The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture will present the 2020 Notre Dame Vita Institute, its annual intellectual formation program for pro-life leaders, as a series of five free webinars the week of June 15–19, 2020.

The Center's annual Vita Institute brings together leaders in the national and international pro-life movement for a week each summer at Notre Dame for an intensive interdisciplinary training program that extends and deepens their breadth and depth of understanding of the subjects most essential to building a culture of life, including biology, philosophy, law, theology, and social sciences. This year’s online webinar series will allow a wider audience to sample the exceptional teaching of the traditional on-campus event.

“We were disappointed to have to cancel this year’s in-person Vita Institute, as there is no substitute for the community building and professional networking that naturally happens when we meet face-to-face,” Center Director O. Carter Snead said. “But pivoting to the online platform gives us the unique opportunity to share the world-class instruction that is the hallmark of our on-campus program with a much wider audience.”

Lecturers for this year’s webinar series include Francis Beckwith (Baylor University), Rev. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P. (Providence College), Carter Snead (Notre Dame Law School), Jessica Keating (Notre Dame McGrath Institute for Church Life), and Rev. John Paul Kimes (Notre Dame Law School).

“These lectures are aimed at a general audience, and are meant to equip all participants to be more effective in their work on behalf of the unborn and their mothers, whether at home, work, or in the classroom,” said Petra Farrell, dCEC Culture of Life program manager. “I’m thrilled that so many will now have the opportunity to experience a taste of the Vita Institute’s unparalleled programming.”

One seminar will be hosted live each evening at 8 p.m. EDT from June 15th through June 19th. Following each 60-minute presentation, registered participants will have the opportunity to engage in a question-and-answer session with the Institute instructors and Center Director Carter Snead. Participants will have exclusive access to the recorded lectures following the series.

This online series is free and open to the public, though advance registration is required. For more information, visit ethicscenter.nd.edu/vita2020.

The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture is committed to sharing the richness of the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition through teaching, research, and dialogue, at the highest level and across a range of disciplines. Through teaching, research, service, and substantive engagement on these issues, the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture strengthens Notre Dame’s Catholic character on campus and brings the university’s voice into the public discussion of the most vital issues of our day. For more information, visit ethicscenter.nd.edu/programs/culture-of-life/vita-institute/