Education official speaks on challenges for teachers at ACE Commencement | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Education official speaks on challenges for teachers at ACE Commencement Education official speaks on challenges for teachers at ACE Commencement Published: July 11, 2011 Author: Bill Schmitt The University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) conducted its 16th Commencement exercises Saturday (July 9), with a U.S. Department of Education official addressing the 106 graduates who received master’s degrees. Juan Sepulveda, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, delivered the keynote address, thanking the ACE graduates for serving as educators in under-resourced Catholic schools “at a very critical time for us a country” when all children must be globally competitive. Sepulveda urged the educators to be innovative and to ask themselves, “How can I create schools that maybe haven’t even existed before, because that’s what it’s going to take for our kids to be successful.” Eighty-one members of ACE’s Service through Teaching class, which prepares young adults as teachers in Catholic schools around the country, graduated, along with the latest 25-member class from ACE’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, which focuses on the formation of Catholic school principals. The Service through Teaching group earned the master of education degree while the Mary Ann Remick group earned the master of arts in educational administration degree. Both received their degrees from Notre Dame Vice President and Senior Associate Provost Christine Maziar, who served as master of ceremonies. Also as part of the event, John and Patricia O’Brien received the 2011 Notre Dame Award for Catholic Education. Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C., a founder of ACE and director of the University’s Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI), credited the O’Briens with a lifetime of “seeking better educational opportunity for children in need.” Two members of former ACE graduating classes—Norma Nelson and Joseph Womac—were this year’s recipients of the Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education. An inaugural Michael Pressley Award for a Promising Scholar in the Field of Education went to another ACE graduate, Peter Miller. Since its inception 18 years ago, the Service through Teaching program has grown from a service initiative, composed of a handful of Catholic school educators, to a movement that has commissioned 1,400 teachers to serve Catholic schools throughout the United States. The Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program has prepared more than 170 educators now serving as school leaders in 41 states. ACE and the IEI, a Notre Dame academic unit of which ACE is part, undertake numerous formation, research, and professional service initiatives to support and strengthen K-12 education. Contact: Bill Schmitt, communications and media specialist, William.G.Schmitt.27@nd.edu, 574-276-0340 Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn