From the Nominator

"In 1972, Notre Dame admitted women undergraduates for the first time. The magazine wanted to mark the 50th anniversary with a historical treatment along with articles, profiles, and first-person essays that explored various women's issues, challenges, friendships, and concerns, notably the uneasy relationship between women and the Catholic church. The edition generated a good amount of reader response—from gratitude for the depth, thoughtfulness, and honesty to vigorous opinions about women and the church, including criticism that we had ignored the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision (which we addressed in the subsequent issue because of timing). We had some cancel their subscriptions because we reported on a campus talk by Nikole Hannah-Jones and others because we had a photo of Amy Coney Barrett on the back cover along with other alumnae of note.    

Our approach was to select writers we knew would give us good stories and to encourage them to speak out on what bothers them, what they value, what challenges they face, and what they're thinking. We heard from a woman deliberating her identity in her middle years as well as a victim of long-haul COVID.    

The magazine has four editors and an art director. The staff size has been the same since 1978—before we produced 96-page issues, operated a robust website with new content daily, managed a social media presence, and offered podcasts. It is dependent year to year on reader donations through the voluntary subscription fund (all alumni receive the magazine free)."

From the Judges

There were a number of women-centric entries this year, and this magazine found a way to really make the topic very personal to their readers and to the institution. It feels like a special edition. The theme was carried throughout the publication in a very engaging way through strong writing and complementary visuals. We liked that alumni wrote key features in the magazine and that they didn't shy away from controversial topics.