This week, professor of law and global affairs Diane Desierto and research professor emeritus of theology Robert Gimello cut ties with the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, furthering pressure on the University to rescind the appointment of professor Susan Ostermann to head the Institute.
This pressure comes as the University continues to defend Ostermann’s appointment.
Desierto, who had previously served as a faculty fellow in the Liu Institute, cited Pope Leo XIV’s statements on abortion in a post on LinkedIn as a driving force of her actions.
“All I will say on this is that it should not surprise anyone that in my work of teaching, scholarship and service at our preeminent Catholic university, I take and reflect on Pope Leo XIV’s words seriously,” Desierto wrote.
Desierto quoted a Jan. 31 speech by the pontiff, in which he stated, “No policy can genuinely serve the people if it denies the unborn the gift of life, or if it neglects to support those in need, whether in their material circumstances or in their spiritual distress.”
She confirmed her resignation from her position in the Liu Institute to The Observer but declined to comment further on the matter.
Gimello also confirmed to The Observer that he had cut ties with the Liu Institute, where he had served as a fellow and later emeritus fellow. Gimello wrote in his resignation letter that he resigned the position “in dismay, and with regret.”
In a statement to The Observer, Gimello explained that his decision to resign stemmed from the Institute’s decision to appoint Ostermann to her new role, describing her as “a scholar who has repeatedly, publicly and adamantly proclaimed her opposition to (verging at times, it seems to me, on contempt for) the Catholic Church’s firm teaching that protection and nourishment of human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is a sacred duty incumbent upon the whole human community.”
“Continued formal association with a unit of the University led by such a person is, for me, simply unconscionable — this regardless of whatever considerable talents and accomplishments the appointee might otherwise bring to the job,” Gimello continued.
Gimello questioned whether Ostermann would be able to separate her personal convictions from her position and do justice to the University’s Catholic views through the work of the Institute.
“I doubt that anyone so hostile to, or dismissive of, those views — as this newly appointed person seems clearly to be — even if she were to try to muffle her hostility, could do justice to Notre Dame’s properly Catholic endeavors in and about Asia,” he wrote.
Before being appointed, Ostermann vocally voiced support for abortion rights on numerous occasions. Between 2022 and 2024, Ostermann co-authored 11 op-eds on abortion in numerous outlets, including the L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune. Ostermann compared anti-abortion advocacy to white supremacy and racism and described abortion as “freedom-enhancing, in the truest sense of the word” and “consistent with integral human development” in the former article. She described those who supported anti-abortion laws as “complicit” in “violence, sexual abuse and trauma.” Ostermann has also served as a consultant for the Population Council, a group which supports abortion and contraceptive access.
In response to Ostermann’s co-authored Dec. 5 op-ed in the Chicago Tribune titled “Lies About Abortion Have Dictated Health Policy,” then University President Fr. John Jenkins penned a response letter to the editor stating “their essay does not reflect the views and values of the University of Notre Dame in its tone, arguments or assertions.”
The University declined to give an additional comment in response to Desierto’s and Gimello’s resignations and referred to their Jan. 31 comment which defended both Ostermann’s appointment to head the Liu Institute while referencing the University’s position on abortion.
“She is well prepared to expand the Institute’s global partnerships and create impactful research opportunities that advance our dedication to serving as the preeminent global Catholic research institution,” the statement reads. “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’s commitment to upholding the inherent dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life at every stage is unwavering.”
Notre Dame’s Institutional Statement Supporting the Choice for Life states that “consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church on such issues as abortion, research involving human embryos, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other related life issues, the University of Notre Dame recognizes and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.”
Following Ostermann’s appointment, professor emeritus of history Fr. William Miscamble confirmed in an op-ed in First Things that “A number of distinguished senior faculty have made representations to the administration to have Ostermann’s appointment rescinded. These requests have been denied.”
The matter had then been brought to the Notre Dame’s Board of Fellows, composed of six clergy members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross and six laypeople, for their consideration, Miscamble said. Per the University’s website, the Fellows have the power to “ensure that the University maintains its essential character as a Catholic institution of higher learning.”
According to a report by National Review, the Notre Dame Trustees and Fellows met on Wednesday and Thursday of this week in Naples, Florida for their annual winter meeting.
Notre Dame Right to Life also penned a letter to the editor published Tuesday in The Observer condemning Ostermann’s appointment.
