The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture mourns the passing of Alasdair MacIntyre, permanent senior distinguished research fellow at the de Nicola Center and the Rev. John A. O’Brien senior research professor of philosophy emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, on May 21, 2025. He was 96.
The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture welcomed visiting scholar Lauren Spohn, a Rhodes Scholar and doctoral candidate in philosophical theology at Oriel College, Oxford, to the University of Notre Dame during the spring 2025 semester. Spohn's scholarship focuses on the thought of St. John Henry Newman, especially exploring the relationship between faith and reason through the philosophical concept of analogy.
The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture presented the 2025 Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal—the nation’s most important award for heroes of the pro-life movement—to Anthony J. and Phyllis W. Lauinger of Tulsa, Oklahoma, at a Mass and dinner attended by more than 400 guests on May 3, 2025, at the University of Notre Dame.
“Both in the intimacy of their family life and in their respective professional lives—Tony with his tireless defense of the unborn through legislative efforts in his home state of Oklahoma, and Phyllis as a volunteer physician at St. Francis Xavier Clinic, which offers medical care at no charge to women, children, and men who are uninsured or underserved in their community—the Lauingers model pro-life values with sincerity, generosity, and humility,” said Jennifer Newsome Martin, director of the de Nicola Center and associate professor in the Program of Liberal Studies with a joint appointment in the Department of Theology.
