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VOLUME 59, ISSUE 75 | MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2025 | NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Pulte Institute reforms after funding cuts Notre Dame Keough School loses $20 million in federal grants as various research projects are paused By ANNELISE DEMERS Associate News Editor
Following the termination of nearly $20 million in federal grants, the University of Notre Dame’s Pulte Institute for Global Development has undergone major structural changes, reducing staff by two-thirds and pivoting its operations to ensure longterm sustainability. “To date, over $25 million of direct federal grants have been terminated. $20 million of this, about 80%, has been at the Keough School, mostly through terminated grants at USAID or the Department of State,“ Mary Gallagher wrote in an email to The Observer. Gallagher is dean of the
Keough School of Global Affairs. She was appointed to this position in May 2024. The Pulte Institute for Global Development works to address global poverty and inequality through research, policy and practice. As part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, the institute partners with governments, non-profits and the private sectors to develop sustainable solutions in areas such as health, education, entrepreneurship and humanitarian assistance. The cuts stem from recent executive orders and a shift in U.S. foreign aid policy, which triggered stop-work orders on federal contracts primarily those issued by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the Department of State. “This has had a direct impact on the Pulte Institute for Global Development and the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM), a research and policy project at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies,” Gallagher wrote. Before the stop-work orders, the Pulte Institute had 40 staff members and two teaching faculty. With grants terminated, Gallagher said the Institute had to restructure and reduce staff significantly. “When federal funding that the institute relied on was pulled, (mainly through the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development), the Pulte
Students participate in annual Fisher Regatta
GABRIELLA MARTIN | The Observer
Several students paddle their homemade boat with a television attached to the front across Saint Mary’s Lake during the Regatta. By SOPHIE HANAWALT and ANNELISE DEMERS Notre Dame News Editor and Associate News Editor
Fisher Hall hosted the annual Fisher Regatta Saturday at Saint Mary’s Lake, during which student teams raced across the lake in boats they constructed. Fisher was well represented
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with 12 teams, with the remaining boats drawing from a mix of dorms and clubs. Proceeds from the event go to Fisher’s longtime charity partner, St. Adalbert’s School. The S.S. Boogie Woogie, sailed by students Ioane Tuaopepe, Frank Tran, Branden Browning and Kacper Szyller as well as Aiden Robertson ’24, was the
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winning boat in this year’s edition of the regatta. Last year, the future of the Regatta was in doubt, as Fisher was set to be demolished at the end of the school year. Despite Fisher’s former residents are living in Zahm Hall while their new residence hall is being built, the event has endured through the changes. “This year’s Fisher Regatta means everything to the Fisher Community, as it is our last year under the name of Fisher,“ dorm president Aidan Sachs wrote. “Next year we will switch to be called Coyle, so this year was very important for celebrating our dorms long history and tradition.“ Meredith Kononchek, a mechanical engineering major, was one of many participants who built and raced boats made of cardboard, PVC pipes and trash bags in the longstanding campus tradition. “I love building stuff, and I love a good competition,” Kononchek said. “I love a good challenge, so I was excited to do it.” see REGATTA PAGE 3
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Institute had to pivot to an organizational structure that would continue to support the core mission of the institute and yet be financially sustainable,“ Gallagher wrote. University and Keough School leadership worked to place affected employees in other positions across campus. “Currently, most affected staff were either given new positions in the restructured Pulte Institute or have found new positions at other units at Notre Dame, including in the Keough School,“ Gallagher said. Although research operations were directly affected, Gallagher noted that
academic programs for students remained intact. “This change affected our research operations, but did not directly impact students’ academic programs or curriculum. Some students hired on affected grants did lose access to part-time hourly employment,” she wrote. In a post on its website, the Pulte Institute addressed the ongoing impact of its work, writing, “Research in this field has shown strong returns–estimated at $17 in social value for every dollar invested, according to Nobel laureate Michael Kremer. And while the policy environment may be uncertain, our see PULTE PAGE 4
New StuGov dept. supports athletes By SOPHIE HANAWALT and HENRY JAGODZINSKI Notre Dame News Editor and Assistant Managing Editor
Notre Dame student government has created a new department of student athlete relations partially in response to an ongoing $2.8 billion lawsuit, House v. NCAA, that has the potential to upend college athletics. The suit, which began over a dispute about name, image and likeness (NIL) revenue sharing, was granted class-action status in 2023. If approved, the lawsuit would provide billions of dollars in back-pay damages to former student athletes and also allow colleges to begin revenue-sharing programs enabling them to pay athletes directly. Previously, studentathletes could be awarded scholarships from colleges but were not paid directly. Importantly, the settlement was also drafted to include limits on the number of athletes that schools could have on their rosters. These roster limits would replace the NCAA’s
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current scholarship limits, which would force some colleges to cut student athletes. However, on Wednesday, the judge overseeing the settlement, Claudia Wilken, ordered the two parties involved in suit to rewrite the section of the settlement dealing with roster-limits, stating that she would not approve the case if it would harm student-athletes who were part of the plaintiff’s class. As the settlement was being negotiated, Notre Dame’s student government formed a new student athlete relations department, created by an omnibus senate bill that reshaped the executive cabinet. That bill, the first of the 2025-26 senate’s term, was passed April 2 with 32 affirmative votes, two negative votes, and four abstentions. Student body president Jerry Vielhauer ran with the creation of this department as a part of his platform. The director of the student athlete relations department, Robbie Wollan, who is also see ATHLETES PAGE 4
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