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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The University of Notre Dame says it has committed to becoming a carbon neutral campus by 2050 and plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 65% within the next nine years. President Rev. John Jenkins made the announcement Friday during a Notre Dame Forum focused on sustainability.

Jenkins says the university will continue to invest in geothermal, solar arrays, hydroelectricity, and other emerging technologies to reach the goals.

The university says from a baseline year of 2005, it has already exceeded its goal set in 2010 to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions per gross square foot by 2030.

“Since 2008, the need for additional space at the University, particularly in the area of research, has increased the square-footage of our buildings by one-third, requiring more heating, lighting and cooling,” said Jenkins. “Despite the increase in space, however, energy consumption dropped by 11 percent. I thank the dedicated and imaginative people responsible for these remarkable achievements.”

The university stopped using coal in October 2019.

Among its other initiatives, the university is partnering on a project to install a 2.5-megawatt hydroelectric generation facility on the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend. The school has also partnered with Fort Wayne-based Indiana Michigan Power to purchase power from a 20-megawatt St. Joseph Solar Farm in eastern St. Joseph County.

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Three Indiana organizations are among the best 100 places to work for IT professionals in the U.S., according to two trade publications. Insider Pro and Computerworld, both published by IDG Communications Inc, conducted the survey to find the top work environments for technology professionals.

The list is compiled based on a questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, career development, training and retention.

Indianapolis-based data and technology consulting firm Resultant is ranked No. 15 among small organizations, while Warsaw-based Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) is No. 20 and the University of Notre Dame is No. 32 among large institutions.

Resultant, formerly known as KSM Consulting, specializes in technology, data analytics and network solutions.

“We are intentionally building a place for people to grow and connect with each other while having a meaningful impact on our communities,” said Resultant Vice President of Talent Louonna Kachur. “This award is recognition for the organization we’ve built, but, more so, for the talented and dedicated team that supports each other every day as we help our clients, coworkers, and communities thrive.”

Resultant has grown by more than 45% over the past two years. It now employs 330 people throughout the Midwest, Colorado and Georgia. The company says it is looking to hire 50 more people, including software engineers and developers.

Click here to view the top 100 list.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WISH) — University of Notre Dame announced Tuesday it will move from in-person classes to online ones for the next two weeks due to an increase of COVID-19 cases, said the Rev. John I. Jenkins, the college’s president.

The university has seen 147 confirmed positive cases since classes resumed Aug. 10. Notre Dame said 927 people have been tested and all but one case was a student.

Notre Dame also said off-campus students shouldn’t come onto campus and on-campus students should not leave campus.

All gatherings on and off campus will be restricted to 10 or less people.

Varsity sports teams will still be allowed to gather and will continued to be monitored using established coronavirus protocols.

Jenkins said in an online address to students, “We believe we can take steps short of sending students home for remote instruction, at least for the time being, while still protecting the health and safety of the campus community.”

Most cases were students living off-campus and are linked to off-campus gathering where masks weren’t worn and social distancing wasn’t observed, according to Notre Dame.

Michigan State University said Tuesday students should stay home and continue their education remotely.

Coronavirus links

Indiana coronavirus timeline

With information from the Indiana Department of Health through March 4, 2021, this timeline reflects updated tallies of deaths and positive tests prior to that date.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The University of Notre Dame still has a football season to play, for the time being. That is good news for the northern Indiana economy, as it relies on the more than $100 million dollars the home games generate each season.

Lodging, food, and retail spending account for approximately $17 million per game for St. Joseph County, according to tourism officials.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Visit South Bend Mishawaka Executive Director Rob DeCleene said if the football season is postponed, it would be “impactful.”

“We’re home to perhaps the most storied program in college football history. We’re a bucket list destination when it comes to football, as such, it’s that much more impactful.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference, which Notre Dame football recently joined, said this week it still intends to allow for fall sports, unlike the Big Ten and the Pac-12 conferences.

Each football game draws a loyal fan base, filling the nearly 81,000 seats at Notre Dame stadium.

An economic impact study conducted by the university in 2018 shows ND football brings 660,000 visitors to the community with nearly half staying overnight in hotels.

DeCleene said while summer months have more visitors to the community, fall is the highest generating revenue period “because (hotel) rates are so much higher for football because we typically sell out, especially for the marquee games.”

However, the pandemic has hurt hotel occupancy rates and cut by about 50% the revenue generated by a 6% innkeepers’ tax.

”Summer has been trickling up, so it’s been somewhat encouraging,” said DeCleene.

As the hospitality industry struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic, VSBM is targeting within a 200-mile radius of South Bend, marketing to possible visitors in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne.

“The last couple of weeks we’ve been higher than national numbers in terms of occupancy, so it’s encouraging.”

Even with a football schedule, there is still no word from the university on how many fans will be allowed to attend, if any.

“I think that’s what we’re all hoping for, to still be able to host Notre Dame football in some way, shape or form. It’s such part of the fabric of this community,” said DeCleene, who has been with the Visit South Bend-Mishawaka office since 2010.

Before that, he worked at Visit Bloomington and understands the challenges and opportunities associated with universities.

“There’s always that hypothetical question of what would South Bend look like with Notre Dame. What would Bloomington look like without Indiana University,” speculated DeCleene. “We’re going to maybe get the chance this fall and winter, depending on what happens, because of the severe limitations on the ability to draw visitors to the campus.”

Until he hears otherwise about the season, DeCleene remains optimistic.

“With no news, we’re all just still hopeful. That’s what we’re focusing on. The season creeps closer and closer with each day.”

DeCleene says ND football games also increase air traffic in South Bend.

(AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference and Notre Dame are considering whether the Fighting Irish will give up their treasured football independence to play as a member of the league for the 2020 season that has been thrown into question by the coronavirus pandemic.

Two people involved in the ACC’s discussions about scheduling for the upcoming season told The Associated Press on Friday the ACC is looking at an 11-game schedule that would include 10 conference games and start Sept. 12. There are other models also being considered.

Under the 10-plus-one plan, Notre Dame would play a full ACC schedule, the people told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are still ongoing and details have not been disclosed. Whether those games would count in the standings and the Irish would be eligible to participate in the ACC championship game — and be eligible for the conference’s guaranteed spot in the Orange Bowl — is still to be determined. The final decision could come down to how revenue is shared between the conference and school, one of the people said.

The ACC’s university presidents will make the final call on a scheduling model. A meeting of the presidents is scheduled for Wednesday, one of the people said.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick declined comment when contacted by the AP via text. A request for comment from the ACC was not immediately returned. Online sports network Stadium first reported Notre Dame could possibly play as an ACC team this season.

In 132 years of playing football, Notre Dame’s storied program has never competed in a conference and its fans cherish the Irish’s status as a football independent. The private Catholic school in South Bend, Indiana, runs a national program with independence as the foundation of its brand.

Giving that up is not something Notre Dame would take lightly, even for a season.

Notre Dame has been a member of the ACC since 2014 for all sports but football and hockey. The Irish have had a scheduling agreement with the ACC in football under which Notre Dame plays five or six games per season against ACC teams.

The Irish had six games scheduled against ACC teams this season, but the pandemic has forced conferences and schools to come up with alternative plans for 2020. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have already announced they will play only conference games this season. That cost the Fighting Irish three games. ACC schools Miami and Virginia Tech also lost nonconference games because of the Big Ten’s decision.

The ACC is aiming to have a new schedule in place by next week.

A hurdle to be cleared for Notre Dame to play as a member of the ACC this season is revenue sharing.

Notre Dame has its own television deal with NBC and its own revenue sharing agreement with the College Football Playoff. Whether the ACC would get a piece of that revenue for this season still must be sorted out, one person said.

Notre Dame also receives some money from ACC Network distributions.

The ACC receives $66 million to share among its members annually from the College Football Playoff as part of its agreement with the Orange Bowl. The ACC champion, or another ACC team if its champion is in the playoff, is guaranteed a spot in the Orange Bowl.

Notre Dame normally has access to many of the ACC’s bowl tie-ins, but not the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame’s annual payout from the CFP, even if it doesn’t play in the semifinals or another New Year’s Six bowl, is $3.19 million.

Additionally, a conference receives $6 million for each team it places in the semifinals and $4 million for each team it places in non-semifinal New Year’s Six game.

Coronavirus links

Indiana coronavirus timeline

With information from the Indiana Department of Health through March 4, 2021, this timeline reflects updated tallies of deaths and positive tests prior to that date.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WISH) — An article in Notre Dame Magazine has revealed former Indiana governor and South Bend mayor Joe Kernan has Alzheimer’s disease.

In 1996, Frank O’Bannon and Kernan were elected as the state government’s top two executives, according to his biography on the National Governors Association’s website. They were reelected in 2000. Kernan became governor Sept. 13, 2003, after Gov. O’Bannon died from complications from a stroke. Kernan served as governor through Jan. 1, 2005. He was Indiana’s most recent Democrat to serve in the state’s top government job.

Associate editor Jason Kelly’s article also says Kernan, who is 74, has lost the ability to speak. Alezheimer’s disease is a progressive, irreversible neurological disorder and the most common form of dementia. Most victims are older than 65, but Alzheimer’s can strike at earlier ages. Symptoms may include memory loss, impairment of judgment, disorientation, personality change, difficulty in learning, and the loss of language skills. Alzheimer’s disease is defined by specific changes in the brain that occur before symptoms appear. Current drugs only ease symptoms and don’t reverse the course of the fatal disease.

Prior to joining state government, the Chicago native was the longest serving mayor of South Bend, winning election in 1987 and reelection in 1991 and 1995.

In 2005, Kernan formed an investment group to purchase the Silver Hawks, with the goal to keep the team from leaving South Bend. The team today is known as the South Bend Cubs.

According to his biography on the state’s website, Kernan, the oldest of nine children, graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend. He was a catcher on the baseball team at the University of Notre Dame, and graduated from there in 1968 with a degree in government.

Kernan entered the U.S. Navy in 1969 and served as a naval flight officer aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. In May 1972, Kernan was shot down by the enemy while on a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. He was held as a prisoner of war for nearly 11 months. Kernan was repatriated in 1973 and continued on active duty with the Navy until December 1974. For his service, Kernan received numerous awards, including the Navy Commendation Medal, two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Scientists in more than 100 locations around the world are hoping to discover a coronavirus vaccine, but who is monitoring the developments of their research?

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing have developed an online tool to track the unprecedented number of groups working on a similar outcome.

Called the Vaccine Mapper, the free, interactive online tool allows users to visualize everything from where the different vaccines are being developed around the world to the pre-clinical or clinical stages of development of the vaccine candidates.

“Never has there been a time when several vaccine candidates have been worked on within months of the emergence of a new disease — let alone more than 100,” said Geoffrey Siwo, assistant research professor of biological sciences, scientific lead of Vaccine Mapper.

Notre Dame said vaccine developers could potentially identify those using similar or differing vaccine development methods as well as see the stage of development competing vaccine candidates are in.

This could assist different vaccine developers to see synergies in their approaches and learn from each other.

“The Vaccine Mapper was developed to give a global picture of the various vaccine designs being explored so that developers and funders can seek strategic collaborations, share knowledge and identify redundancies and gaps in the whole field as they all work toward a common goal — find a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine,” said Siwo.

Siwo said the mapping system provides key scientific information about the different vaccine candidates, which could influence their immunological effects, manufacturing requirements and stability.

Notre Dame said the mapper utilizes public information on coronavirus vaccines pulled from multiple resources, including the World Health Organization, the Milken Institute and the global coronavirus cases map from Johns Hopkins University.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Ian Book rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two more, and No. 8 Notre Dame beat Wake Forest 56-27 on Saturday.

Book replaced Brandon Wimbush in the starting lineup and was 25 of 34 for 325 yards with touchdown passes covering 3 yards to Brock Wright and 7 yards to Chase Claypool, along with three short scoring runs.

He helped the Fighting Irish (4-0) more than double their previous season high for scoring and roll up a season-best 566 total yards, surpassing the previous high midway through the third quarter.

Before this one, Notre Dame hadn’t scored more than 24 in a game, and its wins over Michigan, Ball State and Vanderbilt came by a total of 20 points.

“I didn’t sleep great last night, because that’s a pretty big decision to make when you’re 3-0 and your quarterback that was leading your football team was 13-3 as a starter,” coach Brian Kelly said. “But I had a lot of confidence in Ian and I thought our offense played to the level that it was capable of. That certainly showed itself today.”

Jafar Armstrong had touchdown runs of 1 and 30 yards, and Tony Jones Jr. added a short scoring run for the Irish, who will ride their best start since 2015 into next week’s showdown with No. 7 Stanford.

Matt Colburn had a 2-yard touchdown run and Nick Sciba kicked two field goals for Wake Forest (2-2), which has lost two straight. Freshman Sam Hartman was 12 of 24 for 110 yards before he exited after taking a hard hit midway through the third.

“Notre Dame outplayed us. They outcoached us. They outprepared us. They were just more ready to go than us today, and they showed it,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “The score’s probably closer than the game was.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Notre Dame: So much for that quarterback controversy. It sure looks like the job belongs to Book, whose only previous start came last season in a rout of North Carolina and who led the rally that led to a victory over LSU in the Citrus Bowl. Kelly played it coy in the days before the game, saying both of his QBs would play. But as the points and yards kept piling up for the Irish, Wimbush never saw the field and never even took off his baseball cap.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons’ defense was exposed yet again. A group susceptible to the big play gave up another handful of them at the wrong times, a list led by Armstrong’s TD run and a 66-yard catch-and-run by Michael Young that set up another score. The continued inability to prevent explosive plays made it next to impossible to earn the program’s first victory against a top-10 opponent since 1946.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: Returns home to face No. 7 Stanford on Saturday.

Wake Forest: Plays host to Rice on Saturday.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Brandon Wimbush connected on a long touchdown pass to help No. 12 Notre Dame jump out to a big first-half lead, Te’von Coney and the defense made it stand with a late takeaway, and the Fighting Irish beat No. 14 Michigan 24-17 on Saturday night as the rivalry returned after a three-year hiatus.

A Green-out crowd welcomed the Wolverines back to Notre Dame Stadium and the Fighting Irish scored fast on their first two drives against a defense loaded with future NFL draft picks. Chris Finke hauled in a deep throw from Wimbush that went through a defender’s hands in traffic for a 43-yard score to put Notre Dame up 14-0 midway through the first half.

Jafar Armstrong’s second touchdown, a 4-yard run with 3:55 left in the second quarter made it 21-3. Ambry Thomas gave the Wolverines a much-needed jolted with a 99-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff, but otherwise the Michigan debut of quarterback Shea Patterson was mostly disappointing.

Michigan’s only offensive touchdown came with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter, when Karan Higdon rushed in from 3 yards to cut the lead to seven.

Patterson, the touted transfer from Mississippi, went 20 for 30 for 227 yards and faced steady pressure. Michigan got a final opportunity with 1:48 and got as far as its 45. Patterson was flushed out of the pocket, grabbed by Jerry Tillery and stripped by Khalid Kareem. Coney recovered the loose ball with 46 seconds and sealed Notre Dame’s second straight win against the Wolverines.

When they last met in 2014, Notre Dame snapped Michigan’s streak of 365 consecutive games without being shut out with a 31-0 win. That loss also marked the beginning of the end of Brady Hoke’s tenure as Michigan coach.

Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh does not come into this season fretting his job, but make no mistake his program could use a change in trajectory. The Wolverines are now 9-9 in their last 18 games and Michigan has dropped 17 straight road games against a ranked team, dating to 2006. Harbaugh also fell to 1-6 against the school’s biggest rivals, Ohio State, Michigan State and Notre Dame.

THE TAKEAWAY

Michigan: The addition of Patterson was supposed to make a vanilla Michigan offense more dynamic, but until the line play improves there is only so much that can be expected from the former five-star recruit. Patterson’s lone interception came on a play when both the running back and center whiffed on a blitzing Coney.

Notre Dame: Have to give some credit to the Irish defense, a unit that returned most of its best players from last season and but has a new coordinator in Clark Lea, who was promoted when Mike Elko left after one season for Texas A&M.

UP NEXT

Michigan: The Wolverines return home to face Western Michigan. They have a chance to string together a few victories over the next month, but it will be the middle of October before Michigan gets another chance to show it can win big games.

Notre Dame: The Irish are home for Ball State in what looks like the softest spot on their schedule.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Quenton Nelson made quite a first impression on the Indianapolis Colts.

He’s hoping to have the same impact on Andrew Luck.

The Colts finally gave their franchise quarterback some extra protection by taking the Notre Dame guard, the highest-rated offensive linemen in the NFL draft, with the sixth overall pick on Thursday night. He is the first guard selected in the first round by Indy since Ron Solt in 1984.

“I would say that I’m a very nasty offensive lineman who wants to finish every play whether it’s in the run game or the pass game,” Nelson said. “I want to work together to have the best offensive line in the league and protect one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.”

He’s the first guard to be selected in the top six in more than two decades, and it didn’t take the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Nelson long to convince the Colts he was worthy of it.

General manager Chris Ballard said he watched Nelson play once last season, against Miami. But because of an extended coaching search and the transition to a new staff, Ballard only made it to one pro day — in South Bend in March.

He spoke with Nelson after the workout, then headed home to explain to his staff why he thought Nelson was ahead of his college teammate, tackle Mike McGlinchey, who was taken by San Francisco at No. 9.

“You could just feel it,” Ballard said as he struggled to explain the sensation. “I could feel it when I watched Adrian Peterson coming out. It was the same thing with Dez (Bryant). You can just feel it sometimes. With Quenton Nelson, it was the same way.”

Back at team headquarters, others concurred.

Perhaps that explains why Ballard was willing to trade back three spots and then turned down another offer to move back. Ballard didn’t say which team made the offer, but just minutes after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Nelson’s name Buffalo traded up from No. 12 to No. 7.

New coach Frank Reich jumped on board after watching Nelson’s tape.

“My first impression is that this is the best offensive lineman I’ve seen coming out in a while,” he said. “His ability to pull is so far greater than anything we’ve ever seen.”

Nelson also fills a huge need for Indy as Luck attempts to come back from a shoulder surgery that kept him out for the entire 2017 season. In 70 career starts, Luck has been sacked 156 times and taken 691 hits — the highest total in the league over that span according to the NFL. Last year, Indy allowed 56 sacks.

Pass protection hasn’t been the only problem.

As Indy played musical chairs with the interior line for most of the past six years, the Colts have produced just one 1,000-yard rusher in that time and last season the Colts averaged 3.7 yards per carry.

Indy also lost its top rusher from the past three seasons, Frank Gore, in free agency.

Nelson, who started 36 games at left guard for the Irish, will now play alongside center Ryan Kelly, Indy’s first-round pick in 2016. The line also will be comprised of left tackle Anthony Castonzo, a first-round pick in 2011; veteran guard Matt Slauson, a free-agent signee; and possibly guard Jack Mewhort, a second-round pick in 2014 who is trying to come back from two injury-plagued seasons.

The bigger question continues to be Luck, who not thrown a regulation football since returning from rehab in Europe late last year.

But if Luck makes it back, Nelson’s presence should certainly help him stay upright.

He was a second-team All-American last season and one of four finalists for the 2017 Outland Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s best interior lineman.

“I definitely feel like I can come up and start from Day 1,” said Nelson, who watched the draft from his family’s lake home less than a three-hour drive from Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts are banking on it.

“He has everything we want. He’s tough, passionate, he loves the game,” Ballard said. “He’s nasty, he’s tough and his football character is off the charts. He’s got unique size and bend and straight power.”

Indy had eight more picks over the final two days of the draft including four Friday — three in the second round and one in the third.