In 1988, Rob was assigned to the Joint Staff in the Pentagon as acquisition adviser to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he helped establish new acquisition policy and procedures for the Department of Defense. Later, back at ASC, he was responsible for the development and procurement of several major aircraft systems, including the B-1B, F-117, AC-130 Gunship, MC-130H Combat Talon II, and multiple reconnaissance aircraft. He became ASC’s vice commander, where he was selected for his first star (Brigadier General). He subsequently became the director of requirements at headquarters Air Force Material Command (AFMC) where he was promoted to Major General.

In May of 2000, Rob was appointed Deputy Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) – a Defense Agency at Fort Belvoir, Virginia – where he oversaw and managed all DoD activities related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) (Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological). He retired in February 2003 after 33 years of active service.

In September 2003, Rob joined a defense contractor as President of its Defense Division, which provided logistical support to all depots across the Department of Defense. In 2007, he joined a consulting firm in Dayton, Ohio, where he worked primarily with the F-35 Multi-National Joint Program Office in Crystal City, VA, helping them develop and implement sustainment strategies for all the services and international partners.

Today, Rob lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he enjoys golf, volunteering at Colonial Williamsburg, and participating in activities with his church (St Bede) and social outreach (Williamsburg House of Mercy).

“We believe it is important for higher education to help shape not only well-educated leaders, but also responsible citizens.”

In 1970, Javier won a four-year scholarship to the University of Notre Dame from St. George’s. Mary Beth headed off to St. Mary’s in 1971 but crossed the road to Notre Dame the next year— the first year that the University accepted undergraduate women. The two met on Notre Dame’s year abroad program in Innsbruck, where they traded the Golden Dome for the Goldenes Dachl, and loved every Alpine minute. Though from different continents and in different fields (Javier in Engineering and Mary Beth in Modern Languages), they found they had a great deal in common: faith, intellectual curiosity, love of travel, and a desire to make the world better in the tiny ways that they could. They married in 1975 and headed for grad school in Boston.

Javier completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at MIT. In 1991, he founded his own firm, Mikros Technologies, which specializes in micro-channel heat transfer and liquid cooling of electronics. Mary Beth completed her Ph.D. in American History at Brandeis University, and also in 1991 founded Crossroads Academy, a K-8 independent school in Lyme, New Hampshire. Crossroads had a twin emphasis on strong academic content and virtue-based character education. Mary Beth served as Head of School and then Board member.

How did Notre Dame influence them? One of Javier’s primary goals in founding Mikros was to offer employees a good workplace—a fulfilling, dignity-driven environment. The New Hampshire-based company is renowned for its cutting-edge heat dissipation technology and workplace excellence. As an educator, Mary Beth worked hard to make the lessons of history available to even our youngest students, designing and teaching strong K-8 history programs, and doing so with an emphasis on virtue. In 1995, she published the first version of Core Virtues: A Literature-Based Program in Character Education. The Core Virtues Foundation continued that work until Hillsdale College acquired the program, which it continues to steward.

Mary Beth and Javier regard it as one of the great joys in their lives that their son, Andrés (Andy) Klee Valenzuela, graduated from Notre Dame in 2009 with a degree in Engineering. He now serves on the University’s College of Engineering Advisory Board. Both Javier and Mary Beth are Golden Domers, having attended their 50th reunions at Notre Dame.

They regard Our Lady’s University as the inspiration of their youth, their family heritage, the place that brought them together, and the institution that buttressed the highest values that undergird their lives.

Over the past ten years, we have been fortunate to establish two charitable remainder trusts that will provide scholarships honoring two of Notre Dame’s finest. Our initial trust was created in memory of Mara Fox, a Lyons Hall resident (like our younger daughter) who was tragically killed in 1993. We were blessed to meet and become friends with Mara’s mother, Teresa McCarthy, through Lyons’ signature event, The Mara Fox Run. Teresa is the embodiment of grace despite heartbreaking loss.

Meeting Teresa, we knew we were being called to honor Mara’s memory. The Buddie Family Scholarship in Memory of Mara Fox is our answer, our prayer to ease some of her mother’s pain, and our gift to future students from Mara’s high school.

In 2013, our family added a son when our daughter Melissa married Denes Veres. Denes was a shot putter on the track team, a Big East champion, and a school record-holder for over 10 years. Fate (and the good Lord) truly smiled on us when Denes was awarded a grant-in-aid to attend Notre Dame. His college career was enhanced by his coach, mentor, and friend, Adam Beltran. Adam even served as a gift bearer when Denes and Melissa were married at Sacred Heart Basilica.

Sadly, Adam succumbed to cancer in 2023 after a long and courageous fight. The Veres/Buddie Family Memorial Track & Field Grant-in-Aid will give future high school track athletes the chance to attend the University while preserving the memory of a great Notre Dame man. And, with any luck, maybe some other fortunate parents will be able to add a track star to their family as well!

Our parents greatly valued Catholic education. In 1980 and 1981, we graduated debt-free. Most students today are not so lucky. The gifts our parents gave us, along with the courage of Teresa and Adam, inspired us to find a way to help future students experience the University that helped shape us into who we are.

Katie is a legacy (Rob Harness, Class of 1969) from Saint Louis, Missouri, obtained her Master of Environmental Science degree from Duke University, and has worked in both the federal and private sectors in environmental management, currently working as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a large-scale environmental remediation project. Katie lived in Farley Hall, was a Science-Business major, served on the Student Senate, played flag football and intramural soccer, and was a member of a student advisory board to the Notre Dame Board of Trustees during her senior year.

Joey and Katie’s most memorable moment at Notre Dame was, ironically, leaving campus in spring 1999 to participate in the London Program, where they first met. After graduate school, they were married in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart by Father Peter Rocca, C.S.C. They have three wonderful children, Anna and Margaret (who are identical twins), and Joseph, all of whom remind them daily of what is most important in life.

The Leniskis have called Nashville, Tennessee, home for the last twenty-plus years. Both Joey and Katie have remained committed donors to the University, and Joey has been serving as an ND Loyal Ambassador performing outreach to alumni constituents for the last several years. They have also enjoyed returning to campus for their Class Reunions and attending ND Football games both at home and on the road. They are honored to be members of the Badin Guild and to give back to the University that nurtured and prepared them for their amazing life journey.

As one with deep devotion to Our Lady, Mother Mary, Hank’s journey led him to the University of Notre Dame as an undergraduate in the fall of 1964. Life unexpectedly called him home to be with his parents during his father’s battle with cancer—a testament to his unwavering devotion to family. He completed his undergraduate education at Canisius College, where he excelled academically and was a member of the varsity baseball team. Yet the spirit of Notre Dame was undeniable, leading him back to pursue his law degree, which he completed in 1971.

Hank’s Notre Dame experience provided a strong academic foundation and forged an ethical compass that would guide his life and career. It was during one stop along Hank’s career path, while serving as assistant general counsel for Nestlé, that he met his beloved wife and lifelong partner, Rita Carbone, who worked as a marketing executive at the company. They built a vibrant family blessed with three children, Christina, Henry, and Mariana, in addition to their first daughter, Nicole, whom Hank had welcomed some years earlier during his previous marriage.

Hank’s successful career as a corporate general counsel at companies including Thomson Corporation (now Thomson Reuters) and chief executive officer of Markborough Properties Ltd necessitated a number of cross-country moves. Hank and Rita consciously embraced each new location as an opportunity to teach their children about adaptability and the richness of new experiences. Hank’s commitment to integrity extended beyond his legal practice. It permeated every aspect of his life, deeply influencing his children and shaping the enduring values they would embrace as their own.

Rita, an alumna of Newton College of the Sacred Heart and Boston College Carroll Graduate School of Management, found her own unique connection to Notre Dame during her marriage to Hank. As the birth of their daughter, Mariana, coincided with Hank’s 20-year Law School Reunion, Rita agreed to attend her first Notre Dame football game with him that fall. Rita was amazed by the University’s welcoming atmosphere and vibrant spirit.

Watching Notre Dame football as a family became a cherished tradition. One of their children’s most vivid and heartwarming memories of their father is Hank’s enthusiasm during these games—they recall him leaping from his chair, exclaiming, “Touchdown!”

On his 60th birthday, Hank received a gift that moved him deeply: a Notre Dame helmet signed by Brady Quinn, inscribed with Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” This verse became a source of inspiration for Hank and a reminder of the faith that anchored him.

Despite a valiant fight, Hank passed away from chordoma, a rare cancer, in 2008. He was 61. Yet his spirit lived on, inspiring his son, Henry III, to follow in his footsteps to Notre Dame Law School, where he graduated in 2013. Henry always felt his father’s presence at Our Lady’s University, especially in the quiet reverence of the Grotto: a testament to the enduring impact of his father's connection to Notre Dame. This same, strong connection has also guided Rita’s path to the present, leading her to begin a new journey in love and partnership with James R. Pouliot, Class of 1975.

Hank is remembered not just for his professional accomplishments but for the depth of his devotion to his family, the unwavering strength of his character, and the steadfast integrity that guided his every action. The Henry G. Ciocca Law Fellowship, established to honor his father’s belief in education and now a tribute to Hank himself, beautifully encapsulates this legacy. As Rita eloquently states, it honors “The man who believed in education but had none and the man who was grateful” for the opportunities it afforded him—a father's dream realized in his son’s life.

Phil was commonly decked out in Irish gear and loved the University with the same wholehearted passion he brought to everything. Whether running his chemical company (where he was known to spray its consumer product Fresh Wave in his eyes to prove its all-natural safety) or cheering on his three kids, Phil never did anything halfway. True to form, he and Lori endowed scholarships at each of their three kids’ alma maters.

His Notre Dame story began in 1996 during a trip with members of his daughter Liz’s middle school basketball team. They attended the last football game in the original Notre Dame Stadium. Walking around campus that weekend, both Phil and Liz felt something special —the spirit, the energy, and a sense of belonging to something bigger. From that weekend on, they shared the dream that Liz would one day call Notre Dame home.

When Liz was accepted to the Class of 2007, no one was prouder than Phil. Their drives between Chicago and campus became a bonding ritual, a space to really talk, and Phil became a devoted Notre Dame parent. He understood then that the magic of this place extends beyond the student experience. He built lasting friendships with Notre Dame alumni in his Chicago circles and continued to make pilgrimages to campus for tailgates long after Liz graduated.

After the tragic loss of Declan Sullivan, who grew up down the street from the Coffeys, Phil became deeply involved with Horizons for Youth, the organization the Sullivan family chose to honor Declan’s memory. Through that cause, Phil became even more passionate about ensuring that good educational opportunities are available to all.

Phil’s experience as a Notre Dame parent, combined with his passion for expanding young people’s horizons, inspired him to give a gift to the University to support students most in need. The fund provides annual support for students as part of the AnBryce Initiative, helping them fully experience all Notre Dame has to offer.