John I. Jenkins

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For other persons named John Jenkins, see John Jenkins (disambiguation).

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. (born in Omaha, Nebraska) is a Catholic priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and the 17th and current president of the University of Notre Dame.

Father Jenkins was selected to replace outgoing president Fr. Edward "Monk" Malloy, C.S.C. by the University's Board of Trustees on April 30, 2004 and assumed the office of president on July 1, 2005. His formal inauguration took place on September 23, 2005.

Father Jenkins earned his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in philosophy from Notre Dame in 1976 and 1978, respectively. He earned the degrees Master of Divinity and Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in 1988. He is also a member of the University of Oxford, having received a B.Phil in 1987 and a D.Phil in 1989, both in philosophy.

Jenkins has been a member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1990, teaching in the areas of ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, and philosophy of religion; currently, he serves as Professor of Philosophy and Fellow of the Medieval Institute. From 1991 to 1993, Jenkins was the Director of the Old College Undergraduate Formation Program of the Congregation of Holy Cross. From 1997 to 2000 he served as religious superior of the Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame, acting ex officio as a corporate member of the university and a member of the university's board of trustees.

Prior to his election as university president, Jenkins held the office of vice president and associate provost for four years.

The third oldest of twelve,^[1] Father Jenkins is a brother-in-law to travel writer/journalist/broadcaster Rick Steves. Father Jenkins enjoys running marathons, reading, writing, and traveling in his free time.

On January 23, 2006, Fr. Jenkins addressed the faculty concerning ([1]) "Academic Freedom and Catholic Character" in which he expressed concern about "issues arising from the Notre Dame Queer Film Festival and the Vagina Monologues", and "the deeper issues they raise regarding academic freedom and Notre Dame's "character as a Catholic university".

Then, after much heated debate on campus, on April 5, 2006, Jenkins issued a closing statement, declaring the he was "very determined that we not suppress speech on this campus", and was also "determined that we never suppress or neglect the Gospel that inspired this University", saying that "[a]s long as the Gospel message and the Catholic intellectual tradition are appropriately represented, we can welcome any serious debate on any thoughtful position here at Notre Dame."

The Bishop of Fort Wayne, Rev. John M. D'Arcy, expressed strong opposition to Notre Dame's hosting of the events on its campus and stated he was "deeply saddened" by Jenkins' policy.^[2] Also, Notre Dame law professor Charles E. Rice called for Jenkins to resign.^[3] Professor Rice had in the past also requested resignations from former university Provost Rev. Jamest T. Burtchaell, CSC (1977), and former university Presidents Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC (1983) and Rev. Monk Malloy, CSC (2001).^{[citation needed]}

Father Jenkins was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the Sacred Heart Basilica located on-campus in 1983.