Thanking Father Ted: Thirty-Five Years of Notre Dame Coeducation

Generations of Women (and Men) Thank Father Ted

Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, enjoys a significant and enduring legacy. He has played a pivotal role in U.S. politics and the Church for many decades (including serving on the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and acting as its chair, and numerous other governmental commissions); served on the Knight Commission on educational reform; and holds more honorary degrees (150) than any other living being, among other distinctions. Throughout his 35-year tenure (the longest yet) as Notre Dame's president, he was responsible for a variety of initiatives and decisions, but perhaps none has been more far-reaching and life-changing than his momentous decision to admit women to the university, thereby changing its course after 130 years as a school steeped in tradition as one of the nation's foremost all-male institutions. Thanking Father Ted: Thirty-Five Years of Notre Dame Coeducation (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $26.95) celebrates this decision as well as the many ways that Father Ted has played an instrumental role in and enriched the lives of generations of women and men.

A fascinating chronicle, the book reveals the perspectives of those for whom Father Hesburgh has served as a beacon and example, both as an advocate for coeducation and as a role model of wisdom and grace. Thanking Father Ted collects the experiences of administrators, trustees, and alumnae during the transition to coeducation for the first time, and expresses their gratitude for the vision and fortitude shown by Father Ted then and throughout the years that followed. Their collective stories surrounding this time of transition also serve as a microcosm of the historic and social changes occurring well beyond the shadow of the Golden Dome.

With more than 150 letters from alumnae worldwide (ranging from Notre Dame's first woman undergraduate degree recipient in 1972 through women recently admitted to the class of 2011), the letters provide provocative and varied perspectives. In addition, the book includes celebrity letters from such notables as former coaches Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian, television personality Regis Philbin, NBC news correspondent Anne Thompson, and athletes Joe Theismann, Tom Clements, and Joe Montana, among others, and archival photographs. The collection provides a personal and moving account of the myriad ways Father Ted influenced not only the education of these individuals, but their lives, long after graduation.

Through his advocacy, leadership, and patience, Fr. Hesburgh made Notre Dame coeducation a reality. As a result, thousands of women — and men — thank you, Father Ted.

• The Thanking Father Ted Foundation will donate all its profits from the book to fund a scholarship at Notre Dame in Father Ted's name in honor of his 90th birthday in 2007.

---

Contact: Kathy Hilliard, (800) 851-8923, ext. 6741, khilliard@amuniversal.com

---

Thanking Father Ted: Thirty-Five Years of Notre Dame Coeducation

By: Thanking Father Ted Foundation, Ann Therese Darin Palmer, Editor
ISBN-10: 978-0-7407-7030-2
Format:Hardcover, 6 x 9; 448 pages
Price: $26.95 ($32.95 Canada)