Father theodore hesburgh biography

By Richard W. Conklin
Associate Vice President for University Relations

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, was one of the most influential Catholic priests in 20th century American history.

He made his mark not only on higher education but also on many of the era’s pressing social issues, including civil rights, Third World development, and nuclear proliferation.

When he stepped down in 1987 after 35 years as head of Notre Dame, Father Hesburgh was the longest-serving among active presidents of the nation’s college and universities, and his then 110 honorary degrees, the most awarded a living person, confirmed his stature as the elder statesman of American higher education.

During his stewardship of the best-known Catholic university in the United States, he turned a school perceived through the lens of football into one with a first-rate academic reputation and an endowment ranked among the top 20 in the