Michael Sweikar, the executive director of the Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development (NDIGD), has received a concurrent faculty appointment within the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs.
Sweikar has been appointed concurrent assistant professor of the practice. He joined the faculty in March 2018 and will teach a course on "Global Development Proposal Writing" beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. Additionally, the concurrent appointment enables him to engage with research initiatives and mentor students.
In 2011, Sweikar was tapped by Notre Dame Research to helm the then recently established NDIGD. In his role as executive director, he oversees the operations and management of NDIGD, including strategy, staffing, academic integration, and programs. Under his leadership, NDIGD has helped bring in over $20 million to Notre Dame for global development programs and established or strengthened partnerships with organizations including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State, Catholic Relief Services, Accenture, and Coca-Cola, among others.
Prior to joining Notre Dame, Sweikar was a program manager at the National Center for State Court's International Division in Arlington, Virginia, where he supported the management and administration of USAID-funded rule of law projects, including the Kosovo Justice Support Program that supported the improvement of court administration, legislative drafting, and judicial training in Kosovo.
He holds a J.D. from the College of William and Mary Law School and a master's in public policy from the Thomas Jefferson School of Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. He earned his bachelor's in political science from the University of Notre Dame.
The Keough School of Global Affairs, founded in 2014 as Notre Dame’s first new degree-granting school or college in nearly 100 years, welcomed its first cohort of Master of Global Affairs students this past fall.
The Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development — an integral part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame — promotes human development and dignity among people worldwide through applied innovations, impact evaluation, education, and training that help build just and equitable societies.
Contact: Luis Ruuska, communications specialist, Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development, lruuska@nd.edu