University of Notre Dame Associate Professor Susan Ostermann has declined her appointment as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, following weeks of backlash from bishops, students, and others concerned that her pro-abortion views make her unfit for the position at the Catholic school, the university’s independent student newspaper reported Feb. 26.
Keough School of Global Affairs Dean Mary Gallagher announced Ostermann’s decision in an email, according to The Observer.
The outlet further reports that the email shared a statement from Ostermann, who said in part: “At present, the focus on my appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the Institute performs, which should be allowed to continue without undue distraction.”
Gallagher said in the email that Ostermann “is a respected scholar of South Asian politics and regulatory governance whose research and teaching reflect the intellectual rigor and interdisciplinary excellence at the heart of both the Liu Institute and the Keough School of Global Affairs. I am grateful for her willingness to serve and for the thoughtfulness with which she approached this decision.”
Ostermann’s appointment was scheduled to take effect in July. In her statement included in Gallagher’s email, Ostermann said that her only goal in accepting the appointment “was to serve as a steward for the Institute’s world-class faculty, students and staff; it is not a position I applied for, but I was truly honored to take it on,” according to The Observer.
Ostermann noted that the focus on her appointment “risks overshadowing the vital work of the Institute,” and added, “At the same time, it has become clear that there is work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish.”
“Both academic inquiry and the full realization of human dignity demand this of us. Towards both of these ends, I have decided not to move forward as Director,” she concluded. “Instead, I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the university to build a campus community where all can speak openly on the issues that matter to them most, and to continuing collaborations with colleagues at the Liu Institute and beyond.”
Since the university announced the appointment in January, students, pro-life advocates, student groups, a number of Catholic bishops around the country, and others have joined in expressing concern, sadness, and scandal at the appointment. Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, the diocese in which Notre Dame resides, issued a statement Feb. 11 stating that Ostermann should be disqualified from the position to lead the institute, which is a part of the Keough School.
He noted at the time that this school “endorses ‘integral human development’ as the most important Catholic social teaching principle for its work. Professor Ostermann has written — ludicrously — that this Catholic principle actually supports abortion on demand.”
Bishop Rhoades issued a new statement Feb. 26 expressing gratitude for Ostermann declining the position and for those who made their opposition known.
He noted that the “appointment of persons to leadership positions at a Catholic university is an act of institutional witness, a mission-governance issue” and highlighted the ways Notre Dame is promoting human life and dignity through classes, activities, and programs.
“That mission commitment is compromised when a Catholic university appoints leaders or bestows honors on those who act or speak against fundamental teachings of the Church,” he wrote. “This is not an issue about academic freedom or scholarly engagement. Academic freedom protects inquiry. It does not require institutional self-contradiction.”
The news of Ostermann’s decision comes one day after Bishop Rhoades led students in praying the Rosary at Notre Dame’s grotto for the preservation of the school’s Catholic identity.
Students have also been planning a “March on the Dome” demonstration, set for the evening of Feb. 27, to call on the university to rescind the appointment.
However, amid the news of Ostermann’s decision, the students still plan to hold the march, according to a Feb. 26 X post from Sycamore Trust, “an independent organization of alumni and friends of Notre Dame who are fighting for the university’s Catholic identity,” according to its website.
“While this development is noteworthy, the March on the Dome remains as important as ever. The concerns of faithful students are not limited to one appointment. They are about deeper questions bearing on Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and fidelity to the mission entrusted to her by the Church,” Sycamore Trust stated in the post. “When confusion arises regarding that mission, it is the duty of the faithful to bear peaceful, public witness to the truth in charity.”
“Therefore, do not change your plans,” it continued. “Join the March in body if you are able. Join in spirit and prayer if you cannot be present. Stand with those who seek a university that is unapologetically Catholic, faithful to Christ, and worthy of Our Lady’s name. Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.”