People

G. Marcus Cole

Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law
Founder, Religious Liberty Initiative

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.

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.

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.

Anna Bradley

Program Manager, Religious Liberty Initiative

Anna's primary responsibilities as Program Manager of the Religious Liberty Initiative include handling RLI's events, helping manage relationships with outside coalitions and stakeholders, and coordinating public relations efforts and communication strategy.

Laura Sniadecki

Legal Assistant, Religious Liberty Initiative

Laura Sniadecki joined Notre Dame Law School as the Legal Assistant for the Religious Liberty Initiative in July 2022. Prior to joining the Law School, she worked for the University of Alabama. Laura earned her B.A. in journalism from Indiana University.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sherif Girgis

Associate Professor of Law

Professor Girgis’ work at the intersection of philosophy and law — including criminal law, constitutional liberties, and jurisprudence — has appeared in academic and popular venues. He is the co-author of Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination, released by Oxford University Press in 2017.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.