ACE Teaching Fellows

The University of Notre Dame and its global network, including the University of Notre Dame at Tantur in Jerusalem, signed a memorandum of understanding agreement with Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The agreement was made official today during a virtual ceremony, signed by Yad Vashem Director General Dorit Novak and Michael Pippenger, vice president and associate provost for internationalization at the University of Notre Dame.

In addition to the agreement signing, scholars from both institutions offered remarks that explore how people dehumanized and murdered millions of people, and the role healing justice plays in our world today. This is the focus of a new online educational tool recently uploaded to the Yad Vashem website. This resource raises open questions to encourage thoughtful discussion and writings.

"Yad Vashem is pleased to sign the agreement with the University of Notre Dame," says Novak. "Yad Vashem is committed to ensuring that the history of the Holocaust continues to be relevant to us today and for future generations, and not just yet another chapter in human history. Our efforts aim to equip students and teachers alike with the necessary tools and materials to address the topic of the Holocaust and engage young scholars in the need for further research into the multifaceted nature of the Holocaust. Yad Vashem hopes that this agreement will open more opportunities to be active on many more universities and college campuses across the United States and the rest of the world."

This new connection creates a basis for fruitful cooperation between these two internationally renowned institutions. Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research and International School for Holocaust Studies will work together with members of the faculty, staff and students at the University of Notre Dame. This agreement also includes developing a strong connection with Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) to sustain, strengthen and transform Holocaust education in Catholic schools and in its professional development programming.

"For decades, Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies has been training teachers from all faiths from across the globe, and it looks forward to embarking on this new partnership with Notre Dame's ACE program," says Eyal Kaminka, director and the Lily Safra Chair of Holocaust Education at the International School, Yad Vashem.

“The University of Notre Dame is very proud to enter into this partnership with Yad Vashem. For our students who study abroad in Jerusalem, the collaboration will allow for greater access to Yad Vashem's extraordinary resources — both its world-renowned experts and its unparalleled archives to pursue their research and become a part of the global conversation on Holocaust studies,” says Pippenger.

“For our students on campus, we hope that the partnership will lead to a better understanding of the history and legacy of the Holocaust and what that understanding calls us to study and act on today. We also look forward to our faculty members forging new connections with the excellent scholars at Yad Vashem to produce research and scholarly initiatives that enlighten, educate and heal our communities.”

Contact: Colleen Wilcox, Notre Dame International, 574-631-2513,

Originally published by Colleen Wilcox at international.nd.edu on Sept. 9.

From the moment Tim Woodward began teaching, school felt natural.

“I was really able to be myself in the classroom,” says Tim, a history and literature teacher at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep and a member of ACE 18 in Oakland.

The ease and comfort that comes with being oneself is obvious, especially as his fellow teacher at Cristo Rey Dallas and former ACE classmate, Emily Lazor, describes Tim’s students.

“The kids love doing a Tim Woodward impression at school,” says Emily, who also shares an office with Tim. “When they do the impression, they’re so intense, and they’re so clear in what they’re saying.

“He’s always had an intensity that’s always been paired with love.”

Tim’s love for his students and willingness to do whatever he can for them led to ACE to recognize him with the 2020 Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic Education

This piece originally appeared on the NDWorks website.

When 90 first-year graduate students in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Teaching Fellows program came together for a group photo this summer, there were noticeable changes from the previous year. Physical distancing was in place, and everyone wore masks. Most importantly, the class of second-year graduate students from the year before was absent. ACE is yet another program affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo Credit: Cristo Rey New York High School

ACE Teachers past and present can appreciate the pressures of preparing engaging lesson plans for their students on a day-in, day-out basis. It’s a tall task.

And in an age when a Google search for “teacher resources” can return millions of results within seconds, which tools can actually provide value to teachers and their students can be difficult to parse out.

ACE graduates Mary Grace Mangano and Amanda Pertierra recently shared their successes using resources from Facing History and Ourselves, which have opened up pathways for deep conversations and connections among their high-school students. Earlier this year, the duo secured an In-Depth Program Grant from the organization—valued at more than $10,000—for their students and fellow teachers at Cristo Rey New York High School.

Congratulations to Greg Celio, SJ, (ACE 11 - Nashville), who was ordained to the priesthood on July 15 at Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles, CA.

• View Ordination Mass
• Read Greg's Bio
• Watch the Ordination Video