An exploration of recurring comparisons to the university’s “peer institutions” and the effect on recent administrative decisions.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on November 16.

Under the administration of Father John Jenkins, CSC, the University of Notre Dame has taken many strides forward in the name of progress.  Accompanying these steps has been a continual reference to comparable “peer institutions.”  The extent to which university decisions have been informed by the practices of other colleges and universities is unclear, yet it is evident that comparisons have been and will continue to be made.

Last fall, the university concluded a two-year procedural review of its disciplinary standards, resulting in the replacement of the Office of Residential Life with the Office of Community Standards.  The analysis was based in part on a comprehensive study of 17 “peer institutions,” according to the office’s website.

These peer institutions include Washington University in St. Louis, Vanderbilt University, Baylor University, Duke University, Northwestern University, University of Portland, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Stanford University, Marquette University, Columbia University, Boston College, and Georgetown University.  Of those listed, only four identify as Catholic.

Comparison to these academic peers in part correlates with the university’s recent focus on becoming a “premier research institution.”  Charles Rice, Professor Emeritus of Notre Dame’s Law School, wrote about the pursuit of research greatness in his book Right or Wrong? which was published in 1991.

“A preoccupation with research greatness is one symptom of a university’s pursuit of political correctness.  For decades, the university has sought to be ‘great’ as well as ‘Catholic,’ wrongly implying that there is a tension between the two concepts.  Notre Dame has sought acceptance as a ‘great university’ according to the standards of Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and other institutions,” Rice asserts.

In recent years, it appears that the infatuation with research greatness has only increased.  In December 2013, the university’s Faculty Hiring Initiative emphasized that the recruitment and hiring of professors in the upcoming year will “support Notre Dame’s ongoing investment in research.”  This initiative created approximately 80 faculty positions in 10 different research disciplines.

Professor Rice spoke to the Rover about this phenomenon and stressed that research is essential, yet should not be the principal focus of an undergraduate university.

“Since 1978, the university’s pursuit of foundation, corporate, and federal funds has changed the campus from the previously pastoral Notre Dame,” Rice noted.  “The tendency when hiring in pursuit of research greatness is to focus on the scholarly research articles professors have published, rather than the quality of their teaching.”

The stated justifications behind the university’s elimination of the physical education requirement also include mention of “peer institutions.”

Thomas E. Fuja, chair of electrical engineering, was a member of the physical education department’s review group.  An Inside Higher Education article quoted Fuja as commenting that Notre Dame’s physical education requirement “was very much unlike what you saw anywhere else in academia.  There was a question of whether we were getting value out of something that seemed so at odds to what everyone else was doing.”

Bill Dempsey, chair of the Sycamore Trust, an alumni group dedicated to the protection of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, spoke with the Rover about the tendency to contrast practices among universities.

“My concern with Notre Dame’s fixation on ‘peers’ has been principally with its impact on faculty hiring—the radical decline in Catholic faculty representation and accordingly the radical weakening of the school’s Catholic identity.  The mission statement declares that Notre Dame’s ‘Catholic identity depends upon the continuing presence of a predominant number of Catholic intellectuals’ on the faculty.  The proportion of ‘check-the-box’ Catholics has plummeted from 85% in the 1970’s to 54% today, many of whom are only nominally Catholic. Plainly, committed Catholics are no longer close to a majority, or a ‘predominant number’,” Dempsey stated.

He continued, “This deterioration occurred because of Notre Dame’s driving ambition to be considered as equals, or near equals at least, by ‘peers’ in secular academe and to climb in secular ranking services such as U.S. News & World Report.  Stress in hiring has been placed all too often on secular credentials—degrees from Harvard, Yale, et al., publication by Oxford, Harvard, Yale, et al.”

A multitude of factors drives the trend of constant comparison, an important one being the pursuit of excellence.  Examining who these “peer institutions” are, however, indicates more clearly what type of excellence administrators are seeking.  No veritable peers of Notre Dame exist, and therefore any comparison to purely academic peers neglects the Catholic faith tradition at the university’s core.

Father Jenkins himself made this point in his inaugural address: “Notre Dame is different.  Combining religious faith and academic excellence is not widely emulated or even admired among the opinion-makers in higher education.  Yet, in this age especially, we at Notre Dame must have the courage to be who we are.  If we are afraid to be different from the world, how can we make a difference in the world?”

 

Kate Hardiman is a sophomore PLS major and PPE minor living in Breen-Phillips Hall. Contact her with questions or comments at khardima@nd.edu.