. Father Bob, you mentioned you’re building bridges and talked about building bridges in your Inauguration speech, and also our Notre Dame Forum theme this year is “What do we owe each other?”

And Dr. Page, you talk frequently about building this beloved community at Notre Dame—both ideas where we’re talking about how we are called to care for one another. Do you see those similarities in these themes that are so at the heart of what you both do? And I would just invite you to speak to each other about that, starting with you, Father Bob.

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Sure. Sure. Well, I think the theme “What do we owe each other?,” it’s a question that I thought a lot about. Just before becoming president, I decided, together with others, that this would be the theme of our Notre Dame Forum for this year. In our society, there’s a great deal of emphasis on rights and freedoms, and we’re really blessed with rights and freedoms, they’re really important.

Rights and freedoms are important in any decent society—individual rights and freedoms. But it’s also important for us to remember our responsibilities towards one another, and I think our efforts in terms of institutional transformation are very much grounded in concern for one another, accompanying one another, helping one another to grow, recognizing that we owe each other respect.

Each one of us is a child of God. And everyone who makes up our community is a child of God. And it’s important for us to recognize that and treat each other as such. And so I think that, for me, our efforts are very much grounded, as I mentioned, in our Catholic mission, which I think invites this question, “What do we owe each other?” And it informs how we answer it.

We owe each other respect. We owe each other care and concern. And so I really want Notre Dame to be a community where we accompany each other well, where we support one another and encourage one another. And if we can be that Beloved Community that cares for one another and supports one another, I have no doubt that Notre Dame’s going to be a place of amazing growth in terms of intellectual growth, in terms of social growth, and in terms of spiritual growth. And that’s what it means to be Notre Dame.

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yeah. I couldn’t agree more.

I think, in terms of the conception of love, as fully embodied, other-centered enactment of one’s duty of compassionate care where one attempts to create a sense of connectedness with all those with whom one comes into contact, and extends oneself in a way that ensures the well-being of another. And, in my mind, that we owe one another that. And communities that are grounded in that kind of ethic tend to thrive, especially during times when there’s so much division in our larger world, where there’s so many questions that really exercise people, and where there’s a desire—sometimes not fully realized—to connect with one another. This notion of being a community can model that kind of connection, where those who are our students, our faculty, and our staff can show the larger world what it means to be a community engaged in research and teaching and learning and service to the larger community, and where our students can carry that model into the workplace, into all of the activities that they undertake once they become alums.

Jenna Liberto:
Do you see specific examples or have one in mind, either on campus or beyond, that speak to what you’re saying and inspire you?

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yeah. You know, there’s so much good work going on on campus that I’m loath to identify a single place because there’s so many others that may feel left out, so I’ll draw on those with which I have the most direct contact. Our Diversity Practitioners Group is a great example of good work going on—and then, the work of the Initiative on Race and Resilience in the College of Arts and Letters and the Department of Africana Studies, which I’m involved in, individually, are also wonderful examples of units that are doing work to bring the community together and to think strategically and holistically about what it means to be a Beloved Community. What it means to do work that has implications, not just for our own campus community, but for the larger Michiana and national and international communities.

Jenna Liberto:
Is there something that comes to mind for you, Father Bob?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Yeah. You know, recently, we had a prayer service, it was the day after the election. We had planned to have that prayer service well in advance of the election, and we were going to go forward with the prayer service regardless of the outcome. And, for me, that was a really inspiring prayer service, because when I looked out at those present, it was a real mixture of the Notre Dame community. And we had the leader of the College Republicans and the leader of the College Democrats present, and we had students of different ethnic backgrounds and racial backgrounds and religious backgrounds, and to me, that really spoke to the spirit of Notre Dame.

We were all gathered in prayer dedicating ourselves to working together to serve the common good and to build a greater sense of community across our differences. I think it’s important not to minimize our differences—to recognize our differences. It’s important for all of us to stand up for what we believe in and, at the same time, listen to one another. Try to understand one another. Try to understand those who do not agree with us or who have come from different backgrounds and different experiences. Try to understand one another before leaping to judgment. And so, for me, that prayer service really did exemplify the spirit of Notre Dame.

It was a nice example of what the spirit of Notre Dame is all about and a real sign of hope.

Jenna Liberto:
I’ve so appreciated this conversation. I wonder if you’d indulge us in a little bit … to dig a little bit deeper into who you are in our lightning round; could we do that?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Sure. Sure.

Jenna Liberto:
So these are easy questions. I know you’ll know the answers. But we are in this space that’s always full of undergraduate students, so I’d like to ask you a little bit about your undergraduate experiences. First off, where did you go to school? We’ll start with you, Father Bob.

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
I was an undergraduate right here at Notre Dame, yeah.

Rev. Hugh Page:
I was an undergraduate at Hampton Institute in Virginia, which is now Hampton University.

Jenna Liberto:
Good. OK, what was your favorite music to listen to in college? I’ll start with you, Dr. Page.

Rev. Hugh Page:
I listened to everything.

Jenna Liberto:
Yeah?

Rev. Hugh Page:
From Elton John to Earth, Wind & Fire, and a great variety of artists in between. Patty LaBelle, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin … My goodness, everything from soul to country to rock.

Jenna Liberto:
Does that still stand today?

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yes, it does. In fact, if you were to look at my personal playlist, you would see a variety of things that many of our undergraduates today may well not have heard of, but a few that have stood the test of time and they may have heard of.

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
And you’re actually a member of a band.

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yes. I play in the Oblates of Blues. So, not something that I expected to be doing, but a passion I rediscovered after being a teenage musician in a basement band when I was in junior high school.

Jenna Liberto:
You’re out of the garage though? No more garage band days?

Rev. Hugh Page:
That’s right. No, no. No more garage band days.

Jenna Liberto:
What about you, Father Bob? What’s on your playlist?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Well, I can’t claim to be a member of a band, but when I was in school, I listened to a lot of U2, the Indigo Girls … my tastes were, perhaps, not as eclectic as Hugh’s were in those days and maybe still are. But they’ve become more eclectic over time. These days I listen to country as well as rock and pop.

And, of course, you know we were so blessed to have Jon Batiste here for the Inauguration, and so I’ve got turned onto his music, which is really quite eclectic—speaking of eclectic—and appeals to so many people across generations. So I’ve been listening a lot more to Jon Batiste these days.

Jenna Liberto:
Ah, same. That’s one of my favorite moments on campus to date. OK, were you a “study way ahead for a test” type of student or “cram the night before”?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
I would say I was somewhere in between. I probably could have done a better job of studying well in advance, but cramming was not my style. Some people, they’re kind of last-minute people, and they’re able to cram and do amazing work. For me? No. Cramming was not my way of being, so …

Jenna Liberto:
Prepared?

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Prepared. Being a little prepared. I tried my best to be prepared and not to cram.

Jenna Liberto:
What about you, Dr. Page?

Rev. Hugh Page:
I was that wonderful late-teenage mix of cramming and preparing ahead. And like Father Bob, I tried not to be too much on the cramming end, but I must admit, it took three and a half years for me to move from cramming to advanced planning. So by the time I was a senior, I was a kind of work-all-the-time sort of person, which served me well going into seminary in grad school.

Jenna Liberto:
That’s good perspective. OK, last question. Did you have any rituals or routines at the start of a new semester? I’ll start with you, Dr. Page.

Rev. Hugh Page:
So are you talking about in the past or now?

Jenna Liberto:
Let’s start with undergrad.

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yeah. You know, as an undergrad, our campus was located on a waterfront. And so, there were two things that grounded me at the beginning of a year: number one, connecting with students in late-night conversation sessions, and the second was walking along the waterfront around sunset. I didn’t need to be with anyone else; there’s just a kind of peace and contemplative dimension associated with that that helped me prepare the way for the rest of the term.

Jenna Liberto:
Do you do something similar now?

Rev. Hugh Page:
Yeah. You know, I try and find time just to be by myself a little bit to take in all of the campus activity. I really love the beginning of the academic year and the end of the academic year because it’s so filled with things that are happening—lots of energy—and I like to take it all in. But I like to take it all in kind of as an observer who is completely connected to all of it, and so, wandering around campus—no headphones, just taking in … taking in the noise. Taking in all the feelings that are there is a ritual that I enjoy.

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Well, Jenna, I don’t know that I had any at the beginning of the semester, any particular rituals that I engaged in but, I will say—just hearing what Hugh had to say—I would say that, for me, visiting the Grotto and going for walks around the lakes. And also, one place on campus that was special to me—and is still special to me—is the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue just in front of the Main Building. And I used to walk to that statue. A lot of people would head to the Grotto—and the Grotto is a great place, a special place, no doubt about that—but when I felt a bit overwhelmed or I felt like I needed a little support, a little space, I needed a little peace and perspective, I would walk to that statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with the words ad me omnes (“come to me, all of you”), and just pray for the peace and perspective and strength that I need.

And again, just like Mary on the Dome, Jesus in that statue of the Sacred Heart, his arms are open, his hands open, ready to embrace, ready to give. And for me, that image is really inspiring and continues to inspire me to this day.

Jenna Liberto:
And Dr. Page, I see you nodding your head. That must be a place that has a little bit of your heart, as well.

Rev. Hugh Page:
Absolutely, God Quad overall. That statue, in particular, just, you know, it speaks to my heart, as well.

Jenna Liberto:
Thank you for sharing, again, your time and a little bit of yourselves. We’re so grateful for your leadership here at Notre Dame. Thank you.

Rev. Hugh Page:
Thank you.

Rev. Bob Dowd, C.S.C.:
Thank you, Jenna. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Jenna Liberto:
For more about Notre Dame’s commitment to building an ever more inclusive campus community, visit weareall.nd.edu.