As the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture enters the seventh autumn of its existence, we are looking forward to great things. The Center's agenda for the 2005-06 academic year is a full one, comprising a wide variety of activities aimed at bringing the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition into an ever more fruitful engagement with contemporary culture. I am pleased to outline here the most important items on our Fall 2005 agenda, not only to keep you up to date on our activities, but also to encourage you to participate in one or more of them. We would love to be your hosts at one of our Center events this year.

On September 16, 2005, we kick off the academic year with a lecture co-sponsored with Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business and the Jacques Maritain Center. The lecture will be given by the renowned Catholic intellectual, Michael Novak, George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute, who will speak on "Business as a Calling" (based on his book, published in 1996, Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life.)

Next, from September 29 to October 1, 2005, the Center will host the sixth edition of its annual Fall flagship conference. This year's conference is entitled, "Joy in the Truth: The Catholic University in the New Millennium," which will involve hundreds of participants and over 100 presentations which will address the most central issues affecting Catholic higher education today, issues such as academic freedom, the unity of the curriculum, the specifically Catholic character of the various academic disciplines, and the relationship between faith and reason. The Center is proud to host another stellar array of invited speakers, including Philip Gleason, emeritus professor of history, University of Notre Dame; Helen Alvare, associate professor of law at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law; Fr. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C., associate professor of history, University of Notre Dame; Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., President, Loyola University, New Orleans; H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., professor of philosophy, Rice University; Ralph McInerny, professor of philosophy and the Michael P. Grace chair of medieval studies here at Notre Dame; and the Center's own senior research professor, Alasdair MacIntyre. And, we are proud to announce that Notre Dame's new president, Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C. will deliver remarks to the conference audience at the closing banquet on Saturday evening, October 1st. Our hope is that this conference will inspire many to help realize in this new millennium the best possibilities of Catholic higher education. For funding this conference we are once again in the debt of George Maas, whose generous gifts have supported our Fall conference from its very inception. A tentative conference program can be found on the page dedicated to the conference right here on our website.

Later in the Fall, on four Tuesday nights from October 25 through November 15, 2005, we will be sponsoring our fourth annual Catholic Literature Lecture Series, a series aimed primarily, though not exclusively, at Notre Dame undergraduates. The subject of this Fall's series is the work of the fantasy novelist, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of such legendary tales as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The speakers in this year's series are Ralph Wood of Baylor University (October 25); Joseph Pearce of Ave Maria University (November 1); Mary Keys of Notre Dame (November 8); and Greg Wright, the author of Peter Jackson In Perspective: The Power Behind Cinema's The Lord Of The Rings (November 18). Selected undergraduates will have the opportunity to share a meal with the speakers on the evening of their lecture, as well as have the opportunity during the weeks in between lectures of viewing Peter Jackson's trilogy of films based upon The Lord of the Rings. The week of the Catholic Literature Lecture Series is always a wonderful opportunity to introduce students to an important feature of Catholic culture. We are grateful to Clarence and Frieda Bayer, whose dedication to our Notre Dame undergraduates enables us to pass on Catholic culture through this series.

Finally, on November 2, 2005 the Center will host the third edition of its hugely successful evening of spiritual discussion called "Breaking Bread." Each semester, some 100 Notre Dame students gather with members of the faculty to enjoy a festive dinner and discussion of some aspect of the Christian spiritual life. This semester, Fr. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., vice-president for student affairs, has graciously agreed to deliver some remarks meant to spur the discussion. Our thanks go out to Mr. Fran McGowen, whose vision and generosity makes "Breaking Bread" possible.

To help us organize these and our other events, the Center is pleased to announce the addition of a new staff member, Elizabeth Kirk, who will serve as the Center's assistant director. A 1996 graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, Elizabeth comes to us most immediately from Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she had been assistant professor since the Fall of 2003. From 2002-03 she was visiting assistant professor at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and from 2000-02 she clerked for the Hon. Daniel A. Manion at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. Elizabeth's legal expertise and experience gives the Center's staff a whole new dimension, one that we believe will be tremendously beneficial to our endeavors.

I would also like to mention one of our newest and perhaps most fun projects--an event in which I hope many of you will be able to participate. A couple hours or so before kick-off on home football Saturdays this Fall, the Center will host a series of "tailgaters" in our conference room on the 10th floor of Flanner Hall. Accompanied by some tasty food and fine adult beverages, these "tailgaters" will bring together a wide variety of Center friends, and will feature a special guest or guests. Further details on our new "tailgaters" will follow soon on other parts of our website. I hope to see you at one or more of them!

There have been some other staff changes in the Center. Katie Freddoso, our program coordinator since 2003, is off to Maine this Fall to begin a new program of studies in the production of radio documentaries. Though we will miss Katie's energy and commitment to the Center, we are excited for her as she begins this new adventure. As undergraduate assistants for 2005-06 we are proud to welcome Katie's brother, Steve Freddoso, as well as Greer Hannan and Adam Skloczylas, who will join our veteran undergraduate assistant, Kate Wilson, and our graduate assistant, Mark Jensen, in providing invaluable help in running our programs.

As you can see, it is going to be a busy but a very exciting Fall at the Center. And what's more, this note has only highlighted a selection of our activities. I have not even mentioned our semi-annual Schmitt Lectures, the second edition of our one-credit undergraduate course in medical ethics, or the publishing projects we have underway. But we'll pass along news on those items in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, you can keep up to date on the Center's agenda by coming back to our website.

With every good wish,

Daniel McInerny
Associate Director
Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture