This month, the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government welcomed Dr. Don Stelluto to our team as the Center’s Co-Director. Dr. Stelluto specializes in U.S. Constitutional history and 19th century studies and has over 20 years of experience in university administration.
Prior to joining the CCCG, Dr. Stelluto served as the executive director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, associate director of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, executive assistant to the dean of the College of Arts and Letters, and as faculty with the Phoenix Institute Summer Session Program. He was awarded Notre Dame’s Presidential Award for Leadership in 2013. Dr. Stelluto has authored articles on western legal history, the American South, and the Civil War era. His current project is a book-length study of southern constitutionalism, with a focus on Civil-War era courts and constitutional issues.
"Don Stelluto is a perfect match for CCCG,” said CCCG Director, Professor Phillip Muñoz. “His academic background in American constitutionalism lies at the heart of our educational mission. And his senior administrative experience will be especially welcome during this time of the Center's extraordinary growth."
At the CCG, Dr. Stelluto will focus on contributing to the academic programs of the Center and building academic and programmatic infrastructure, especially looking ahead to the next 3-5 years of its growth and development as a major center for serious thought and discussion on constitutive matters.
“I am delighted to be serving in this role at the CCCG, working together with Phillip, a talented CCCG team, superb interlocutors in the Department of Political Science, and returning to the College of Arts and Letters,” Dr. Stelluto stated. “The Center offers us a distinctive opportunity for serious study of the substantive constitutive issues of history as well as of our time. It also plays a unique role in bringing together a range of positions and individuals who can model civil and productive discourse and engagement. This modeling is essential to our study of fundamental questions of modern citizenship and considerations of how we constitute our political and social communities. For me, this is exciting and important work.”
Dr. Stelluto earned his master’s degree in American legal history from California State University, Fullerton, and his PhD in U.S. Constitutional history from the University of Maryland along with a doctoral minor in Italian culture and history. Before coming to Notre Dame, he served as a history professor at California State University, Fullerton, as well as in administrative roles in the academic, finance, and administrative divisions, and in statewide higher education governance in California.