Theodore Hesburgh (Father Ted) president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, continues in a quiet but pivotal way to advance the interests of the University he led for 35 years. Considered one of the most influential figures in higher education in the 20th century, he is now 89 years old.

Father Hesburgh stepped down as head of Notre Dame on June 1, 1987, ending the longest tenure at that time among active presidents of American colleges and universities. After a yearlong sabbatical, he returned to a retirement office on the 13th floor of the newly named Hesburgh Library. One of his first projects was completion of an autobiography, “God, Country, Notre Dame,” which was published in November 1990 by Doubleday and became a national best seller.

In July 2000, Father Hesburgh’s public service career was recognized when he became the first person from higher education to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives gathered in the rotunda of the Capitol as President Clinton presented the medal.

Father Hesburgh has held 16 presidential appointments over the years — most recently to the Commission on Presidential Scholars — and they involved him in virtually all major social issues — civil rights, peaceful uses of atomic energy, campus unrest, treatment of Vietnam offenders, and Third World development and immigration reform, to name only a few. At the same time, he remained a national leader in the field of education, serving on many commissions and study groups.

Father Hesburgh was born May 25, 1917, in Syracuse, N.Y., the son of Anne Murphy Hesburgh and Theodore Bernard Hesburgh, an executive of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. A brother, James, was graduated from Notre Dame in 1955 and lives in Edwards, Colo. Notre Dame’s president emeritus has a sister, Mrs. Robert O’Neill, who resides in Cazenovia, N.Y..