( CNN ) Father Theodore M. Hesburgh , who led the University of Notre Dame to national academic prominence and became an influential figure in both the spiritual and political worlds , has died . He was 97 . Hesburgh died Thursday . His death was confirmed by a posting on the university 's website . `` We mourn today a great man and faithful priest who transformed the University of Notre Dame and touched the lives of many , '' said the Rev . John I. Jenkins , Notre Dame 's current president , in a statement . `` With his leadership , charisma and vision , he turned a relatively small Catholic college known for football into one of the nation 's great institutions for higher learning . In his historic service to the nation , the Church and the world , he was a steadfast champion for human rights , the cause of peace and care for the poor . '' Over the course of a career that spanned more than seven decades -- 35 of them as president of Notre Dame -- Hesburgh ended up at the highest levels of both church and state . He marched with civil rights leaders . He was instrumental in giving influence to the laity at Catholic universities . He was a Vatican representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency . He was an adviser to presidents , serving on commissions concerning civil rights , immigration and military clemency issues . ( And , incidentally , angering Richard Nixon over a report about racial discrimination , which prompted Hesburgh 's resignation . ) In 1962 , he made the cover of Time magazine -- back when that was one of mainstream America 's most powerful indicators of influence -- for a story about Catholic intellectuals . He was even one reason that the former Eppie Lederer ended up as advice columnist Ann Landers . As she told the story , when she applied for the position , she was given a handful of letters to answer as a test . For help on some topics she called her friends , including Supreme Court justice William O. Douglas and Hesburgh . Needless to say , she got the job . Hesburgh , a close friend , remained one of the column 's go-to experts . But Hesburgh 's primary focus was always the school he loved and first attended when he was 16 . At the time -- the mid-1930s -- the college in South Bend , Indiana , was known for its football team , its seminary and little else . Hesburgh , a native of Syracuse , New York , graduated from a university in Rome , Italy , and was ordained in 1943 . He wanted to become a military chaplain but ended up pursuing a doctorate at Washington 's Catholic University . He returned to Notre Dame after the war and became head of its Theology Department , rising in its administration . He made his passions clear even before he became president , clashing with football coach Frank Leahy . When he took over the university in 1952 , his goal was to create a `` Catholic Princeton . '' `` The Catholic university should be a place where all the great questions are asked , where an exciting conversation is continually in progress , where the mind constantly grows as the values and powers of intelligence and wisdom are cherished and exercised in full freedom , '' he once wrote . People we 've lost in 2015 . He used Notre Dame 's athletic fame for bigger ends . The number of students doubled during his tenure . A library now named for him opened in 1963 . Its famous mural , visible from Notre Dame 's football stadium , is referred to as `` Touchdown Jesus . '' And when he started at Notre Dame , its endowment was $ 9 million . Today it stands at close to $ 10 billion , the 12th-largest in the country . `` The great challenge ... at Notre Dame was to create the greatest Catholic university of all time . And I think we achieved that , '' he told Maureen McFadden of South Bend TV station WNDU , a CNN affiliate . There was criticism , of course . He traveled so much he became the subject of a campus joke : God is everywhere , Hesburgh is everywhere but Notre Dame . He disliked the Vietnam-era campus protests and threatened to expel students who were too disruptive . He sometimes butted heads with Catholic leaders . But he was , usually , beloved -- not least by the Notre Dame community . He was known for his availability to students and liked to chat with them . Perhaps his greatest influence `` was on the lives of generations of Notre Dame students , whom he taught , counseled and befriended , '' said Jenkins , the Notre Dame president , in his statement . He was amply honored during his long life . He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the Congressional Gold Medal and more than 100 honorary degrees . For all his influence , Hesburgh never saw himself as high and mighty . His calling was service , and that alone was enough . `` I never wanted to be anything but a priest , which is in itself a great and unearned grace , '' he said . `` I hope to live and die a priest , nothing more , but nothing less either . ''
Father Theodore Hesburgh was leader of Notre Dame for 35 years . Over his tenure , he revolutionized university and made it academic powerhouse . He was adviser to presidents , served key position for popes .