Former Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh dies at 97

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Former Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh dies at 97

BY CURTIS SKINNER
Fri Feb 27, 2015 4:43am EST

(Reuters) - Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who reshaped the University of Notre Dame from a Catholic college known for its football team into an academic force, died late on Thursday night, the school said in a statement. He was 97.

Hesburgh, one of the premier Catholic educators in the United States and "champion of human rights", presided over the Indiana university for three and a half decades, stepping down in 1987, the statement said.

During his tenure, he grew the school's annual operating budget 18-fold to $176.6 million and nearly doubled its enrollment. He also oversaw the Notre Dame's transformation into a coeducational university when women were first admitted to its undergraduate program in 1972, the school said.

Internationally, he served four popes on issues such as atomic energy and human rights. In the United States, he held 16 presidential appointments and chaired the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1969 to 1972.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/27/us-usa-catholic-hesburgh-idUSKBN0LV0WY20150227

[shrike]

1. An advocate of civil rights (as many, many priests were) RIP

I once spoke to someone who knew Hesburgh, and apparently he had many fascinating stories of being right in the thick of it, when LBJ got important legislation passed. Apparently he was sitting with LBJ and listening while LBJ did his thing with recalcitrant congress critters. An interesting, humble man Hesburgh was, so I've been told.