Once again GALA ND/SMC’s will be holding our annual football tailgater on campus, this year for the ND/Miami of Ohio game on September 30th.  Kick-off is at 5:00pm, so the fun will begin around noon.  Stop by before the game to have some beverages and game-day munchies.  Last year over 30 students, alums and South Bend friends stopped by.  Questions? Contact Jack Bergen at jack.bergen@yahoo.com.

UPDATE: THE TAILGATER WILL BE HELD IN THE “JOYCE” PARKING LOT JUST SOUTH OF THE STADIUM.  LOOK FOR THE RAINBOW BALLONS!!

Over 30 alums and friends celebrated NYC Pride Monday night June 19th at the Duplex Cabaret. We were taken on a journey through New York via stories shared by Charles Hale and painted vividly by the musical talents of David Raleigh and their incredibly talented band.  For more pics go to: NYC Social Events.

GALA hosted two panels over the Alumni Reunion Weekend, one at both Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.  At Notre Dame, the theme of the panel was Inclusion & Diversity at Notre Dame – Join The Conversation.  It included members of the Black, Hispanic and LGBT Alumni communities.  At Saint Mary’s, the panel covered The Intersection of Saint Mary’s Core Values and LGBT Life Today and featured alumnae covering a range of decades.  For more pictures, go to GALA Events.

GALA ND/SMC Dooley Award Weekend – April 29, 2017

• Panel Discussion: “Reconciling Religious Freedom and Civil Rights”
  Note: The audio will not play when you open the link. After opening the link, first download the file, then you can play it locally.

Notre Dame Graduation 2017 – May 21, 2017

• Caleb “C.J.” Pine’s Valedictory
• Laetare Medal Winner Address by Fr. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J.
• We Stand For Videos from CNN, NBC and others on GALA’s YouTube Channel

On Saturday April 29th, GALA ND/SMC held our signature event, the Thomas Dooley Award Dinner & Ceremony, recognizing Kristen Matha SMC ’03 as this year’s recipient.  Attending the dinner were almost 100 alums, students, faculty and staff from both Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame, members of the South Bend Community as well as many of the Kristen’s friends from across the US and co-workers from the NCAA.

Kristen was introduced by Kara Kelly SMC ’96, Special Assistant to Saint Mary’s President Jan Cervelli and Kevin Lennon, NCAA Vice President for Division I Governance. 

GALA ND/SMC will bestow a $1,000 gift in Kristen’s honor to the Indiana Youth Group, an organization that supports LGBTQ youth in the Indianapolis community.

For more information on the evening, go to 2017 Dooley Award Weekend Celebration.

GALA will once again be hosting panels over the Alumni Reunion Weekend at both Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.  Come and lend your voices to the discussions.  Both panels will take place on Saturday June 3rd.  The ND, the panel will be at 1:30pm in DeBartolo room # 126.  At SMC, the panel is at 3:30pm in Spes Unica Room # 145.

For more information on the themes of two panels, go to GALA Events.

In January of 2017, the first regional chapter of the national Gay & Lesbian Alumni Association for Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s was created.  This group is called the GALA ND/SMC Club of New York City.  Their mission is to bring together the NYC metro area LGBT alums and friends from Notre Dame & St Mary’s in fellowship and to provide a forum for social events, community service, professional networking, and student support. 

The NYC Club is lead by a team of alumni volunteers whose goal is to provide programming that is fun, interesting and promotes camaraderie in their community. 

The NYC Club even has its own webpage.  It will be the “go to” spot containing all the activities and events hosted by the club.  Check it out at:  NYC GALA ND/SMC Club of NYC.

Dooley Award Ceremony – Dinner Registration Is Now Closed – Join us for other weekend events!

GALA-ND/SMC, the Gay and Lesbian Alumni/ae of the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College, is proud to announce the winner of the 2017 Thomas A. Dooley Award.  This year’s award recipient is Kristen Matha SMC ’03.

“It is our pleasure to recognize Kristen with this award” says GALA Chair Jack Bergen. “The work she has undertaken at both the NCAA and at her alma mater Saint Mary’s College to strive for greater inclusion and diversity exemplifies the true spirit our organization’s key values and of the courage displayed by Dr. Dooley, for whom the award is named.” 

Also being honored during the event with the Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement is Joseph Pequigney ND ’44 for his pioneering work in LGBTQ studies. 

Full information on the award recipients can be found at: 2017 Dooley Awards.

The Dooley Award presentation dinner will be held Saturday evening April 29th starting at 6:30pm at the Eck Visitor Center on Notre Dame’s campus (next to the ND Bookstore).   There will be a premium beer & wine open-bar reception from 6:30pm to 7:30pm followed by dinner and the award ceremony.  Registration is now closed.

The Dooley Award ceremony will be held during a Weekend Celebration April 28/29, 2017 in South Bend.  There will be a Welcome Event Friday evening April 28th, a Panel Discussion on Saturday April 29th, an After-Party following the Award Ceremony Saturday evening and a Morning Prayer Service at the Grotto on Sunday April 30th.

For the complete schedule of the weekend activities, go to:  LGBT Leadership Celebration Weekend.