Theodore Hesburgh The Rev . Theodore Martin Hesburgh , CSC , STD ( born May 25 , 1917 ) , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross , is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame . He is the namesake for TIAA - CREF ' s Hesburgh Award . Hesburgh grew up in Syracuse and had wished to become a priest since early childhood . He studied at Notre Dame until his seminary sent him to Italy . He studied in Rome until he was forced to leave due to the outbreak of World War II . He graduated from The Catholic University of America in 1945 , having earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology . He became executive vice - president in 1949 and served in that position for 3 years . President . Hesburgh served as Notre Dame ' s President for 35 years ( 1952 – 87 ) , the longest tenure to date . He supervised dramatic growth , as well as a transition to coeducation in 1972 . During his term , the annual operating budget rose by a factor of 18 from $ 9 . 7 million to $ 176 . 6 million , the endowment rose by a factor of 40 from $ 9 million to $ 350 million , and research funding rose by a factor of 20 from $ 735 , 000 to $ 15 million . Enrollment nearly doubled from 4 , 979 to 9 , 600 , faculty more than doubled 389 to 950 , and degrees awarded annually doubled from 1 , 212 to 2 , 500 . Hesburgh served as a member of the United States Civil Rights Commission from 1957 , and Chairman from 1969 , until his dismissal by President Richard Nixon in 1972 due to his frequent opposition to Nixon policies . He also served in a number of other posts on government commissions , non - profit organization boards , and Vatican missions , beginning with his appointment to a science commission by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954 . He was a contributor to the 1958 analysis of the U . S . education system , " The Pursuit of Excellence " , commissioned by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as part of its Special Studies Project . In 1967 , he led an academic movement which issued the so - called Land O ' Lakes statement which insisted upon " true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of whatever kind , lay or clerical " . According to Rick Perlstein in , Hesburgh was considered by George McGovern as his running mate in the 1972 presidential election . McGovern chose Thomas Eagleton . Hesburgh was a key figure in anti - Vietnam War student activism . After discovering a student plot to burn the Notre Dame campus ROTC building in 1969 , Hesburgh issued a letter to the student body outlining the University ' s stance . The letter was later reprinted by the New York times and Washington Post . At the request of President Richard Nixon , Hesburgh advised Vice President Spiro Agnew regarding controlling violence on college campuses . Hesburgh generally disagreed with US policy in Vietnam and favored accelerated withdrawal of US troops . From 1977 to 1982 Hesburgh was chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation . President Jimmy Carter appointed him to a blue - ribbon immigration reform commission in 1979 ; the commission ' s finding — that any national immigration reform proposals can succeed only if the American national border is properly secured beforehand — has been cited by various opponents of illegal immigration to the United States , especially those who are Catholic or sympathetic to Catholic views . He was one of the founders of People for the American Way . Hesburgh served on the Knight Commission that overhauled college sports from 1990 to 1996 . Hesburgh was a major figure in US politics and the Catholic Church from the 1950s to the 1990s , and he is still influential today . He is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network and is a strong supporter of interfaith dialogue . In 2009 , he supported the invitation for Barack Obama to speak at Notre Dame , which was controversial because of Obama ' s strong endorsement of pro - choice legislation . As of 2014 he still lives on the Notre Dame campus . Honors and awards . Hesburgh has had many accomplishments , honors , and awards in his public career and he is " the recipient of over 150 honorary degress , the most ever awarded to one person . " He became the first individual from post - secondary education to be awarded the United States Congressional Gold Medal in 2000 . He has served in over sixteen presidential appointments " involving him in civil rights , peaceful uses of atomic energy , campus unrest , and immigration reform - - including the United States policy of amnesty for immigrants in the mid - 1980s . " He was the first priest to be elected to the Board of Overseers at Harvard and for two years served as president of the Harvard Board . He also served as a director for the Chase Manhattan Bank . While serving on the Board of the United States Institute of Peace , he " helped organize a meeting of scientists and representative leaders of six faith traditions who called for the elimination of nuclear weapons . " He served as a trustee and later Chairman of the Board of the Rockefeller Foundation . He was appointed as ambassador to the 1979 UN Conference on Science and Technology for Development . Other awards include : He holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for “ Most Honorary Degrees ” , having been awarded 150 . Hesburgh Library . The University of Notre Dame ' s library opened on September 18 , 1963 as the Memorial Library . It was named after Father Hesburgh in 1987 . He has a private office on the thirteenth floor with the Olympic Torch from the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games .