President Obama
at Notre Dame
Maintaining integrity when
actions speak louder
than words
Overview
 The announcement that President Obama
would be honored at the Notre Dame
Commencement precipitated objections,
protests and rallies from around the
country.
 The issue played out both externally in the
media and internally among a vast network
of stakeholders, many of whom began to
question their loyalty.
Background
 President Obama actively promoted an
agenda that stood in stark contrast to the
pro-life beliefs of the Catholic Church.
 In his first two months in office, he
 Overturned the Mexico City Policy
 Restored $50 million of U.S. funding to the United
Nations Population Fund
 Rescinded restrictions on federal funding for
embryonic stem cell research
 Moved to rescind the “conscience rules”
A Proud Tradition
 Notre Dame founded in 1842
 Mission:
“The University seeks to cultivate in its students not
only an appreciation for the great achievements of
human beings, but also a disciplined sensibility to the
poverty, injustice and oppression that burdens the
lives of so many.”
 President Jenkins’s 2005 inaugural
address, calling Notre Dame:
“a center for leaning whose intellectual and religious
traditions converge to make it a healing, unifying,
enlightening force for a world deeply in need.”
Key Issues
 Stakeholders are particularly vital to the success of
non-profit organizations.
 The degree to which an organization adheres to its
mission has a direct impact on its image and,
consequently, on its reputation.
 Challenge of reconciling its actions with its
mission: Can Notre Dame uphold its decision to
honor President Obama and still maintain its
dedication to its Catholic mission?
Controversy Timeline
 March 20th: Notre Dame released the
announcement that President Barack Obama would
be the Commencement speaker and would receive an
honorary doctor of laws degree.
 March 29th: Bishop D’Arcy of the Diocese of Fort
Wayne-South Bend issued a statement rebuking the
University of Notre Dame and announcing he would
not attend Commencement.
 April 5th: Notre Dame student coalition ND
Response sponsored a protest rally attended by an
estimated 400 people.
*All dates are 2009
Controversy Timeline
 April 21st: Bishop D’Arcy issued a second
statement rejecting the University’s interpretation of
the 2004 bishop’s statement.
 April 27th: Pro-life activist Mary Ann Glendon
announced she was declining the Laetare Medal, a
prestigious Catholic honor she was to receive at
Commencement.
 May 11th: Notre Dame President Jenkins sent a
letter to the graduating class of 2009 offering
reasoning for inviting President Obama and
reassuring Commencement would be a celebration of
their accomplishments.
*All dates are 2009
Controversy Timeline
 May 17th: President Obama delivered the
commencement address at Notre Dame and received
an honorary doctor of laws degree. At the same time,
3,000 people gathered on the South Quad for an
alternative commencement ceremony.
 June 29th: Father Jenkins addressed the
Commencement issue in the Notre Dame Alumni
Association E-Newsletter, thanking everyone for their
input and asking for continued support.
 September 16th: Father Jenkins sent a letter to
Notre Dame alumni and friends regarding postCommencement pro-life initiatives.
*All dates are 2009
Media Coverage
 Coverage was collected and analyzed from
print, broadcast and Web

March 20 to May 23, 2009
 1,196 articles were collected and analyzed
for the University
 These articles generated an estimated
2 billion impressions
Media Coverage
 Coverage was both national and local, with
stories appearing in:
The New York Times
 The Washington Post
 The Wall Street Journal

 Tone of the coverage:



41% negative
11% positive
48% neutral
Fox News
 WNDU-TV South Bend
 The South Bend Tribune

Stakeholder Response
 Bishop D’Arcy (Catholic Diocese of Fort
Wayne-South Bend)
Decision to not attend Commencement
“Notre Dame must ask itself, if by this decision it has
chosen prestige over truth.”
 ND Response
Coalition of student organizations against President
Obama being the 2009 Commencement speaker
Sponsored rallies and prayer services
Hosted “alternative commencement” attended by an
estimated 3,000 people
Stakeholder Response
 Mary Ann Glendon
Harvard law professor, pro-life activist
Declined the Laetare Medal (prestigious Catholic
honor she was to receive at Commencement)
 Facebook
“Protest Obama as Notre Dame's 2009
Commencement Speaker”
 4,908 members (as of January 2010)
“We Will Be Honored to Have President Obama at
Notre Dame”
 7,341 members (as of January 2010)
Stakeholder Response
 Web sites
ReplaceJenkins.com (still active, updated)
 “ND alumni for restoring the Catholic
tradition of Our Lady’s University”
 Tallied $14 million in donations withheld
from Notre Dame by disenfranchised alumni
and donors (as of May 13, 2009)
 1,400 pledges from alumni and donors
promising to withhold future donations
WeSupportNotreDame.org (no longer updated)
 Linked to petition in support of the
University’s decision
Stakeholder Response
 Web sites
NotreDameScandal.com (still active)
 Hosted by the Cardinal Newman Society
 Petition signed by 367,000 people opposing
President Obama at Notre Dame
 Also has Facebook page with 4,966 fans
(as of January 2010)
StopObamaNotreDame.com (still active)
 Organized protests, provided instructions for
holding protests
 Provided contact information for petitions to
ND Fellows, Trustees, and Vatican officials
 Links to press coverage
University Response
 Let the initial announcement stand on its
own; don’t feed the frenzy
 Prepared talking points for Fellows in
defense of the University’s decision

Talking points were eventually leaked to the
press, creating additional problems
 Statement providing defense of the
decision
University Response
Internal
 Low-profile, face-to-face meetings between President
Jenkins and donors and alumni
 Email from President Jenkins to graduating students
reassuring Commencement will be a celebration of
their accomplishments
External
 Do not engage protesters
 Interact privately with Church hierarchy
 Let President Jenkins’ commencement address serve
as final word from the University
University Response
Post-Commencement
 Letter from President Jenkins in Alumni Association
E-Newsletter
 “Commencement was only the beginning of what
I hope will be a vital engagement with the issues
highlighted by this event.”
 E-mail to alumni and friends from President Jenkins
outlining post-commencement pro-life initiatives
 Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life
 President Jenkins attending January March for
Life in Washington, D.C.
Application of Page Principles
1. Tell the truth
Notre Dame did not make excuses about its decision to
honor President Obama or feel the need to defend
itself. Still, many questioned the University’s character
and integrity to its mission in light of recent actions.
2. Prove it with action
Notre Dame insisted that honoring President Obama
did not signify endorsement of his beliefs and policies
regarding right-to-life issues and now must follow
through on its promise of establishing dialogue.
3. Listen to the customer
It is important for non-profit organizations such as
Notre Dame to know, understand and address the
expectations of its stakeholders; expectations that can,
at times, be contradictory.
Application of Page Principles
4. Manage for tomorrow
It is vital to consider the long-term ramifications, not
just short-term issues, when controversy arises. Notre
Dame must consider its reputation as a premiere
Catholic university and how important that distinction
is to its future success.
5. Conduct public relations as if the whole
company depends on it
Public relations is a management function and, as such,
should be an integral consideration in all
organizational decisions. The Notre Dame
communications team’s involvement will be crucial as
the University moves on from this controversy.
Application of Page Principles
6. A company’s true character is expressed
by its people
Character and integrity are central to this case and are
invariably linked. Notre Dame’s official laisez-fair
approach to this issue encouraged more attention to be
paid to its outspoken faculty and students.
7. Remain calm, patient and good-humored
It would be natural for an organization to want to
defend itself in the heat of a controversy, however
Notre Dame took the opposite approach, issuing few
official statements and maintaining a relatively low
profile. Don’t mistake this outward silence for
inaction.
Discussion Questions
1.
Could Notre Dame have positioned the issue of
honoring President Obama at commencement in a
way that would lessen the perceived contradiction
and, thereby, diminish the potential controversy?
2.
To what degree and in what capacity is the success
or failure of the University dependent on its various
groups of stakeholders? (In other words, why
should Notre Dame be concerned with the opinions
of its stakeholders?)
Discussion Questions
3.
What role did faculty and students play in the
public perception of the issue and how was this
influence managed by the University?
4.
How do Notre Dame’s actions and communications
in this case reflect or disregard the University’s
professed mission and how does that affect its
public perception?
5.
What can Notre Dame do now to rebuild, repair and
strengthen relationships with its stakeholders and
to reassert its integrity and dedication to its
mission?
Discussion Questions
6.
What are the potential ramifications if this exercise
of autonomy and less-is-more approach to
communication set a precedent for controversy,
particularly considering the role stakeholders play
in a non-profit organization like Notre Dame?
7.
With the increasing popularity of social media
outlets (Facebook, Twitter, blogs), how much of a
presence should an organization, particularly a
non-profit organization like Notre Dame, maintain
in times of controversy? Would a stronger official
online presence have helped or hurt Notre Dame in
this case?
“I look forward to
advancing this
conversation, and I pray
daily that Notre Dame
remains a place of which
you can be proud.”
Father John Jenkins
President, Notre Dame