Breakfast
Informed discussions of current topics that bear on Notre Dame’s Catholic identity
During Reunion Weekend
Our Annual Breakfast during Reunion Weekend has become an extremely popular event with an overflowing attendance each year and a live broadcast of the program for those who are unable to be there in person. Over the years, knowledgeable speakers on faculty such as Prof. Patrick Deneen, Fr. Bill Miscamble, Prof. Gerry Bradley, Prof. Walter Nicgorski, Prof. Charles Rice, and Prof. Ralph McInerny have joined students, alumni and others to address a range of issues relating to Notre Dame‘s Catholic identity.
2007
origins
Our first panel discussion was held in the spring of 2007 with presentations focused on Father Jenkins’s approval of The Vagina Monologues. The event that year drew an audience that filled a large lecture hall. So did our 2008 and 2009 events — especially the latter, which dealt with Father Jenkins’s decision to honor President Obama, a decision that was harshly criticized by 83 cardinals, archbishops, and bishops.
In both years we were on the official Reunion Weekend program. But in 2010 the Alumni Association changed the long-standing policy under which that was possible. Expecting a much-reduced attendance, we moved that year to a Morris Inn meeting room and added a breakfast to the format.
As it turned out, we underestimated the program‘s draw. Although alumni attending Reunion Weekend were not told of it through the official calendar of events, word got out and the room was filled beyond capacity. So we moved the following year to the Conference Center and, with the exception of 2013, when we met in the Hilton Inn because the Morris Inn was closed for renovations, the event continued in that location until 2020, when Reunion Weekend was cancelled due to COVID-19 precautions — as it was again in 2021.
Since 2013, we have been streaming the program live with several hundred people participating virtually.
2026
O. Carter Snead
Nationally Renowned Bioethics Scholar
O. Carter Snead, Charles E. Rice Professor of Law and Concurrent Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and former Director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, is one of the nation’s leading voices on bioethics, human dignity, and the moral foundations of law and public policy. A former General Counsel to the President’s Council on Bioethics, Professor Snead has advised policymakers, testified before Congress, and helped shape national debates on abortion, assisted suicide, embryo research, and the protection of vulnerable human life.
An internationally respected scholar, he is the author of What It Means to Be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics, praised for recovering a richer understanding of human flourishing grounded in solidarity, dependence, and the inherent dignity of every person.
At Notre Dame, Professor Snead has been a tireless advocate for the University’s Catholic mission, helping build the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture into one of the nation’s premier centers for Catholic intellectual and cultural life. Through his scholarship, teaching, and leadership, he has inspired students, faculty, and alumni to engage courageously in the defense of faith, reason, and the sanctity of human life.
Saturday
June 6, 2026
Catholic Mission at Notre Dame: The State of Play
William and Mary Ann Smith Ballroom (at Morris Inn)
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Complimentary breakfast opens at 7:15 AM EDT
Program 8:00 am – 9:30 AM EDT
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previous programs
