Campus and Community

Life in South Bend

Whether you like the performing or visual arts, sports, music, or outdoor activities, South Bend has something for everyone. Located within driving distance from three major metropolitan areas—Chicago, Indianapolis, and Detroit—South Bend offers many of the same amenities of those larger cities within a more affordable environment.

Its small-town reputation belies the many social and cultural activities that area residents enjoy: Broadway plays and first-rate musical and performance artists at the Morris Performing Arts Center; outdoor music and arts festivals at St. Patrick's County Park; kayaking on and picnicking near the East Race Waterway, which provides a world-class kayak course; and watching the South Bend Silver Hawks, a single-A farm baseball team for the Arizona Diamondbacks, at Coveleski Stadium. All of these activities and more are available to students and families at far more reasonable prices than you would find in a larger city.

The Office of Community Relations

The Office of Community Relations promotes mutual understanding and supportive relationships between Notre Dame and its neighbors in the surrounding community through programs and partnerships that contribute to the common good.

As part of the Office of Public Affairs and Communication, Community Relations plays a key role in communicating the University's policies, projects, needs, and contributions to the South Bend area and, in turn, reflects the community's needs and concerns back to the University. Members of the Community Relations staff promote public service projects and activities of mutual benefit to the campus and the community, provide appropriate contact points on campus for public inquiries and requests for services, and advise other campus organizations on issues of local concern.