Paolo Carozza was recently appointed director of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies. As stated in the Institute’s website, “Supporting the research and educational mission of the University of Notre Dame by engaging faculty, students, and visiting scholars in a supportive intellectual community, the Institute works to project the University onto the global stage.”
Carozza added of the Institute’s mission, “The Kellogg Institute aims to advance international studies, particularly around the core values of democracy and human development. To accomplish these goals, Kellogg’s mission is to be one of the principal locations for Notre Dame students and faculty to engage with studies that are relevant to the larger world.”
This leadership position is both a joy and a challenge. Carozza, however, is ready and willing to dedicate himself to the continuation of Kellogg’s 30 years of success. “This position comes with a lot of responsibility, but more than anything I have a sense of excitement and enthusiasm—who wouldn’t want to work at an institute with such an outstanding scholarly trajectory, with great resources and a talented staff?” Carozza stated.
Influenced by his father’s studies in comparative literature, Carozza knew even before his undergraduate studies that his passion included exploring different cultures; in college he began to focus this interest more specifically on the developing world and Latin American in relation to the Church. Concern for human rights and the relationship between politics and religion led Carozza to law school, where he focused on international and comparative law.
After teaching in the Notre Dame Law School for 16 years and working in the world of human rights as a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the transition to the Kellogg Institute was natural for Carozza.
“I love that it’s interdisciplinary,” he explained. “The Institute’s mission matches my own interests well, and I enjoy having this opportunity to serve the University.”
Carrozza is very interested in developing two aspects of the Institute. Firstly, addressing with the core themes of the program, he aims to achieve the same level of success in the human development potential of the Institute as it has had in promoting democracy. Kellogg is known world-wide for working with and for democracy, and Carozza would like to see the same global recognition, scholarly production, and successful reputation for the programs pertaining to the human development theme of the Institute.
According to Carozza, Catholic social thought and human development are hallmarks of what Notre Dame is about. “The human development theme is one that is really important to the future of Notre Dame as a Catholic university,” he eagerly explained. “We have an opportunity to be a real leader in the area; it has enormous potential.”
Additionally, Carozza wants to encourage the Institute to become even more of an intellectual community. Kellogg brings together a wealth of talented scholars, visiting fellows, and committed students, and Carozza would like to see them working together, enriching one another’s research and learning.
Carozza emphasized that “Kellogg is here to help students engage the world in a very serious and thoughtful way, through the commitment of its work to the common good of the whole human family. It is natural and right for college students to have an openness to the rest of the world; without taking advantage of the opportunities available on campus to expand this interest, it eventually goes away.” Carozza desires all students to take advantage of all the Kellogg Institute has to offer and “develop their natural curiosity about the rest of the world in a way demonstrating their commitment to others.”
Ellen Roof is a sophomore at Notre Dame majoring in business and psychology. She is deliriously happy to be back on campus and welcomes emails at eroof@nd.edu.
