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University of Notre Dame’s 17th president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Ph.D.—who served four terms before returning to teaching and ministry in 2024—will deliver the keynote address to more than 400 students for the 76th annual King’s College Commencement on May 16, 2025, at the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

The procession begins at 12:30 p.m. with the ceremony following at 1 p.m. A complete commencement schedule is available at /commencement.

King’s College is a Catholic institution of higher education animated and guided by the Congregation of Holy Cross—founder of its sister institution, the University of Notre Dame. As part of the ceremony, Father Jenkins will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in recognition of his extensive contributions to the institutions’ shared Holy Cross mission.

“Father John’s leadership as president of Notre Dame set him apart as an outstanding visionary for Catholic higher education,” said King’s College president Rev. Thomas P. Looney, C.S.C., Ph.D. “Due to the common heritage and charism shared by King’s and Notre Dame, I am thrilled that my brother in the Congregation of Holy Cross will address our graduates and receive an honorary degree.”

“It is a special honor to address the 2025 class of King’s College at their Commencement,” said Father Jenkins. “For I share with King’s and Father Looney a commitment to a Holy Cross vision of education that joins faith and reason to offer academically excellent instruction that nourishes the mind and the heart.”

Father Jenkins served as Notre Dame’s president from 2005 through 2024. Under his leadership, Notre Dame was invited to join the Association of American Universities, a consortium of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. In 2022, Notre Dame attracted more than $281 million in external research funding, becoming one of the fastest-growing research institutions in the country.

Father Jenkins also oversaw the largest single construction project in school history, the Campus Crossroads Project at Notre Dame Stadium, as well as an art museum and new buildings dedicated to architecture and music. Other major projects included a joint science and engineering research complex, a nanotechnology center, a new campus hotel and conference center, and new facilities for international studies and social sciences.

Under Father Jenkins’ leadership, Notre Dame made several investments in nearby South Bend, Ind., including a $300 million mixed-use redevelopment project south of its campus, a larger community center in the Northeast Neighborhood, and the creation of the IDEA Center and Innovation Park to attract new businesses to the region. Notre Dame also partnered with local civic and industry leaders to secure more than $130 million in economic development grants for research facilities, workforce development programs, transit connections, cultural amenities, and housing.

Father Jenkins oversaw the 2011 creation of Notre Dame International (now Notre Dame Global), founding 11 new sites across South America, Asia, Ireland, and Africa. He also implemented a comprehensive sustainability strategy to cut the University’s carbon footprint in half by 2030, including a transition from coal to clean energy through ongoing investments in geothermal, solar, and hydroelectric energy, as well as sustainable building practices.

A philosopher trained in theology and a member of Notre Dame’s Department of Philosophy since 1990, Father Jenkins earned undergraduate and advanced degrees from Notre Dame, a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and a Master of Divinity and licentiate in sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. He has taught courses on ancient and medieval philosophy, faith and reason, and Thomas Aquinas.