Notre Dame Launches New Poverty Initiative

Posted by Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity on May 28, 2024

In this Spotlight Exclusive we speak with Jim Sullivan, economics professor at the University of Notre Dame, about the university’s new Poverty Initiative. Sparked by a $100 million gift from alumni—the largest donation the university has ever received –  the initiative will help provide students with comprehensive, interdisciplinary learning experiences in poverty studies. Sullivan says the work closely aligns with the university’s mission, and therefore “it’s not surprising that when Notre Dame announces that they’re going to do this, that there’s just tremendous enthusiasm and support from faculty and staff, but also from the alumni network.” Sullivan, who leads Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunity (LEO) is particularly excited about the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration. “A lot of what the Poverty Initiative will do is leverage work that’s been done at LEO and at other units all across campus so that our scientists can contribute to the challenges of understanding the causes and consequences of poverty,” Sullivan says.

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