The University of Notre Dame confers the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa on a son of Omaha, Nebraska who has spent his life in service of the Church and his beloved alma mater, including for the last 19 years, as the 17th president of Our Lady’s University. As president he devoted himself to the work of building a “bigger and better Notre Dame”, a preeminent Catholic research university that is a “healing, unifying, enlightening force for a world deeply in need.” Because of the innumerable ways the University has flourished under his leadership, it is now widely regarded as on a par with, but by virtue of its Catholic mission, distinct from the world’s best private universities. Admired on campus and beyond for his wisdom, compassion, and principled leadership, his is an influential voice on the issues of our time, including free speech, civil discourse, and integrity in college athletics. For his extraordinary leadership of this University as its president and his tireless efforts to proclaim the Gospel through word and deed, on Reverend John Ignatius Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame, Indiana.