On Monday 7 April 2025, St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, and the University of Notre Dame (USA) signed a second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The University of Notre Dame hosted the formal signing ceremony, and the agreement was signed by Notre Dame’s Vice President and Associate Provost for Internationalization Dr Michael E Pippenger and Master of St Edmund’s College Professor Christopher Young.
In March 2022, Notre Dame and St Edmund’s had signed an initial MoU to develop collaborations in fields of shared interest and academic expertise, built upon a shared Catholic foundation.
This initial agreement led to a series of initiatives that include an undergraduate internship programme between Notre Dame London and the Von Hügel Institute (VHI) for Critical Catholic Inquiry; a pilot postgraduate scholarship programme; and collaborative research projects between the VHI and various Notre Dame partners, including Notre Dame London, Notre Dame Rome, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, and Shakespeare at Notre Dame. The VHI continues to play an important role in the development of the partnership, under the directorship of Dr Vittorio Montemaggi, who also serves as Academic Director of Notre Dame London.
The new MoU strengthens existing initiatives and ushers in new opportunities for intellectual partnership, including joint graduate and postdoctoral schemes, and a wider range of collaborations across disciplines.
Following the signing ceremony, Professor Chris Young reflected on the significance of this new agreement:
‘I look forward to working with the University of Notre Dame to continue developing new ways to realise our Catholic founders’ shared vision of higher education as a force for good — an ever more urgent call.
In such a rapidly changing world, we must answer this call by building and nurturing global scholarly networks, inspired to learn from difference, and committed to improving the future for individuals, societies, and the planet. At St Edmund’s, we thrive at the intersection of intellectual rigour and spiritual development and are delighted to share and enrich this rare ecosystem with our Notre Dame partners.’
The Vice President and Associate Provost for Internationalization Dr Michael Pippenger said:
‘Re-signing this agreement with St Edmund’s College marks another step forward in Notre Dame’s efforts to become a more global university,’ Pippenger shares. ‘We look forward to taking an even more strategic approach to our partnership by creating new opportunities for graduates, post-docs, and faculty.’
For questions regarding St Edmund’s partnership with the University of Notre Dame (USA), or this story, please contact Brigid Graff, Executive Officer of the Von Hügel Institute or phone +44 1223 761334.
