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180th Commencement University Of Notre Dame, University Of Notre Dame

Commencement Programs

• SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 4
• HEARING IMPAIRED INFORMATION 9
• GRADUATE SCHOOL 10
• MENDOZA COLLEGE OF BUSINESS GRADUATE BUSINESS 30
• GRADUATE ARCHITECTURE 36
• LAW SCHOOL 37
• UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY 40
• COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS 42
• COLLEGE OF SCIENCE 50
• COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 55
• MENDOZA COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 60
• SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE 66
• KEOUGH SCHOOL OF GLOBAL AFFAIRS 66
• VALEDICTORIAN CANDIDATES 67
• EMERITI FACULTY 67
• HONOR SOCIETIES 68
• AWARDS AND PRIZES 74
• TASSELS 98

Commencement 2025: Dean G. Marcus Cole’S Charge To The Graduating Class, Marcus Cole

Commencement Programs

Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law, G. Marcus Cole delivered this charge to Notre Dame Law School’s Class of 2025 during the Law School’s Hooding Ceremony on May 17, 2025, in Purcell Pavilion.

Commencement 2025: Speech By Distinguished Professor Of The Year Jay Tidmarsh, Jay Tidmarsh

Commencement Programs

Judge James J. Clynes, Jr., Professor of Law Jay Tidmarsh, selected by Notre Dame Law School’s Class of 2025 as the Distinguished Professor of the Year, delivered the commencement speech to the class during the Law School’s Hooding Ceremony on May 17, 2025, in Purcell Pavilion.

Class Of 2025 Awards Ceremony, Notre Dame Law School

Commencement Programs

On Friday, May 16, Notre Dame Law School recognized its graduating students at the annual Awards Ceremony. Awards were presented for academic achievement, including Honor Roll, Dean’s Circle, Faculty Excellence, and Program of Study distinctions, as well as for excellence in writing, trial advocacy, and moot court. Students were also celebrated for their service to Notre Dame, their classmates, and the broader community. Below, we highlight a selection of this year’s awards and recipients.

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 05.12.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Different Kind of Lawyers: Stories of the Class of 2025, Part 1
• Professor Jay Tidmarsh Selected by Class of 2025 for Distinguished Teaching Award
• Third-year ND Law School students honored for public interest work at Champions for Justice Ceremony
• Two Notre Dame Law Students awarded 2025 Shaffer Public Interest Fellowship to Advance Justice for Underserved Communities
• The Exoneration Justice Clinic has successfully exonerated its third client.
• Last week, a U.S. District judge blocked the sale of the sacred Oak Flat site by the federal government. The Religious Liberty Clinic has long supported this case.
• News outlets and …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 05.05.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Military and Veterans Law Society hosts Symposium:"What Do We Owe Our Veterans?"
• Catholic educators urge Supreme Court to uphold their freedom to serve communities in need
• Notre Dame Law School students help prepare religious charter school case for U.S. Supreme Court
• Faith and freedom: Dean Marcus Cole on religious liberty
• Notre Dame Law School Hosts Private Law Workshop Featuring Leading Legal Scholars
• Program on Law and Economics holds End of the Academic Year breakfast

Faculty Briefs

• Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the St. Isidore case.
• Nicole Garnett wrote about the St. …

Mmu: 04/28/25–05/04/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 04.28.25, Notre Dame Law School

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The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School Hosts Inaugural Affinity Alumni Reunion Weekend
• Yusef Salaam shares message of justice, faith, and legacy at Notre Dame Law School
• American Constitution Society selects ND Law's Varun Cidambi as a 2025 Next Generation Leader
• Faculty profile: Professor Svitlana Khyliuk, leading expert in criminal justice and the European human rights system

Faculty Briefs

• Last week, Paolo Carozza was interviewed by a variety of news outlets in connection with 11 new published decisions by the Meta Oversight Board.
• Carter Snead appeared over the weekend on LiveNOW from FOX in a ten-minute interview about the direction …

Mmu: 04/21/25–04/27/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 04.21.25, Notre Dame Law School

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Rosary for Pope Francis, April 22

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School's Exoneration Justice Clinic exonerates Kara Beaty
• Statement from the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic and Innocence Project on the Passage of Indiana's amended Senate Bill 141

Faculty Briefs

• Marcus Cole was quoted in a Good Friday reflection by Catholic Charities USA.
• Carter Snead appeared on LiveNOW from Fox where he talked about the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday.
• Nicole Garnett appeared on "Conversation with Cardinal Dolan," where she discussed SCOTUS's upcoming consideration of the St. Isidore case.
• Lloyd Mayer contributed several pieces to the Nonprofit …

Mmu: 04/14/25–04/20/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 04.14.25, Notre Dame Law School

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The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School's Inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week brings together exonerees, advocates, and faith leaders
• Two Notre Dame Law students recognized in prestigious Judicial Opinion Writing Competition ND
• Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Clinic represents prisoner denied Ramadan accommodations in federal appeal
• Notre Dame Law School holds fourth annual interfaith dinner in observance of Easter, Ramadan, Passover, and Ridván
• Educational opportunities for all: NDLS clinic defends St. Isidore Catholic School's freedom to serve

Faculty Briefs

• Nicole Garnett's article in City Journal about the launch of a database exposing religious discrimination in government funding was featured …

Plaintiff-Appellant's Opening Brief, Amy V. Doukoure, John A. Meiser, Meredith H. Kessler, Domenic A. Canonico

Court Briefs

No. 24-2003
Marvin Owens v. Gary Schuette

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Case No. 2:24-cv-10787

From the Summary of the Argument

This appeal requires the Court to correct an error below—derived from a recently abrogated error in this Court’s own precedent—that denies the full remedial protections enacted to safeguard religious exercise under RLUIPA. The only question is whether RLUIPA allows courts to award damages against counties and their officials. The only answer—especially following the Supreme Court’s unanimous interpretation of an identical provision in RFRA—is yes.

Mmu: 04/07/25–04/13/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 04.07.25, Notre Dame Law School

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The Latest News

• Law school groups help launch website to shine light on religious discrimination across the United States
• Notre Dame Law School students compete in International Moot Court on Law and Religion in Rome
• ND Law Global Human Rights Clinic research collaboration with International Justice Mission on forced labor and human trafficking in the Philippines
• ND Law's Black Law Students Association leads workshop and shadow day for ND TRIO program

Faculty Briefs

• Jared DeFelice and Robert Stone Curl, students in the Notre Dame Law School Eviction Clinic, traveled to Indianapolis with David Pruitt (Clinical Director) to testify in support …

Cover Page, Masthead, And Table Of Contents

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

How We Broke Impeachment And Why We Need To Fix It: Presidential And Cabinet Level Impeachments, 1974–2024, Perry H. Apelbaum

Journal of Legislation

From 1974 to 2024, the House of Representatives initiated a total of 6 presidential and cabinet level impeachments—4 more than were brought in the Nation’s first 185 years. In the aftermath of the “gold standard” set during the Nixon impeachment inquiry, the process has experienced a steady decline in fairness and effectiveness and increase in partisanship, with the result being the weakening of our constitutional system of checks and balances.

During this period, impeachment proceedings have become more frequent and less meaningful, rarely led to disclosures of significant non-public information, and not resulted in conviction by the Senate The procedural …

The Last Great American Dynasties: Lessons In Monopoly Prevention From Mergers In Entertainment And Aviation, Margaret Bibby

Journal of Legislation

On November 1, 2022, Taylor Swift first announced The Eras Tour. The pent-up demand for a Taylor Swift concert was massive: she had not toured since the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018, the Lover Fest Tour set for 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and her streaming numbers and popularity were higher than ever. The Eras Tour announcement stated that Ticketmaster would be the sole ticketing platform, and 3.5 million fans, known as “Swifties,” registered for a chance to purchase tickets. When presale opened on November 15, 2022, disaster struck for millions of fans. Swifties were met with …

Algorithmic Bias In Hiring: Amending Title Vii To Prohibit Ai Discrimination, Michael H. Leroy

Journal of Legislation

I propose amendments to Title VII to address discriminatory hiring related to AI technologies. Section 703(c)’s definition of an “employment agency” should be modified to include “any person who uses artificial intelligence” to procure employees. I also propose a new definition in section 703 that incorporates the expansive definition of AI in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3). These small changes would make AI hiring firms more responsible for discriminatory screening and selection of job applicants, and better protect applicants who are adversely selected by sex, race, disability and other protected characteristics.

Completing Social Security: Paid Leave And The Social Security Act, Molly Weston Williamson

Journal of Legislation

The Social Security Act of 1935’s twin flagship programs, unemployment insurance and retirement benefits, each provide cash benefits to replace lost wages when income is cut off due to harms beyond our control. But the Social Security Act fails to protect workers against wage loss due to serious but temporary illness, which poses a risk to economic security that parallels job loss and old age. This missing insurance protection is better known today as paid leave.

The omission of wage loss insurance for serious illness leaves a profound gap in the Social Security Act that was recognized since the law’s …

Volume 51, Issue 2 - Full Combined Issue

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of Settlements Under The Class Action Fairness Act And Deference Due To The Department Of Justice And State Attorneys General, Michael E. Solimine, Hailey E. Martin

Journal of Legislation

The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) makes it easier to remove consumer class actions from state to federal court and, among other things, regulates the procedure of federal court approval of settlements of those cases. CAFA requires that before any court approval or disapproval, the parties must notify the Attorney General of the United States, and the attorneys general of states where members of the class live, of the pending settlement in order to receive any objections or other input. While such notice is frequently sent, since most class action cases settle out of court, it appears that …

Unfinished Liberties, Inevitable Balancing, Sherif Girgis

Journal Articles

From the Article

In constitutional liberties cases, the Supreme Court has tried to reduce balancing, understood loosely to mean determining a right’s contours based on sweeping political-moral considerations, not just text and history. It fears that today’s balancing would displace a balance struck by the Founders. Balancing is indeed problematic—but this campaign to end it is bound to fail. Though avoidable for many constitutional rights, balancing is inevitable for general liberties like religion, the Second Amendment, and speech. This inevitability arises not from gaps in text or history but from these liberties’ special role.

General liberties are irreducibly open-ended—not reducible …

Mmu: 03/31/25–04/06/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 03.31.25, Notre Dame Law School

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The Latest News

• Q&A with Krystal McLeod ‘21 J.D.: From Notre Dame to Forbes’ 30 Under 30
• J.S.D. candidate Ewa Rejman speaks at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

Faculty Briefs

• Nicole Garnett was interviewed by EducationWeek about the St. Isidore case as parties prepare for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
• Lloyd Mayer contributed pieces to the Nonprofit Law Prof Blog about the impacts of recent executive orders on nonprofits and conflicts between the USIP and DOGE.
• Mary Ellen O'Connell was quoted in Poynter about President Trump's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
• Sam Bray …

Mmu: 03/24/25–03/30/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 03.24.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Opponents, exonerees to take part in inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week at Notre Dame
• The law against war 'appears to be dead,' according to Notre Dame Law School Professor.

Student and Alumni News Stories

• LL.M. student Salina Kafle advances human rights at Salzburg Global's Asia Peace Innovators Forum

Faculty Briefs

• Fr. John Paul Kimes spoke at a book reception for "Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics" on March 20.
• Sam Bray was quoted in NBC News, Bloomberg Law, ABC News, and The Darien Times about national injunctions against the Trump administration executive orders.
• Mary Ellen …

Mmu: 03/17/25–03/23/25, Student Bar Association

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Ndls Communicator: Week Of 03.17.25, Notre Dame Law School

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The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law School's Global Lawyering Initiative expands to Brazil, forging partnerships with Insper, the Supreme Federal Court of Brazl, and Fundação Getulio Vargas.
• ND Law associate professor continues research on the Brady rule by hosting a workshop in Washington, DC.
• Haitian human rights defenders visit Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic.
• Notre Dame Law School to host Inaugural Death Penalty Abolition Week, March 24-27, 2025
• Catholic educators argue against religious discrimination in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Faculty News and Briefs

• Jimmy Gurulé was quoted in Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick about Indiana's bill …

Brief For Petitioner St. Isidore Of Seville Catholic Virtual School, John A. Meiser, Meredith H. Kessler, Michael R. Perri, Socorro A. Dooley, Michael H. Mcginley, Steven A. Engel, Brian A. Kulp, Anthony R. Jadick, Julia M. Fitzgerald, Cory J. Kopicki

Court Briefs

Nos. 24-396, 24-394
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Gentner Drummond

On Writ of Certiorari to the Oklahoma Supreme Court

From the Summary of Argument

The decision below contravenes the Constitution and this Court’s precedents several times over. It spurned the free exercise guarantees this Court has repeatedly upheld. It violated the state-action doctrine by treating a privately run religious school as an arm of the government. And it distorted the Establishment Clause beyond recognition.