John Staud, Ph.D.

John Staud did his undergraduate work at Notre Dame, graduating in 1987 magna cum laude with degrees in chemical engineering and English.  Awarded a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities, he completed his doctorate in English in 1992 at the University of Michigan, where he specialized in American literature.  His scholarly activity has focused on the writings of Herman Melville, and prior to returning to Notre Dame, he taught British and American literature as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago and at Jesuit high schools in Chicago and Denver.

In 1996, John returned to Notre Dame to join the leadership team of the ACE Service through Teaching program and to teach in the English department, where he continues to teach courses in American literature.  More recently, John has assumed responsibility for helping to lead the pastoral formation and administrative areas of ACE's growing number of initiatives.  A fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives, he is principal author of the final report of the Notre Dame Task Force on Catholic Education and co-author of To Nurture the Soul of a Nation: Latino Families, Catholic Schools, and Educational Opportunity.