A fair profile of Notre Dame's new president

Jodi Cohen pens it for the Chicago Tribune here. She notes that he appears to be more of an interested introvert rather than an interesting extrovert (with apologies to Selling for Dummies!) Notes Cohen:

Jenkins listens more than he issues orders, say colleagues, friends and family. During a recent day of meetings, he looked directly at each person and listened as they spoke - from the athletic director to the provost to student journalists. He nodded, his arms often crossed, as the visitors to his office shared their ideas and concerns. He offered suggestions on rare occasions, advice he took from General Electric chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, who told him, "Once the boss speaks, it's over. If you don't speak, you let people generate the ideas," Jenkins recalled.

The adjective most often used to describe him is "human." He listens to everything from J.S. Bach to Bob Dylan and Norah Jones on an iPod when traveling, and hooks up the portable player to a small stereo when he's home. When he cooks, he uses a basic, George Foreman indoor grill to make hamburgers or hot dogs, much like his graduate student neighbors, and he had a Betty Crocker cookbook on top of his stove.

He is humble, declining to say what he gave up for Lent for fear it would sound boastful, according to longtime friend Martha Merritt, an associate director at Notre Dame's Institute for International Peace Studies. She said he told her: "This is a pact between oneself and God and it is not meant to be the subject of casually, joking conversation between friends, but denial of something."

He is surprisingly - and subtly - funny, quick to deliver a one-liner even during the opening mass of the school year. Instead of the traditional service conclusion of "let us go forth in peace, to love and serve the Lord," Jenkins added, "Let us go forth in peace ... and let's go shoot off some fireworks," a nod to the celebration that kicks off the school year.

Not quite shy, Jenkins still tends to be introverted, a word that he agrees fits his personality when used to describe someone who re-energizes by being alone. Even as a child, his grandfather nicknamed him "The Mole" because he liked to retreat to the basement to read, according to his older brother Tom.

Ms. Cohen does a fair job presenting the basic humanity and devotion of this humble priest. He does not have an easy job. Notre Dame continues to witness to God's presence in the world while maintaining its standing as a first-rate University that stands toe-to-toe with any secular institutions. Fr. Jenkins now bears the responsibility of continuing this American Catholic legacy. May God shoulder his burden and walk by his side every step he takes as Notre Dame's latest President. Go Irish!