Over the summer of 2024, the Center said goodbye to three longstanding and cherished members of the CCCG team. Leaving the CCCG was sad for each yet accompanied by new opportunities for their families and career.
For Associate Director Dr. Deborah O’Malley, the move came after she accepted a faculty position in the Institute of Constitutional Thought and Leadership at the University of Toledo, which will allow her to return to teaching and research on American constitutionalism. Administrative Coordinator Jennifer Smith, who helped to build the Center’s operations and robust calendar of events, and Program Coordinator Soren Grefenstette, who was foundational in developing student programming at the CCCG, both sought to prioritize their growing families.
Jennifer Smith was a founding staff member at the Center, becoming its very first employee in 2012. “None of the Center’s many accomplishments over the past decade would have been possible without her hard work and dedication,” said the Center’s Director, Vincent Phillip Muñoz. “Much of the Center’s distinctive elements that have developed over the years– especially including its trademark hospitality–originated as Smith’s personal touch. Jen was the steady presence that made everything work at the center from the very beginning. She really is CCCG’s founding mother!”
Professor Muñoz expressed similar appreciation for Soren Grefenstette. “She’s been with the Center since before her graduation from Notre Dame in 2019 and has been instrumental in developing CCCG’s student programming since then.”
Grefenstette began with the Center as a Tocqueville Fellow. After graduation she was appointed CCCG’s first post-graduate fellow and then stayed on with the CCCG in a range of other staff positions until this August. “Soren is a force of nature,” said Muñoz: “She was leading undergraduate seminars when she herself was an undergraduate.”
“Soren was the Center’s den mother,” Muñoz continued. “While we will miss her, it’s beautiful to watch her embrace her much higher calling as a wife and mother.”
Dr. O’Malley, who joined the Center in the fall of 2022, spent the past two academic years building up the Center’s student programming and was instrumental in elevating the Center’s premiere undergraduate program, the Tocqueville Fellows. Dr. O’Malley also worked closely with the Center’s growing community of more than 175 Constitutional Studies minors, advising and developing new and innovative programming for students.
CCCG Co-Director Don Stelluto had this to say regarding Dr. O’Malley’s efforts in building the Center’s undergraduate student community: “Debbie knows how to combine probative academics with warm interpersonal connections, and this enabled her to form productive relationships with so many students while also directing and teaching them. Though we miss her presence at the Center, we are delighted that she is back in the classroom full time, teaching and researching. She’ll remain a great colleague and we look forward to future collaboration with her.”
The CCCG is also excited to announce the four individuals who have joined the team before the 2024-25 academic year.
Tyler Castle, a current Ph.D. candidate in political science at Notre Dame, has taken on the role of Associate Director at the Center, assuming much of Dr. O’Malley’s former responsibilities for student engagement and activities. Prior to beginning his doctorate at Notre Dame, Castle spent almost a decade with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he worked to improve the quality of political discourse at college campuses and equip students for constructive engagement in politics and public life.
His current academic research focuses on Christian political thought and American constitutionalism. His dissertation explores the theological grounding for political moderation in the thought of Alexis de Tocqueville, Blaise Pascal, and Saint Augustine.
Anna Bradley also joined the CCCG in August as its Assistant Director of Operations and Engagement. A South Bend native, Bradley is a Double Domer, receiving her B.A. in anthropology and theology in 2018 and her Masters of Nonprofit Administration from the Mendoza College of Business in 2024.
Her position in the Center is a new one and will aim at improving the CCCG’s operational capacity and enhancing its current storytelling ability. Her six years of experience working at the university—often overseeing portfolios related to new program growth and development in the areas of academic programming, operations, and marketing—ensures that the CCCG will be able to reach a wider audience and communicate more effectively about the work it carries out in pursuit of its mission.
Luke Thompson, a May 2024 graduate of Notre Dame with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies, political science, and theology, has started as the newest member of the Center’s team. In addition to helping with the Center’s events, student programming, operations, and communications, Thompson’s role as a Pre-Doctoral Research Affiliate will task him with aiding the Center with research projects that are related to its topics of interest. Such projects will include original research, as well as helping CCCG faculty with their own projects.
Thompson was heavily involved with the Center in his undergraduate years, participating as a Tocqueville Fellow for several years and frequently enrolling in Constitutional Studies course offerings. Thompson’s return to the CCCG will enable him to gain valuable academic insights and aid in his preparation for further education in law and politics.
A familiar face at the Center since January of 2024 has been that of Harv Humphrey, who joined the CCCG staff as a temporary Office Coordinator and has quickly proved himself capable of a broad range of operational and support assignments. Humphrey, the second double Domer on the CCCG team, graduated with his B.A. from Notre Dame in 1976 and received his M.B.A. from the university in 1978.
He comes to the Center with decades of management experience in the private and public sectors, having served as Interim Managing Director of the University of Notre Dame Press from 2010 to 2015 and as Coordinator of Liturgical Ministries at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart from 2003 to 2017.
“His work has been integral to maintaining the continued work and growth of the Center amidst a number of staffing changes this spring and summer,” said Stelluto. “With his broad experience and excellent interpersonal skills, Harv has proven that he can handle just about any assignment or task.” His continuing role involves handling several important administrative tasks, such as maintaining the Constitutional Studies course registry, as well as facilitating better execution in every part of the CCCG’s event planning and work.
Stelluto reflected on the newest members of the CCCG and the future of the Center: “We have an exceptional team of wonderful people who possess excellent skills and experience, in addition to great hearts. We’re in the people and idea business, and we ask probative questions. Having a team that understands this dynamic and can be innovative and nimble in their approaches yet resolute in achieving the goals and mission of the CCCG is exciting. We’re looking forward to a great year and the start of a new chapter of growth, development, and excellence at the CCCG.”
To learn more about the work the CCCG staff is pursuing, join us at an event this fall or subscribe to our newsletter.