HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...

Patricia A. O’Hara ’74 J.D.
Professor, Law
Biography
Patricia O’Hara joined the faculty of the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1981,
received tenure in 1987, and became a full professor in 1990. That same year she was elected by
the University’s Board of Trustees as vice president for Student Affairs, the first woman to serve
as an officer of the University. In 1999 she was appointed dean of the Law School and served in
that capacity for 10 years. During her tenure as dean, the $57.6 million construction of the Eck
Hall of Law and renovation of Biolchini Hall were conceived, designed, and funded.
Following a sabbatical, O’Hara returned to the faculty during the 2010-2011 academic year. Her
areas of academic interest include business associations and securities regulation, as well as
higher education in general, and legal education in particular, as informed by her administrative
experience.
O’Hara has received numerous awards recognizing her service to the University, the Law
School, and the Congregation of Holy Cross, as well as her deep commitment to Notre Dame’s
distinctive mission. The Congregation of Holy Cross presented her with the Howard J. Kenna Award in 1997 and with one of the
inaugural Spirit of Holy Cross Awards in 2008. She received the St. Thomas More Award from the Notre Dame Law Association
in 2009. The Notre Dame Alumni Association chose her as the 2010 recipient of the James E. Armstrong Award. In 2010,
University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., honored her with the Presidential Award for her service in the spirit of Father
Edward Sorin, the University’s founder.
A native of the San Francisco Bay area and a summa cum laude graduate of Santa Clara University, O’Hara was a Kiley Fellow
at Notre Dame Law School. She graduated summa cum laude and first in her class in 1974. Before entering the academy, she
practiced corporate law for six years with Brobeck, Phleger, and Harrison in San Francisco.
Lectures
Keeping Faith with Father Sorin’s Vision: Notre Dame’s Distinctive Role in Higher
Education in the 21st Century
Only days after his arrival in winter 1842, Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., wrote to the Very Rev. Basil Moreau, C.S.C., founder of the
Congregation of Holy Cross: “ This college cannot fail to succeed . . . it will be one of the most powerful means for good in this
country. This new branch of your family is destined to grow and extend itself under the protection of Our Lady of the Lake and
St. Joseph. At least, this is my deep conviction; time will tell if I am wrong.” From humble beginnings in a small brick building
erected by Father Sorin and his companions on the high bank of Saint Mary’s Lake, Notre Dame stands today as the only national
university in the top quintile that is religiously affiliated. What challenges lie ahead as Notre Dame continues its quest to be a
great university faithful to the vision of Father Sorin?
Parental Choice: An Issue of Social Justice
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a dominantly immigrant Catholic Church built what has become the largest private-school
system in the world–a system that has educated generations of Catholics, as well as people of other faiths. As discussed in the
final report of the Notre Dame Task Force on Catholic Education, today Catholic primary and secondary schools face daunting
challenges in the wake of demographic shifts, the changing role of faith in the lives of American families, and fundamental
alterations in the way in which Catholic schools are staffed and financed. As bishops make painful choices with respect to schools
in their dioceses, the stakes could not be higher for sustaining a transformative system of education for the next generation of
students. One piece of the puzzle in creating a new paradigm for Catholic schools in the 21st century is the possibility of public
support for private and religious schools that provide a public service to society. Can a case be made as a matter of social justice
that parents who choose Catholic schools for their children should enjoy some semblance of the public economic support
enjoyed by those who choose public schools?
78 The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2013 Program
Categories
Church, Education, Family,
Law, Notre Dame