Programs
The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture hosts a variety of programs throughout the year in four main areas of inquiry and engagement: bioethics, human dignity, and the human person; public policy and the common good; professional ethics; and ethics in literature and the arts.
Student Formation
The de Nicola Center offers opportunities for integral student formation in the Catholic tradition through social, intellectual, spiritual, and professional development offerings for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students through our Sorin Fellows program.
Fall Conference
This three-day interdisciplinary conference (October 31—November 2, 2024) is the de Nicola Center’s flagship event and a vital forum for fruitful dialogue among the world's leading Catholic thinkers, as well as those from other traditions, on the most pressing and vexed questions of ethics, culture, and public policy. Discover our past conferences on the Fall Conference homepage.
Culture of Life
The de Nicola Center hosts programming designed to promote a culture of life on Notre Dame's campus and beyond. Events include the Notre Dame Vita Institute, a week-long program to form current and emerging leaders in the pro-life movement; the Evangelium Vitae Medal, awarded annually to champions of the culture of life; organizing the annual trip for more than 1,000 Notre Dame participants at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and our Bread of Life Dinners, where undergraduates and faculty members gather to discuss life issues in a casual atmosphere.
Mission Stewardship
Notre Dame’s mission statement affirms that the university’s Catholic character “depends upon, and is nurtured by, the continuing presence of a predominant number of Catholic intellectuals.” At the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, we believe that the most powerful mechanism for preserving a robust Catholic identity at Notre Dame is an intentional and careful program of hiring for mission.