On Friday (Oct. 10), General (Ret.) Martin Dempsey joined University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., for a conversation titled “Hope, Global Stability, and the Role of the United States,” as part of the 2025-26 Notre Dame Forum on “Cultivating Hope.” A standing room only crowd of more than 250 people attended the event in McKenna Hall, where Dempsey drew on his experiences as the senior leader of the United States Military, an award-winning author, and a professor of leadership to offer insights about the importance of creating a culture of hope and the powerful role of hope in leadership, “at a time when too few people are actually trying to cultivate hope,” he said.
“There is a very definite relationship between hope and trust, and in the military—and I think in most walks of life, actually—the success of leadership is in building trust among those entrusted to our care,” Dempsey said. “Hope and trust, in terms of leadership, are inseparable.”
Following the conversation, Dempsey offered Fr. Dowd a coin engraved with “Make It Matter”—a phrase that came to Dempsey following prayer one morning as a way to ensure he honors the sacrifice of fallen soldiers—as he encouraged everyone in the audience to continue to cultivate hope.
Watch the full conversation: