Vocally pro-abortion Notre Dame associate professor Susan Ostermann is declining a prestigious academic appointment following weeks of backlash from pro-life students, faculty, and Catholic bishops.
In January, Ostermann was appointed director of Notre Dame’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the Keough School of International Affairs. Keough School dean Mary Gallagher, a supporter of Ostermann, announced her decision to step down from the appointment in an email sent to students at the school Thursday.
“Professor Susan Ostermann, a member of the Keough School faculty who was recently appointed director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, has decided not to move forward as director,” Gallagher said in an email first reported by The Observer, Notre Dame’s largest campus paper.
“I am grateful for her willingness to serve and for the thoughtfulness with which she approached this decision.”
Ostermann will remain a member of the faculty. Elsewhere in the email, Gallagher praised her as a “respected scholar” of southeast Asian politics and governance. Ostermann joined Notre Dame in 2017 and specializes in southeast Asia. She has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Stanford University.
In a statement at the end of the email, Ostermann said she did not want her appointment to overshadow the Liu Institute’s research.
“My only goal in accepting the Liu Institute Directorship was to serve as a steward for the Institute’s world-class faculty, students and staff; it is not a position I applied for, but I was truly honored to take it on,” she said.
“At present, the focus on my appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the Institute performs, which it should be allowed to pursue without undue distraction. At the same time, it has become clear that there is work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish. Both academic inquiry and the full realization of human dignity demand this of us.”
Numerous Catholic bishops spoke out against Ostermann’s appointment, including Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Indiana’s Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, where Notre Dame is located. Earlier this week, Rhoades led a group of about 50 students in praying the Rosary for Notre Dame to remain faithful to its Catholic identity.
Notre Dame students have organized a demonstration against Ostermann this upcoming Friday and the protest is still set to occur even with her stepping down. As the Ostermann controversy unfolded, Notre Dame’s leading pro-life organization took to The Observer to speak out against her appointment. Anna Kelley, president of ND Right to Life, cited her personal backstory as a Catholic adoptee from China.
“I am so blessed to have escaped the fate that Professor Ostermann’s work has inflicted on so many innocent Chinese lives. Because I have been given the gift of life, I am choosing to speak out with my own testimony to bring attention to the real-life consequences that her ideology promotes,” Kelley said.
The Keough School announced Ostermann’s appointment to lead the Liu Institute last month and pro-life backlash soon ensued. The debate prompted a broader examination of Notre Dames commitment to its Catholic mission, especially when it conflicts with its status as a prestigious global research institution that supports academic freedom.
Ostermann has written numerous op-eds in support of abortion access, to the point where then-Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins rebuked her in 2022. Likewise, Ostermann has argued the pro-life cause is rooted in white supremacy and accused pregnancy resource centers of spreading falsehoods about abortion.
Notre Dame is institutionally opposed to abortion, a position consistent with the Catholic Church’s position. As America’s most prominent Catholic school, controversies related to Notre Dame often gain broader attention beyond campus confines.
Multiple scholars resigned from the Liu Institute because of Ostermann’s appointment earlier this month, around the time Notre Dame’s trustees gathered for annual winter meetings, as NR previously reported. Pro-life advocacy against Ostermann’s appointment grew significantly in late January when Father Bill Miscamble, professor emeritus of history at Notre Dame, wrote an article in ecumenical journal First Things laying out the situation. Father Miscamble criticized Gallagher and Notre Dame provost John McGreevy for appointing Ostermann to lead the Liu Institute.
“Notre Dame’s commitment to upholding the inherent dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life at every stage is unwavering. Those who serve in leadership positions at Notre Dame do so with the clear understanding that their decision-making as leaders must be guided by and consistent with the University’s Catholic mission,” Notre Dame previously told National Review in a statement defending Ostermann.
Notre Dame told The Observer it respects Ostermann’s decision to step down and praised her scholarly contributions to the Liu Institute.