University of Notre Dame president Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., transformed Catholic education. In the 1967 Land O’Lakes Statement, he laid out his vision for the Catholic university in the modern world, calling for autonomy from the Catholic Church’s authority. Charismatic and well-connected, he was a liberalizing force in an increasingly secular educational environment, transferring ownership of Notre Dame from the Congregation of Holy Cross to a lay board, admitting women into the student body, building the school’s capacity for research, and chasing prestige while expanding the school’s footprint. Hesburgh was a tough act to follow, but if there’s anything to learn from the recent history of Notre Dame, it’s that transformational leaders aren’t always visionaries.