People

G. Marcus Cole
Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law
The Religious Liberty Initiative was born of a promise that Dean Cole made to University President Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., when he became the Law School’s dean in 2019. The initiative aims to put Notre Dame on the forefront of scholarship and advocacy in this dynamic and important area of the law.

Stephanie Barclay
Director, Religious Liberty Initiative
Associate Professor of Law
Professor Stephanie Barclay’s research focuses on the role our different democratic institutions play in protecting minority rights, particularly at the intersection of free speech and religious exercise.
Professor Barclay is on leave for the 2021-22 academic year.
Read more about Professor Barclay.

John Meiser
Supervising Attorney, Religious Liberty Clinic
John Meiser oversees the Religious Liberty Initiative’s clinical litigation efforts and helps to train students in the practice of law as they work to defend religious freedom for individuals of all faiths.

Brendan Wilson
Adjunct Professor of Law
Brendan Wilson is a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, where he serves as a member of the firm’s corporate and tax-exempt organizations practice groups. At Notre Dame Law School, Wilson is an adjunct professor of law with responsibility for the transactional component of the Religious Liberty Clinic.
Read more about Brendan Wilson.

Francesca Genova Matozzo
Legal Fellow, Religious Liberty Clinic
Prior to joining the Religious Liberty Initiative in August 2021, Francesca Genova Matozzo litigated programmatic challenges for the U.S. Department of Justice, and clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Read more about Francesca Genova Matozzo.

Nicolás Munsen
Interim Legal Assistant, Religious Liberty Clinic
Nicolás Munsen earned his bachelor’s degree in the Program of Liberal Studies and theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2017. He then attended the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, receiving a Master of Theological Studies degree in 2019. Before joining the Law School, he taught religion at St. Adalbert’s Catholic School in South Bend, Indiana.
Faculty Fellows

Roger Alford
Professor of Law
Professor Alford teaches and writes in a wide range of subject-matter areas, including international trade, international arbitration, international antitrust, and comparative law.
Read more about Professor Alford.

Gerard V. Bradley
Professor of Law
Professor Bradley teaches Legal Ethics and Constitutional Law. In addition, he directs the Natural Law Institute and co-edits The American Journal of Jurisprudence, an international forum for legal philosophy.
Read more about Professor Bradley.

Samuel L. Bray
Professor of Law
Professor Bray's scholarship focuses on remedies and equity, and he teaches Remedies, Civil Procedure, Property, and Constitutional Law. Bray is also a McDonald Distinguished Fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.
Read more about Professor Bray.

Paolo Carozza
Professor of Law
Concurrent Professor of Political Science
Director, Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Professor Carozza’s expertise is in the areas of comparative constitutional law, human rights, law and development, and international law.
Read more about Professor Carozza.

Diane Desierto
Professor of Law and Global Affairs
Faculty Director, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law
Holding a joint appointment with the Keough School of Global Affairs, Professor Desierto teaches, publishes, and practices in several areas of international law and human rights.
Read more about Professor Desierto.

Rev. Robert Dowd, C.S.C.
Associate Professor of Political Science and Assistant Provost for Internationalization
A graduate of Notre Dame, Rev. Dowd received his doctorate in political science from UCLA. His research interests include African politics, ethnic politics, and the relationship between religion, political institutions, national identity, and human development.

Nicole Stelle Garnett
John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law
Nicole Stelle Garnett's teaching and research focus on education policy and topics related to property law (especially land use and urban development policies). Currently, she is engaged in an ambitious research effort in collaboration with scholars from around the world to gain a comprehensive understanding of the legal rules governing, and public funds available to, faith-based schools in the Global South.
Read more about Professor Garnett.

Richard W. Garnett
Paul J. Schierl/Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law
Concurrent Professor of Political Science
Director, Program on Church, State & Society
Professor Garnett teaches and writes about the freedoms of speech, association, and religion and constitutional law more generally. He is a leading authority on questions and debates regarding the role of religious believers and beliefs in politics and society.
Read more about Professor Garnett.

Mary Keys
Associate Professor of Political Science
Professor Keys’ research and teaching interests span a broad spectrum of political theory, with a special focus in Christianity, ethics, and political thought.
Read more about Professor Keys.

Rev. John Paul Kimes
Associate Professor of the Practice, Notre Dame Law School
Raymond of Peñafort Fellow in Canon Law, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture
Prior to joining the Notre Dame Law School faculty, Rev. Kimes served for 11 years as a canon lawer at the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Tocqueville Associate Professor of Religion & Public Life, Department of Political Science
Concurrent Associate Professor of Law
Professor Muñoz is the founding director of Notre Dame's undergraduate minor in Constitutional Studies and directs Notre Dame's Tocqueville Program for Inquiry into Religion and Public Life.
Read more about Professor Muñoz.

Daniel Philpott
Professor of Political Science
Professor Philpott specializes in religion and global politics, focusing on religious freedom, reconciliation, the political behavior of religious actors, and Christian political theology.
Read more about Professor Philpott.

Christian Smith
William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology
Professor Smith’s research interests include social theory, culture, capitalism, globalization, environment, exploitation, philosophy of social science, religion, and youth.
Read more about Professor Smith.

O. Carter Snead
Professor of Law
Director, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture
Concurrent Professor of Political Science
Professor Snead is one of the world’s leading experts on public bioethics — the governance of science, medicine, and biotechnology in the name of ethical goods. His research explores issues relating to neuroethics, enhancement, human embryo research, assisted reproduction, abortion, and end-of-life decision-making.
Read more about Professor Snead.