Between March 18 and April 5, Catherine Arnold, master of St. Edmund’s College at the University of Cambridge, will join the University of Notre Dame as the Nanovic Forum Diplomat in Residence at the Nanovic Institute for European Studies. While most of her stay in residence will be devoted to class visits, meetings, and similar private events, she will also offer a public lunch lecture on April 3, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. in 1050 Jenkins Nanovic Halls. Combining her unique perspective as a leader in higher education and diplomacy, Arnold will demonstrate how diplomatic thinking can help educate thinkers and leaders for the future.
Before being named head of St. Edmund’s College, Arnold served with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the United Kingdom, with posts in Oman, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. In 2015, she was appointed as the British Ambassador to Mongolia, where she served until 2018. Following her ambassadorship, she led units within the FCO, including the Illegal Wildlife Trade Unit, and helped the UK secure its bid to chair the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
Because of her extensive diplomatic experience, the Nanovic Institute has invited her to teach and advise its Diplomacy Scholars students during her stay. The instructor of this course—Clemens Sedmak, director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies and professor of social ethics at the Keough School of Global Affairs—shares that:
“Ambassador Catherine Arnold has not only the experience of a world-class diplomat but the heart of an educator, researcher, and journalist, making her an excellent choice for both our Diplomacy Scholars program and as a speaker for the Nanovic Forum, which focuses on bringing leaders from Europe to Notre Dame to engage with our students, faculty, and community. Catherine also knows Notre Dame so well as the Master of St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge—the partnership between St. Edmund’s College and Notre Dame is important for our entire university. We are pleased to deepen this connection. Ambassador Arnold’s visit will be a boon to students within the Keough School and across campus who are interested in global affairs, diplomacy, and foreign policy.”
The April 3rd lecture, entitled “Diplomatic Thinking: Lessons in forming thinkers and leaders” is open to all Notre Dame students, faculty, and staff, as well as the general public. Participants will be offered lunch before the event, beginning at 12:00 p.m. and while supplies last. The event will be recorded and published afterward on the Nanovic Institute’s YouTube channel, as well as archived on its website.
Generously established by Robert and Elizabeth Nanovic, the Nanovic Forum’s mission is to bring Europe’s leaders from many fields to Notre Dame to explore, discuss, and debate the most pressing questions about Europe today.
Past Nanovic Forum visitors have included, among many others:
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Mikuláš Dzurinda, prime minister of Slovakia (1998-2006);
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Giorgi Margvelashvili, former president of Georgia;
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Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former president of Croatia; and
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Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Polish-American journalist.
Previous Nanovic Forum addresses may be watched on the Nanovic Institute’s website or YouTube channel.