It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and
routinely ranks in the bottom 5 percent almost every category you look.
The resurgence of Dengue Fever
virus worldwide is principally due to
the development of resistance to normal control practices for mosquitoes.
As citizens of a country that is blessed with virtually
unlimited opportunity, it is sometimes
difficult to grasp the fact that in Asian,
African, and Latin American countries, over 500 million people are living in
absolute poverty. Ninety-
eight percent of all childhood deaths are in third world countries.
Millions of people die
every year from diseases that are treatable.
And in many cases, preventable. While some claim that
our opportunities and freedoms blind us to the plagues that
torment the poorest in the world, these gets are also the mechanisms by which we
are able
to dream of a world without disease, to address the global health crisis
and to pursue global solutions
for the world's most vulnerable people. What you've got to remember is that
the major diseases that the
are the issues in global health are
diseases that that don't kill Americans.
There is this sort of hope that those of us who work on these things
can somehow
make a difference. The fact that those who have chosen to stand against
diseases which pose little or no personal
threat is indicative of a mission that is driven by more than self-preservation
These diseases that we're seeking to address,
Malaria, for instance, Dengue Fever
virus are diseases that happen
to people in very poor and underdeveloped countries
and that's another reason why they're difficult to control.
Because these countries do not have the resources
Since its founding mission at the University of Notre Dame has been one of
service,
grounded in faith, and guided by a vision of what is possible when people of faith
work together to help solve the world's problems
by educating and inspiring people to
action.
Welcome to the Jordan Hall of Science, a building
this is as beautiful as it is rich educational resources.
Science has a tremendous history at the University of Notre Dame
And with the opening of this building, it takes a great step forward
to educating our students in science
for the 21st century. We're very excited
about the future of science at the University of Notre Dame.
Notre Dame has a distinctive mission within higher education.
We foster not only an intense passion for the intellectual
pursuits, but also a great attention
to the faith and to the heart. This is an opportunity for the university to say
to the world
that science should be at the service to the poor.
The commitment of Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students,
although a driving force in the effort to understand and eliminate disease,
is not enough. It's only by combining the vision of researchers
with the supporting resources of those who share the vision of global health
that diseases such as Malaria, Dengue fever
and Yellow fever will be eradicated.
My research is trying to find a means to
make a mosquito that cannot transmit malaria anymore
and to take advantage of our genetic understanding of
mosquitos to make it that way. The most important
part of our program in Haiti is to eliminate the disease Lymphatic
Filariasis.
There's about million-and-a-half people infected with the parasites in
Haiti, and about 120 million people around the world. We are also interested in
developing new classes of antibacterials.
I can't think of anything that's more satisfying
as an occupation than saving lives
and just the thought of "I can work on this one",
what about other diseases? it's exhilarating.
The University of Notre Dame's mission of service took a leap forward
because of the generosity of benefactors who made it possible to construct
the Jordan Hall of Science, a state-of-the-art science learning center
designed with the latest digital technology
and most advanced educational techniques.
It the world will reap the benefits of the generosity of those who shared the
vision.
Really, science is a way of knowing, it's a way of exploring
how's things behave by making observations
and by tying together phenomena in ways that give us
understanding. Students experience that
most authentically when they're making those observations and they're making
those inferences.
We can offer that in a laboratory setting in a way that we could never do
in a lecture setting. By having the capacity in this building for
forty separate types of specialized labs, we create experiences for students,
really engage them what it means to be a scientist,
not to just be a consumer of scientific information.
Jordan Hall is built on the idea of
active, rather than passive learning. The idea is learning by doing, that's an
easier way to word it.
That's going to prepare the students for the next
generation of scientific breakthroughs.
We value scientific inquiry at this university.
It's exciting to see this building finally come into existence. We've been
thinking about this buiding for decades, planning it for the last five years, and
now to see it as a reality is extremely exciting.
the opportunities that lie ahead are tremendous.
The impact that Jordan Hall boats for Global Health
is incalculable in that its true value will only be known in retrospect
as the world's diseases are addressed by the scientists in training
that passed through its doors. There's tremendous synergy
between the research efforts at the university
and opportunities for undergraduates to engage in a more full
educational experience. What Jordan does is it prepares our students in ways they
have not prepared in the
past. And what are the state-of-the-art techniques used
in research labs so that they can immediately transfer
that information and skill into
tackling problems that they're confronting in the world today. We recruit
very very good students. This is
an opportunity for all of them to be in a
very quality environment in terms research and
and education and quite frankly
the only thing that limits them is
the amount of passion that they bring to their own work.
Passion is something that can't be taught.
However what we can do is we can prepare your minds
and we can give you the skills that can make those dreams come true.
But Jordan Hall of Science will provide
future scientists with the tools they need to understand disease
to explore solutions and to forge the future of science
The generosity of those few,
with the commitment of many, promises a world that will be forever changed
for the better. It is trying to figure out how to solve some of these problems.
An important thing
for universities like Notre Dame to do? Absolutely. It's consistent with the
care and concern for the poor of the world that
really need the care and concern of us who have resources
The College of Sciences is extremely proud
and excited about the opening Jordan Hall of Science.
It represents a huge commitment on the part of the administration at the
University,
the trustees, and benefactors. We'll all be indebted
to these people for decades to come. We're very proud of it
we're going to use this building in every way we can.
to enhance the education of our students at Notre Dame.
We think it's a mission that is appropriate for
a Catholic university like the University Notre Dame
and we want it to be a premier university in every sense of the word.