Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins to step down

Rev. John I Jenkins (Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins will step down at the end of the school year, university officials announced Friday morning.

Jenkins is Notre Dame’s 17th president and has served in his role since 2005, following Rev. Edward “Monk” Malloy, who held the post for 18 years.

“Serving as president of Notre Dame for me, as a Holy Cross priest, has been both a privilege and a calling,” Jenkins said in a university news release. “While I am proud of the accomplishments of past years, I am above all grateful for the trustees, benefactors, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends who made them possible. There is much to celebrate now, but I believe Notre Dame’s best years lie ahead.”

Jenkins is credited with ushering the university into a more modern area, overseeing its admission to the Association of American Universities and leading through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Little detail was given about next steps, other than a search is currently underway for Notre Dame’s next president. That leader will be elected by the Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees from among the priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross, which founded the university.

The announcement comes the same day that the board of trustees elected a new chair. John B. Veihmeyer, retired chairman of KPMG International, will take the post, succeeding past chair John J. Brennan, who has held the position since 2015.

Brennan will remain on the trustees’ board, according to the university.

“Notre Dame is and has been incredibly blessed by Father Jenkins’ courageous and visionary leadership,” Brennan said. “Together with the remarkable leadership team he has assembled, he has devoted himself to advancing the University and its mission, fulfilling the promise he made when he was inaugurated—to work collaboratively to build a great Catholic university for the 21st century. This is an extraordinarily exciting time for Notre Dame, and we are confident that the next leader will take the University to even greater heights of accomplishment.”

Veihmeyer joined the university’s board in 2017 and is a 1977 Notre Dame graduate living in Potomac, Maryland. Veihmeyer also serves on the board of Ford Motor Co. and chairs the boards of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and Catholic Charities of Washington, D.C.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to be elected Board chair. For all of us who love Notre Dame, it is an incredible privilege to support the University in any capacity and I am grateful that my fellow trustees have given me the opportunity to serve them, and Notre Dame,” said Veihmeyer. “Jack Brennan has been an extraordinary leader for Notre Dame and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him over the next 8 months.”