Former professor donates Maltese collection to Kresge Law Library

A special collection focused on the Republic of Malta is being added to the Kresge Law Library at Notre Dame Law School. 

The collection was donated by Douglas Kmiec, a former U.S. ambassador to Malta and professor at the Law School in the early 1980s. Kmiec said he donated the collection in memory of Joseph Buttigieg, a Maltese native who began teaching in Notre Dame’s English department in 1980, the same year Kmiec started teaching at the Law School.

Buttigieg, a highly respected scholar and popular professor, died in January.

“One reason to make the gift is that Joe and I were rookies together, but there’s more,” Kmiec said. “Since the materials were public acts of diplomatic friendship, they should be publicly accessible. Given our interlocking faith histories and cultural understanding, can there be any better place than Notre Dame?”

Thomas Mills, associate dean and director of the Kresge Law Library, said the collection is a welcome addition to the Law Library’s holdings.

“The collection is a wonderful illustration of not only Maltese history but of this friendship between two scholars,” Mills said. “We hope Notre Dame lawyers and law students are enriched by its presence.”

For more information on the Kresge Law Library, visit law.nd.edu/library.