In 1995 Olivia Remie Constable broke her Ivy League streak to come to Notre Dame, where she would be named the Robert M. Conway director of the Medieval Institute in 2009. She died of cancer at age 53 in April.
After receiving degrees from Yale and Princeton, and teaching at Columbia, Constable joined the history department at Notre Dame. She would bring medieval history — in particular, interactions between Christians, Muslims and Jews — to life for students not only with her scholarship but also with opportunities to experience antiquity. Last fall, Constable led 14 students on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, an important spiritual journey in medieval times.
She is survived by her husband, Matthew Bell, and sons Owen and Sam.