Concerned about patterns of secularization persisting on campus, a group of Notre Dame Alumni have established Project Sycamore as a charitable organization recognized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to help preserve the University's Catholic identity. Officers and Directors of the Board are listed below with email addresses (where available) to encourage dialogue within the Notre Dame family. Please feel free to contact these members directly by clicking on the email addresses listed under their names. To send a general message to Project Sycamore, click on

OFFICERS

William H. Dempsey ('52)
President

• Bachelor of Arts 1952, University of Notre Dame (Class Valedictorian)
• Doctor of Jurisprudence 1955, Yale Law School
• Law Clerk to Judge Charles Fahy, U. S. Court of Appeals
• Chief Law Clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren, U.S. Supreme Court
• Partner, Shea & Gardner, Washington D.C.
• Chairman, National Railway Labor Conference (chief labor negotiator for nation's railroads)
• President & CEO, Association of American Railroads

Joseph A. Reich, Jr. ('57)
Vice President

• Bachelor of Science 1957 Commerce, University of Notre Dame
• United States Navy active duty 1957-1960
• Naval Reserve 1960-1988, Retired Captain
• Stock Broker Newman & Co. 1960-1963
• Commercial Real Estate Broker/Developer various projects 1964-1982
• President and Broker The Reich Company, Inc. 1982-Present
• Commercial Investment Real Estate Designation CCIM
• Notre Dame Alumni Board 1984-1988
• President Notre Dame Alumni Association and Notre Dame Trustee 1986-1988
• Past Chair of Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Military Affairs Council, and Economic Development Council

George L. Heidkamp ('52)
Treasurer & Secretary

• Bachelor of Science 1952 Commerce, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Business Administration 1957, University of Chicago
• Master of Science  in Health Administration 1960, Northwestern University
• Hospital CEO/COO 1960-1988
• Commissioned Officer, USMC/USMCR USA and Korea 1952-1960
• Former Chairman, Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (Chicago Hospital Council)
• Former Chairman, Illinois Hospital Association
• Former Delegate, American Hospital Association
  

DIRECTORS

Edmund J. Adams ('63)

• Notre Dame Law School (JD '63)
• Frost, Brown & Todd, Of Counsel, former Managing Partner
• Ohio Board of Regents, former Chairman and member
• Notre Dame Club of Greater Cincinnati, Award of the Year 2004 and former President
• Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy, former member
• International lecturer, bankruptcy law
• Numerous charitable and civic orgnizations

Dr. Daniel M. Boland ('56, '61)

• Bachelor of Arts 1956, Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Arts 1961, Education, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Sacred Theology 1960, Holy Cross College, Washington, D. C.
• Doctorate in Psychology 1967, Boston College
• Ordained Congregation of Holy Cross 1959
• Three-year post-doctoral Fellow with the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science
• Taught in Notre Dame's graduate program in Counseling Psychology and eventually resigned from both the University and from the Holy Cross Fathers in 1974.
• Developed private practice in Arizona and California and has worked as a consultant to countless organizations, corporations, law firms, families and individual executives.
• With his wife, the California artist Nancy Waite Parke, Dr. Boland presently resides in Carlsbad, CA

Timothy M. Dempsey ('89)

• Bachelor of Arts 1989, English, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Arts 1993, English Language and Literature, Catholic University of America
• Master of Business Administration 2004, University of Tennessee
• Dismas House Chattanooga Founding Director
• Chattanooga Endeavors, Inc., Founder and CEO
• Tennessee Community Resource Board, Chairman
• Hamilton County Prisoner Reentry Consortium, Chairman
• Scenic Land School, Trustee
• Notre Dame Alumni Club of Chattanooga, Past President

Arina O. Grossu ('06)
 

• Bachelor of Arts 2006, Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Arts 2008, Theology, Dominican House of Studies
• Certified in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
• Intern, Production Assistant, EWTN, The World Over Live
• Best Undergraduate Business Plan 2006, Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
• Notre Dame Right to Life President, 2005-2006
• Founded Annual Collegiate Conference 2005 (now called Motherhood Resource Committee)
• Co-Founder, Vice-President, Orestes Brownson Council on Catholicism and American Politics, Notre Dame, 2004-2005
• Co-Founder, Managing Editor of Advocata Nostra, The Catholic Publication of Notre Dame, 2004-2005

Dr. Thomas S. Hibbs (’83, ’87)

• M.M.A ('83) and Ph.D ('87) in Medieval Studies from University of Notre Dame
• Served on faculty of Thomas Aquinas College
• Served for thirteen years on the faculty of Boston College as full professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department
• Currently Dean of the Honors College and Distinguished Professor of Ethics & Culture at Baylor University
• Author of scholarly books on St. Thomas Aquinas
• Frequent contributor to numerous publications including First Things, National Review Online, and Catholic World Report
• Frequent lecturer and radio commentator on scholarly and cultural issues

Dr. John A. Gueguen, Jr. ('56, '58)

• Bachelor of Arts 1956 Communication Arts, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Arts 1958 Political Science, University of Notre Dame
• Instructor, political science, University of Notre Dame 1958-1966
• Doctor of Philosophy 1970 Political Philosophy, University of Chicago
• Lecturer, Academic Adviser 1970-1972, University of Chicago College
• Professor, Political Philosophy 1972-1996, Illinois State University.
• Numerous professional affiliations, publications, honors.
• Currently Professor Emeritus.

Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJ (’89)

• Bachelor of Arts 1989 Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
• Master of Arts 1995 Theology DeSales School of Theology, Washington, D.C.
• Master in Catholic Educational Leadership 2009, University of San Francisco
• Ordained Priest of St. Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart (The Josephites) May 20, 1995
• Assistant Pastor, Our Mother of Mercy Church, Beaumont, TX 1995 – 1999
• Roman Catholic Chaplain, Howard University, Washington, DC 1999– 2004
• Member, Administrative Team, Hurricane Katrina Merged School (M.A.X), New Orleans, 2006
• Principal, St. Augustine High School, New Orleans, 2006 – 2010
• President, St. Augustine High School, New Orleans, 2010 – present
• Chairman, Josephite Pro-Chastity, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life Committee
• Member, Admissions Advisory Board, University of Notre Dame, 2008 – present

Dr. Susan Biddle Shearer ('88)

• Bachelor of Arts 1972, Purdue University.
  
• Master of Public Affiars 1980, Indiana University at South Bend.
  
• Doctorate of Philosophy 1988 Government & International Studies, University of Notre Dame.
  
• Former Senior Market Research Analyst, MicroSwitch Division of Honeywell.
  
• Dissertation (The Domestic Economics and International Politics of U.S. Foreign Trade Policy:1945-1980) published by Garland Press in 1988 in its series of best political economy analyses of the year.
  
• Adjunct Professor Political Science, Valparaiso University, 1988 to present.
  
• Teach classes in the following areas: Comparative Politics, International Relations, International Law, U.S. Foreign Policy, Faith, Conflict and War.
  
• Expertise in Middle Eastern politics and terrorism.