Dowd Named to Millennium Development Initiative

Faculty Fellow Rev. Robert Dowd, CSC, assistant professor of political science, has been named director of University of Notre Dame’s Millennium Development Initiative.

Adopted by world leaders in September 2000 during the United Nations Millennium Summit, the Millennium Development Initiative focuses on combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

The University of Notre Dame’s component, the Millennium Village Project, will seek to end extreme poverty by working with the poor, village by village, in sub-Saharan Africa, providing affordable and science-based solutions to help people to lift themselves out of poverty. These community-led interventions focus on increasing agricultural productivity, improving infrastructure, and expanding access to healthcare and education.

The University will focus on Uganda, where Notre Dame, through the Congregation of Holy Cross, has strong ties.

As director, Dowd will be assembling a task force consisting of faculty, staff and alumni to further develop the vision and goals of the initiative and help guide its actions during this first year. During the second semester, Fr. Dowd will organize information sessions and form working groups.