Robert A. Dowd, M.A. '01, Ph.D. '03

Rev. Robert A. Dowd, M.A. '01, Ph.D. '03, C.S.C., has been elected 18th president of the University of Notre Dame, effective July 1, 2024.

Dowd currently serves as vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at Notre Dame, a position he has held since 2021. He is also an associate professor of political science and serves as a fellow and trustee of the University and religious superior of the Holy Cross community at Notre Dame.

A native of Michigan City, Indiana, Dowd graduated from Notre Dame in 1987, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics, and entered Moreau Seminary in the fall of that year to explore his vocation to religious life and priesthood. During his time in the seminary, he asked to be assigned to East Africa and spent 18 months there. After professing final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1993 and being ordained a priest in 1994, he worked in Campus Ministry at Notre Dame, serving as associate rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and as an assistant rector in one of the University’s residence halls.

Dowd earned his UCLA degrees in political science.

Read the full announcement here.