$10 million gift funds new Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship space and services
Milestone 55 — On June 4, 2018, the Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship (NFCDS) officially opened in the northeast section of the Hesburgh Library’s 2nd Floor. The space was made possible through a $10 million gift from the Marilyn & Rudolph M. Navari Charitable Foundation in July 2015.
This endowment, the largest single gift in the Hesburgh Libraries’ history, surpassed the $6 million Ford Foundation Challenge Grant given to establish the construction of what would become the Hesburgh Library. The Navari family’s generous gift would not only fund the new NFCDS space, but also support library services and initiatives related to the center.
“I am deeply grateful to Rudy and Jane Navari and their family’s foundation for this generous gift,” said Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., when the gift was announced. “It recognizes the importance of a library for any university community and the centrality of the Hesburgh Libraries for Notre Dame. This gift will allow us to expand and enhance our library services through digital technology to support the critical work of scholars now and in the future.”
“As the digital landscape rapidly evolves, libraries have emerged as key partners throughout the full life cycle of teaching and research,” said then Edward H. Arnold University Librarian Diane Parr Walker. “The Navari family’s gift will bring together technology, digital library expertise, and subject area expertise to equip our next generation of scientists and scholars to create new knowledge in a digital environment and make a more profound impact in the world.”
The new space included:
- A lecture-capture classroom, flexible-use classroom, and conference room
- A data visualization lab
- A specialty technology room for housing loanable equipment, 3D printers and other “maker” technologies, and the Legacy Technology Collection
- A dual-monitor computer cluster with specialty software such as transcription and network diagramming applications
- Screen-sharing and collaboration tables
- An office suite for faculty and staff workspaces
To recognize the generosity of Rudy and Jane Navari, the space was blessed by Rev. Edward A. "Monk" Malloy, C.S.C., and formally dedicated on September 29, 2018. University leadership, friends, and special guests attended, including the Hesburgh Libraries Advisory Council. The event highlighted the new spaces and their capabilities, including demonstrations of the Legacy Technology Collection, presentations offering insights into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications, and the opportunity to use virtual reality technology to explore historic building techniques.
Today, the NFCDS provides digital scholarship expertise, access to specialized hardware and software, and technology-enriched spaces for Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students in any academic discipline at critical points throughout their research and learning journeys.
With partnerships campus-wide, the NFCDS is home to an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff who offer workshops, consultations, and connections to collaborators in areas including data use and analysis, digital humanities, geographic information systems, research data management, text mining and analysis, virtual reality, and 3D modeling and printing.
