College of the Holy Cross
Encyclopedia
The College of the Holy Cross (or, Holy Cross) is an undergraduate Roman Catholic
liberal arts college
located in Worcester, Massachusetts
, USA
. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Roman Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in the United States.
Opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the Society of Jesus
, it was the first Jesuit college in New England
. Today, Holy Cross is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
(AJCU) and is part of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium
(COWC). Students are encouraged to become "men and women for others" and question, "What is our special responsibility to the world's poor and powerless?" as noted in the College Mission Statement. As of March 2010, the Holy Cross endowment was valued at $570 million.
On July 1, 2000, Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. became the current president of the college. On February 3, 2011, Fr. McFarland announced his resignation as President of the College, and a national search, led by the Board of Trustees, was conducted to find his successor. On May 7, 2011, Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
, the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Georgetown University
, was named as McFarland's successor.
, after his efforts to found a Catholic college in Boston
were thwarted by the city's Protestant civic leaders.
From the beginning of his tenure as the second Bishop of Boston, Benedict Joseph Fenwick of the Society of Jesus aimed to establish a Catholic College within the boundaries of his diocese.
Relations with Boston's civic leaders worsened such that, when a Jesuit faculty was finally secured in 1843, Fenwick decided to leave the Boston school and instead opened the College of the Holy Cross 45 miles (72.4 km) west of the city in central Massachusetts where he felt the Jesuits could operate with greater autonomy.
The site of the college, Mount Saint James, was originally occupied by a Roman Catholic boarding school, run by the Rev. James Fitton
, with his lay collaborator, Joseph Brigden, since 1832. On February 2, 1843, Fr. Fitton sold the land to Bishop Fenwick and the Diocese of Boston to be used to found the Roman Catholic college that the bishop had wanted in Boston. Fenwick gave the College the name of his cathedral church, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The Bishop’s letters record his enthusiasm for the project as well as its location:
The school opened subsequently in October 1843 with the Rev. Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., former president of Georgetown University
, as its first president, and on the second day of November, with six students aged 9 to 19, the first classes were held. Within three years, the enrollment had increased to 100 students. Since its founding, Holy Cross has produced the fifth most members of the Catholic Clergy out of all American Catholic colleges.The first class graduated in 1849, led by valedictorian James Augustine Healy
, the son of a former slave who would go on to become the first African-American bishop in the United States.
Fenwick Hall, the school's main building, was completely destroyed by fire in 1852. Funds were raised to rebuild the College, and in 1853, it opened for the second time.
Petitions to secure a charter for the college from the state Legislature were denied in 1847 for a variety of causes, including anti-Catholicism
on the part of some legislators. Initially, Holy Cross diplomas were signed by the president of Georgetown University. After repeated denials, a charter was finally granted on March 24, 1865, by Governor John A. Andrews
, College of the Holy Cross was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
degree. All B.A. candidates must successfully complete 32 semester courses in eight semesters of full-time study to graduate. Common requirements include one course each in arts, literature, religion, philosophy, history, and cross-cultural studies
; and two courses each in language studies, social science, and natural and mathematical sciences. As of 2010, Holy Cross is in the top 3% of four-year colleges in the number of students going on to earn doctorates in their fields.
The top five majors for the 2008-2009 school year were Economics
, English
, Psychology
, Political Science
, and Sociology
. Holy Cross also offers multidisciplinary concentrations, pre-professional programs, and the option to create a major or minor through the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. Holy Cross students who apply to medical school have an 84% acceptance rate and for law school an 82% acceptance rate. The College notes that the medical school acceptance rate is more than twice the national average.
Of particular interest is the Classics
department at Holy Cross, which has ten faculty members, making it the largest Classics program of American liberal arts colleges. D. Neel Smith, one of the department professors, is a primary collaborator on the Perseus Project
, the multimedia database of Greek antiquity
created by several college and universities. During the 2006-07 academic year, Holy Cross will specifically be editing the Homer Multitext Project, a long-term analysis and electronic presentation of all the many variations of Homer
’s epic poetry.
Holy Cross received 6,700 applications for admission to the Class of 2010 — a 41 percent increase from the previous year and a school record. One reason for this large increase in applications was a decision by Holy Cross to no longer require applicants to submit any standardized test score. Holy Cross' overall undergraduate acceptance rate for the incoming Class of 2011 was 33 percent, with a 31 percent yield. The middle 50% SAT score range for those who submitted a score was 1210-1380 out of 1600. Even though Holy Cross did not first admit women students until 1972, its student population is currently majority female, as with most liberal arts institutions, with this majority continuing to grow with the most recent entering classes.
Holy Cross has been consistently ranked by the Barron's Guide to U.S. Colleges and Universities as one of the 50 "most academically demanding colleges across America". The college shares this ranking with all of the Ivy League
universities, Georgetown University
, the University of Notre Dame, Boston College
, and others. In its 2009 edition of The Best 361 Colleges, the Princeton Review awarded Holy Cross a 98/99 academic rating. Only 5 colleges or universities were awarded a higher academic rating.
The College of the Holy Cross is one of the most academically rigorous and best value colleges in the country, according to Newsweek
’s 2011 college rankings. Holy Cross was fifth in the nation for “Return on Investment” and came in at number 22 on the magazine’s “Most Rigorous” list. In 2011, Forbes
ranked Holy Cross 15th among liberal arts colleges in its "America's Best Colleges" list, 27th among all colleges and universities. According to Forbes, Holy Cross is ranked higher than Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia, Cornell, and Georgetown. The 2012 edition U.S. News & World Report
ranked Holy Cross 29th in the U.S. among liberal arts schools. Holy Cross is also the only Catholic college among the top 50 liberal arts schools on the U.S. News list. In 2010, Holy Cross had the highest four-year graduation rate in the country. The financial publication Kiplinger's ranked Holy Cross the 8th best value amongst private U.S. liberal arts colleges, behind only Bowdoin, Washington and Lee, Pomona, Wellesley, Amherst, Williams and Swarthmore. Kiplinger's focuses on schools with "...strong academics, generous financial-aid policies, and in some cases, a decent price to begin with." And in PayScale
's 2011-12 study, Holy Cross ranked 3rd among liberal arts colleges and 12th in the nation for mid-career salary potential.
In May 2005, Holy Cross announced that it would no longer make standardized test scores an admissions requirement, which college officials argued would lower the importance of the tests and place far greater weight on the academic experience of a candidate as demonstrated through the high school transcript and recommendations. As of October 2006, there are over 730 four-year colleges and universities of varying rank which do not use the SAT I or ACT to admit bachelor degree applicants including Holy Cross. Tuition for full-time students for the 2006-07 academic year is $32,820.
Students choose from seminars and are encouraged to choose out of interest, not due to major or common area requirement. The seminar is a year-long course, although some professors team-teach a seminar and switch positions for the fall and spring semesters. Each seminar is grouped into a residence cluster. For example, a student could be in either the "Industry and Empire" or "Islam and the West: Encounters" seminar but belong to the "Global Society" cluster.
The Montserrat Program is an extension of the First Year Program, or FYP, created in 1992. By tradition, the FYP seminars incorporated 19th-century Russian author Leo Tolstoy
's question: "How, Then, Shall We Live?" The theme for the 2006 academic year was "With so many claims of what's good and true, how then shall we live? Even though each seminar covers different academic areas, all FYP students read six common readings. All FYP members lived within the same residence hall, Hanselman Hall, which distinguishes it from other first-year efforts at colleges and universities nationwide minus a residential component.
Holy Cross administration has stated that a unifying goal of the program is an effort to "bridge the gap" between the academic and social lives of students. In its analysis of FYP participants in relation to the first-year class as a whole, evaluations show that FYP students "rated their residence more favorably than did other first-year students", "perceived a greater sense of community and tolerance among their floormates", and "behaved more responsibly than other first-year students as evidenced by fewer disciplinary cases and alcohol-related incidents". Additionally, after their first year, FYP students were more likely than other students to assume campus leadership positions, participate in the Honors and Study Abroad programs, achieve significantly higher grades, and be more active in community outreach programs.
In March 2006, Holy Cross voted to implement a universal program for all first-year students. In an effort to extend these favorable results, the College expanded FYP from the 150-student program to the Montserrat Program which includes all first-year Holy Cross students.Through Montserrat, the College hopes that "Placing new students into high-level courses that grapple with big-picture ideas, the college hopes, will promote self-discovery and reflections about what makes a life well-lived." Like in the First Year Program, the College emphasizes better living through education and reflection through Montserrat.
Holy Cross students have been honored in recent years as Fulbright, Goldwater, Marshall, and Truman Scholars.
Holy Cross has embraced sometimes controversial schools of theological thought, including liberation theology
and social justice
. As a result, in 1974, Time Magazine referred to Holy Cross as the "cradle of the Catholic Left" because it educated Philip Berrigan
and socialist leader Michael Harrington
, author of the influential book on poverty, The Other America
. Today, Holy Cross, similar to the religious order of the Jesuits as a whole, has been criticized by some parties for being overly liberal and deviating substantially from official Church teaching and papal directives, especially on such issues as abortion, homosexuality, liberation theology, and in its sponsorship of events such as the Vagina Monologues. Since 2000, the College has hosted a conference allowing seminars from Planned Parenthood
and NARAL. In 2007, Bishop Robert McManus wrote the College asking Fr. McFarland to cancel the event, and threatened to remove the Catholic status of the College if the conference was not cancelled. As of 2010, Bishop McManus has not followed through on this threat.
In 2001, Holy Cross was one of 28 colleges and universities in the country to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment
in the amount of $2 million. With the grant, the school launched a five-year program to "make theological and spiritual resources available to students as they discern their life work, including consideration of vocations of ministerial service within religious denominations." The grant has also been used to fund internships within the city of Worcester and Worcester County
for students considering career opportunities in ministry, government, and social service agencies.
, has won national awards for its landscaping. In 1977, Holy Cross was cited by the Professional Grounds Management Society
(PGMS) for having the best-maintained school or university grounds in the United States Holy Cross is marked by an irregular layout as its 175 acre (0.7082005 km²) campus is situated on the northern slope of a very steep hill named Mount Saint James which offers it a panoramic view of the city of Worcester. The Princeton Review ranked the campus as #5 most beautiful campus in the nation in 2010 and consistently ranks the campus in the top 15. The design and landscape is ingrained into many themes and nicknames for the school which is commonly known as The Hill.
Today, some 37 college buildings are divided primarily with residential housing and academic buildings located in the middle sections of the campus, with athletic and practice facilities on the outskirts of the campus on its northern and southern ends. Holy Cross also owns 6 non-campus properties.
Anchoring the traditional campus gateway of Linden Lane are Stein and O’Kane Halls, the latter of which is marked by a clock tower. The oldest part of campus lies in this area, as O’Kane is connected to Fenwick Hall, the first building which was designed in 1843; it also houses the admissions offices and the Brooks Concert Hall. This area contains manicured trees and landscaped greens which include three nude bronze statues by Enzo Plazzotta, Georg Klobe, and Welrick on the hillside. This is a popular spot for pranks as students take turns dressing up the statues.
Notable buildings north of this area are Dinand Library; Smith Hall, the Hogan Campus Center; the scientific complex housing O'Neil, Swords, and Haberlin Halls, and Beaven Hall, home to an assortment of academic departments. Smith Hall, opened in 2001, was financed in large part by Holy Cross alumnus Park B. Smith, and is architecturally impressive as it is built into a hillside of the campus. Smith Hall connects the lower campus, where much of the academic life occurs, and the upper campus, where much of the social and residential life takes place on campus due to its design which incorporates Fenwick Hall. A plaza outside Smith Hall, named Memorial Plaza, commemorates seven Holy Cross alumni who perished in the September 11, 2001 attacks
.
To the western end of campus lies Millard Art Center, St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, the Chaplains' Office (Campion House), and Loyola Hall, which served as the Jesuit residence in the past, but has since been converted into another hall for student housing. The Jesuit residence is now located in the Northeast corner of the campus, called Ciampi Hall.
The apartments in Williams Hall are the most sought after living arrangements on campus. Completed in 2003, each apartment houses four students and comes equipped with a bathroom with separate shower, kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. Williams Hall was rededicated in honor of Edward Bennett Williams
on April 26, 2008.
Second-year to fourth-year students also have the option to live off-campus, but only a small percentage do so, as the school has built additional housing in recent years and the number of desirable apartments near campus is limited.
Dinand Library
The main library, Dinand Library, holds an estimated 601,930 books, serials, and periodicals. Originally opened in 1927, the Dinand Library expanded in 1978 with two new wings dedicated to the memory of Joshua and Leah Hiatt and victims of the Nazi Holocaust. The reading room of Dinand is also the scene of important College gatherings, including the Presidential Awards Ceremony, first-year orientation presentations, concerts, and other events.
Dinand is considered by many students the most scholarly and inspiring building on campus. Constructed in the 1920s, the room’s ceiling is sectioned in a grid-like pattern and embellished with gold, painted trim and carvings along the top of the interior walls. Large wooden candelabra are suspended from the ceiling, and Ionic columns—echoing those on the Library’s exterior—anchor three sides of the room. The main reference collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and bibliographies are found within Dinand, as well as the on-line catalog, and a staffed reference desk.
College Archives
Dinand Library also houses the College Archives which collects, preserves, and arranges records of permanent value from the college's foundation in 1843 to the present. The Archives contain complete runs of all college publications including yearbooks, the college catalog, The Crusader, its predecessor The Tomahawk, the literary magazine The Purple, newsletters, pamphlets, and similar material. An extensive photograph collection documents administrators, staff, faculty, students, alumni, athletic teams, student activities, the built environment and college life in general.
There is also an extensive collection of audio visual material documenting theatrical plays, lectures, and sporting and other events. The College Archives also hold a Special Collections section which consists of the College's Rare Book Collection, and the Jesuitana Collection (material by and about Jesuits). Noted collections include: the papers of James Michael Curley, David I. Walsh, Louise Imogen Guiney, and Rev. Joseph J. Williams, S.J. There are also collections of material by and about Jesuits, college alumni, and friends of the college. The first naval chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, Rev. Joseph T. O'Callahan, S.J.
, was laid to rest in the cemetery on campus and his award is kept in the college archives. The archives also hold research material about Catholic New England, the education of deaf Catholics, the Holocaust, as well as New England history.
Fenwick, O'Callahan, and Rehm libraries
The three smaller libraries, ordered respectively by size and book volume, are Fenwick Music Library, O'Callahan Science Library, and the Rehm Library.
The Fenwick Music Library was founded in 1978. Particularly noteworthy are the Music Library's collections of scores and recordings of 20th-century composers, world music recordings and composer biographies. The Music Library owns many of the authoritative editions of significant composers collected works, such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.
The O'Callahan Science Library, named in honor of Rev. Joseph T. O'Callahan, S.J.
, houses over 95,000 volumes of works and periodicals serving the Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics Departments of the Holy Cross and the more neuroscientific side of Psychology.
The Rehm Library, dedicated in September 2001, is housed within Smith Hall. The Rehm Library serves as the primary public space for the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture and other departments with offices within Smith Hall. Rehm Library provides space for hospitality, Center-sponsored lectures and events, quiet space for reading and reflection, and enhanced library resources on religion and spirituality. While not a library in the traditional sense, the shelves of Rehm Library house primary texts of an array of religious traditions. It was named in honor of alumnus Jack Rehm '54 and his family.
It is a founding member of the Patriot League
, and boasts that one-quarter of its student body participates in its varsity athletic programs.
Principal athletic facilities include the Fitton Field
football stadium (capacity 23,500), Hart Recreation Center's basketball court (3,600), the newly renovated Fitton Field baseball park, which also called Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (3,000), Holy Cross Field House, Hart Ice Rink (1,600), Linda Johnson Smith Stadium
(1,320) and Smith Wellness Center, located inside the Hart Center. The Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium opened in the fall of 2006. Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field is also home to the Worcester Tornadoes
, a Can-Am minor league baseball team.
at Holy Cross, undergraduate social life revolves around a number of school-sponsored groups, events and off-campus houses on nearby city streets (notably Boyden, Cambridge, Caro, Chelsea, College and Southbridge streets), which are open to upperclassmen and serve a similar role to that which fraternities and sororities do at some other campuses.
Holy Cross has award-winning moot and mock trial
teams. The team has won and placed highly in various national tournaments, including top two finishes at the National Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament during two of the past four years. Holy Cross also has a unique student-published law journal, The Holy Cross Journal of Law & Public Policy, which is published annually by undergraduate students.
The college also features a variety of student journals, media, and newspapers including The Fenwick Review, a journal of conservative thought; The Advocate, a journal based in liberal principles; and The Crusader, the weekly newspaper published by Holy Cross students for the college community. Free copies of the 4,000-circulation paper are available online or at campus newsstands on 10 Friday mornings each semester. Holy Cross also has a student-run radio station, WCHC
-FM 88.1. WCHC, thanks to its position as a non-profit radio station, broadcasts commercial free year round even though students are only allowed to DJ during the academic year. Its sports department also carries live broadcasts of many of the school's football, basketball, and hockey games.
The "Campus Activities Board (CAB)", a student-run organization, runs several committees that oversee campus-wide activities and student services. The Student Government Association (SGA) charters and provides most of the funding for these organizations, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. SGA was developed under a model of shared governance with the Division of Student Affairs. The SGA maintains that it represents students through college governance, offers student services, and launches new programs and initiatives. This government consists of a dual executive of Co-Presidents along with an Executive Cabinet. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the elected Senate and the larger General Assembly.
The largest student organization at Holy Cross, Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD), is a community service organization sponsored by the college Chaplains’ Office consisting of over 45 different outreach programs and over 600 active members. Other volunteer and social justice programs offered by Holy Cross include Pax Christi, the Appalachia Service Project, Oxfam America (formerly Student Coalition on Hunger and Homelessness (SCOHAH)), and the Arrupe Immersion Program, named in honor of Fr. Pedro Arrupe
, S.J., which Holy Cross describes as a faith based program responding to the call to work for peace and justice in the world.
During the fall, the "Goodtime" Marching Band practices three times a week for 90-minutes each session and performs at all home football games as well as select away games. Performances responsibilities at each sporting event include a pre-game show of traditional Holy Cross music, playing pop songs in the stands, a halftime field show, a “5th Quarter” post-game show, as well as a variety of traditional “crazy antics”.
Come Spring semester, marching band members trade in their traditional uniforms for striped rugby shirts and transform into the Holy Cross Crusader Pep Band. The band attends all home basketball games and select hockey games for both the men and women’s sports teams.
The school color is purple
. There are two theories of how Holy Cross chose purple as its official color. One suggests it was derived from the royal purple used by King Constantine the Great (born about 275 A.D., died in 337 AD) as displayed on his labarum (military standard) and on those of later Christian emperors of Rome.
College Seal
The seal of the College of the Holy Cross describes is described as follows:
The outer circle of the seal states in Latin "College of the Holy Cross, Society of Jesus, Worcester, Massachusetts."
The inner shield contains an open book (symbol of learning) and a cross of gold (symbol of Christian faith). Written in the book is the college's motto, In Hoc Signo Vinces.
The cross divides the lower part of the shield into quarters, which are alternately red and sable, the colors on the ancient shield of Worcester, England. The upper part of the shield has in its center the emblem of the Society of Jesus, a blazing sun with the letters IHS, the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek. On either side is a martlet
, reminiscent of those on the ancestral crest of Bishop Fenwick.
Mascot
Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders
. It is reported that the name "Crusader" was first associated with Holy Cross in 1884 at an alumni banquet in Boston, where an engraved Crusader mounted on an armored horse appeared at the head of the menu.
Motto
The Latin motto In Hoc Signo Vinces, "In This Sign You Shall Conquer", has been attributed to Emperor Constantine
the Great, a Roman emperor noted for his tolerance of Christians. According to some historians, Constantine had a dream or vision of a flaming cross in the sky with this inscription on the day preceding his decisive victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge (October 28, 312). This victory led to his capturing Rome and convinced him of the importance of Christianity.
" relations have soured, and Holy Cross has had varying levels of disagreement with the surrounding residential College Hill community. The administration and the Student Government Association (SGA), have worked to improve this situation by directing various initiatives in recent years including the redevelopment of a nearby park, and its co-sponsorship, with the Society of Jesus of New England, to create the Nativity School of Worcester, an all-scholarship middle school serving boys from the city of Worcester. Holy Cross also has created student liaison positions to attend Community meetings and engage residents and also created new on-campus housing to lessen the off-campus population.
Holy Cross has more than 35,000 alumni as of January 2007. There are 39 Holy Cross alumni clubs in the U.S. and 1 international club. A number of Holy Cross alumni have made significant contributions in the fields of government, law, academia, business, arts, journalism, and athletics, among others. As of 2008, the alumni median salary for a recent Holy Cross graduate is $50,200; after 15 years, that number jumps to $106,000.
Clarence Thomas
, United States Supreme Court Justice; Chris Matthews
, host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and NBC's The Chris Matthews Show; and Basketball Hall of Fame
members and former Boston Celtics
immortals Bob Cousy
and Tom Heinsohn are among the college's most famous alumni. LSD pioneer Timothy Leary
was a student at Holy Cross, though he withdrew after two years. Michael Harrington
, author of "The Other America
" and an influential figure in initiating the 1960s War on Poverty was a graduate of the College, as was the famed pacifist leader Phillip Berrigan.
Bob Casey, Sr.
, Pennsylvania governor, Bob Casey, Jr.
, his son, Pennsylvania treasurer and U.S. Senator, and Edward D. DiPrete
, Governor of Rhode Island are among the most notable alumni with involvement in politics. Jon Favreau
who was chief speechwriter for Barack Obama's 2008 campaign
for President of the United States
. Upon Barack Obama
's election, Favreau was selected to serve in President Barack Obama's White House as Director of Speechwriting. Mark Kennedy Shriver
, member of the Kennedy political family and current Vice President and Managing Director of U.S. Programs for the charity Save the Children
, graduated from Holy Cross in 1986.
In 2003, an honorary degree and public platform was given to allegedly pro-choice
Holy Cross alumnus Chris Matthews
despite pro-life alumni objection. College President Fr. Michael McFarland defended the invitation and degree, despite clear direction from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop policies and Catholic Church policies never to give a public platform to those at odds with central holdings of the Church, such as the teachings on abortion
. Father McFarland, along with the majority of the current Holy Cross community continue to defend this, stating that while Chris Matthews is pro-choice, that is not his defining characteristic and he did not talk purely about abortion in his speech.
Several alumni have held top positions in the world of business and finance: Bob Wright, former Chairman & CEO, NBC
Universal, and Vice Chairman, General Electric
; James David Power III, J.D. Power and Associates
founder; William J. McDonough
, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
and current Vice Chairman of Merrill Lynch
.
In media and the arts, Holy Cross has several distinguished alumni: Neil Hopkins
, actor best known for his roles in Lost
and Nip/Tuck
; Bill Simmons
, ESPN
.com sports columnist; Dan Shaughnessy
, sports columnist for the Boston Globe; Bartlett Sher
, Tony Award
-winning Broadway director; Joe McGinniss
, bestselling author of The Selling of the President, Fatal Vision, and other books; Edward P. Jones
, 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction for writing The Known World
; Billy Collins
, 2001-03 Poet Laureate of the United States; and Dave Anderson
, New York Times sports columnist, 1981 winner of the Pulitzer Prize
for commentary; and Jack Higgins
, editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times, 1989 winner of the Pulitzer Prize
for editorial cartooning. In art and architecture, Vito Acconci
.
In the sciences, Holy Cross also has several notable alumni, including Joseph Murray
, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine; immunologist Anthony Fauci
, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID); and MacArthur Foundation "genius" bioengineer Jim Collins
.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
located in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Roman Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in the United States.
Opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, it was the first Jesuit college in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Today, Holy Cross is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities is a consortium of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and two theological centers in the United States committed to advancing academic excellence by promoting and coordinating collaborative activities, sharing resources, and advocating and...
(AJCU) and is part of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium
Colleges of Worcester Consortium
The Colleges of Worcester Consortium is a non-profit association of 12 colleges and universities located in central Massachusetts. The Consortium claims "works cooperatively both to further the missions of the member institutions individually and to advance higher education regionally." It...
(COWC). Students are encouraged to become "men and women for others" and question, "What is our special responsibility to the world's poor and powerless?" as noted in the College Mission Statement. As of March 2010, the Holy Cross endowment was valued at $570 million.
On July 1, 2000, Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. became the current president of the college. On February 3, 2011, Fr. McFarland announced his resignation as President of the College, and a national search, led by the Board of Trustees, was conducted to find his successor. On May 7, 2011, Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
Philip Boroughs
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., is an American Jesuit, academic and university administrator. Boroughs was unanimously selected as the incoming 32nd President of the College of the Holy Cross on May 6, 2011. He is scheduled to take office in January 2012, when Rev. Michael C...
, the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, was named as McFarland's successor.
Beginnings
Holy Cross was founded by Benedict Joseph Fenwick, SJ, second Bishop of BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, after his efforts to found a Catholic college in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
were thwarted by the city's Protestant civic leaders.
From the beginning of his tenure as the second Bishop of Boston, Benedict Joseph Fenwick of the Society of Jesus aimed to establish a Catholic College within the boundaries of his diocese.
The site of the college, Mount Saint James, was originally occupied by a Roman Catholic boarding school, run by the Rev. James Fitton
James Fitton
James Fitton was an American Catholic missionary, active in New England.-Life:...
, with his lay collaborator, Joseph Brigden, since 1832. On February 2, 1843, Fr. Fitton sold the land to Bishop Fenwick and the Diocese of Boston to be used to found the Roman Catholic college that the bishop had wanted in Boston. Fenwick gave the College the name of his cathedral church, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The Bishop’s letters record his enthusiasm for the project as well as its location:
"Next May I shall lay the foundation of a splendid College in Worcester…It is calculated to contain 100 boys and I shall take them for $125 per an. & supply them with everything but clothes. Will not this be a bold undertaking? Nevertheless I will try it. It will stand on a beautiful eminence & will command the view of the whole town of Worcester…."
The school opened subsequently in October 1843 with the Rev. Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., former president of Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, as its first president, and on the second day of November, with six students aged 9 to 19, the first classes were held. Within three years, the enrollment had increased to 100 students. Since its founding, Holy Cross has produced the fifth most members of the Catholic Clergy out of all American Catholic colleges.The first class graduated in 1849, led by valedictorian James Augustine Healy
James Augustine Healy
James Augustine Healy was the first African-American Roman Catholic priest and the first African-American Roman Catholic bishop in the United States...
, the son of a former slave who would go on to become the first African-American bishop in the United States.
Petitions to secure a charter for the college from the state Legislature were denied in 1847 for a variety of causes, including anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
on the part of some legislators. Initially, Holy Cross diplomas were signed by the president of Georgetown University. After repeated denials, a charter was finally granted on March 24, 1865, by Governor John A. Andrews
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, College of the Holy Cross was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
Recent history
In 1998, Holy Cross initiated an eight-year capital campaign, "Lift High the Cross," with a three-year quiet period. The campaign for Holy Cross ended in fiscal 2006 with $216.3 million raised, surpassing its original goal of $175 million. The funds allowed Holy Cross to establish an additional 12 new faculty positions, along with more than 75 newly endowed scholarships for students. The campaign provided support for the renovation of the Mary Chapel as well as construction of new facilities on campus, including Smith Hall, which houses the new Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture; a five-story apartment-style residence housing 244 seniors; and a new 1,350-seat soccer stadium. During the history of the campaign, the College's endowment grew to more than $544 million.Academic
Holy Cross has 240 faculty members who teach 2,817 undergraduate students. It offers 28 majors mainly focused on a liberal arts curriculum, each of which leads to the completion of the bachelor of artsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree. All B.A. candidates must successfully complete 32 semester courses in eight semesters of full-time study to graduate. Common requirements include one course each in arts, literature, religion, philosophy, history, and cross-cultural studies
Cross-cultural studies
Cross-cultural studies, sometimes called Holocultural Studies, is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences that uses field data from many societies to examine the scope of human behavior and test hypotheses about human behavior and culture. Cross-cultural studies is the third form of...
; and two courses each in language studies, social science, and natural and mathematical sciences. As of 2010, Holy Cross is in the top 3% of four-year colleges in the number of students going on to earn doctorates in their fields.
The top five majors for the 2008-2009 school year were Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, and Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Holy Cross also offers multidisciplinary concentrations, pre-professional programs, and the option to create a major or minor through the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. Holy Cross students who apply to medical school have an 84% acceptance rate and for law school an 82% acceptance rate. The College notes that the medical school acceptance rate is more than twice the national average.
Of particular interest is the Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
department at Holy Cross, which has ten faculty members, making it the largest Classics program of American liberal arts colleges. D. Neel Smith, one of the department professors, is a primary collaborator on the Perseus Project
Perseus Project
The Perseus Project is a digital library project of Tufts University that assembles digital collections of humanities resources. It is hosted by the Department of Classics. It has suffered at times from computer hardware problems, and its resources are occasionally unavailable...
, the multimedia database of Greek antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
created by several college and universities. During the 2006-07 academic year, Holy Cross will specifically be editing the Homer Multitext Project, a long-term analysis and electronic presentation of all the many variations of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
’s epic poetry.
Admissions
Holy Cross has traditionally drawn many of its students from a pool of historical Catholic high schools and private boarding schools, though a slight majority of current undergraduates come from public schools.Holy Cross received 6,700 applications for admission to the Class of 2010 — a 41 percent increase from the previous year and a school record. One reason for this large increase in applications was a decision by Holy Cross to no longer require applicants to submit any standardized test score. Holy Cross' overall undergraduate acceptance rate for the incoming Class of 2011 was 33 percent, with a 31 percent yield. The middle 50% SAT score range for those who submitted a score was 1210-1380 out of 1600. Even though Holy Cross did not first admit women students until 1972, its student population is currently majority female, as with most liberal arts institutions, with this majority continuing to grow with the most recent entering classes.
Holy Cross has been consistently ranked by the Barron's Guide to U.S. Colleges and Universities as one of the 50 "most academically demanding colleges across America". The college shares this ranking with all of the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
universities, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, the University of Notre Dame, Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
, and others. In its 2009 edition of The Best 361 Colleges, the Princeton Review awarded Holy Cross a 98/99 academic rating. Only 5 colleges or universities were awarded a higher academic rating.
The College of the Holy Cross is one of the most academically rigorous and best value colleges in the country, according to Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
’s 2011 college rankings. Holy Cross was fifth in the nation for “Return on Investment” and came in at number 22 on the magazine’s “Most Rigorous” list. In 2011, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
ranked Holy Cross 15th among liberal arts colleges in its "America's Best Colleges" list, 27th among all colleges and universities. According to Forbes, Holy Cross is ranked higher than Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia, Cornell, and Georgetown. The 2012 edition U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
ranked Holy Cross 29th in the U.S. among liberal arts schools. Holy Cross is also the only Catholic college among the top 50 liberal arts schools on the U.S. News list. In 2010, Holy Cross had the highest four-year graduation rate in the country. The financial publication Kiplinger's ranked Holy Cross the 8th best value amongst private U.S. liberal arts colleges, behind only Bowdoin, Washington and Lee, Pomona, Wellesley, Amherst, Williams and Swarthmore. Kiplinger's focuses on schools with "...strong academics, generous financial-aid policies, and in some cases, a decent price to begin with." And in PayScale
PayScale
PayScale, Inc. or payscale.com is an online salary, benefits and compensation information company, which launched its service on January 1, 2002. It was founded by Joe Giordano, a former Microsoft and drugstore.com manager, and John Gaffney....
's 2011-12 study, Holy Cross ranked 3rd among liberal arts colleges and 12th in the nation for mid-career salary potential.
In May 2005, Holy Cross announced that it would no longer make standardized test scores an admissions requirement, which college officials argued would lower the importance of the tests and place far greater weight on the academic experience of a candidate as demonstrated through the high school transcript and recommendations. As of October 2006, there are over 730 four-year colleges and universities of varying rank which do not use the SAT I or ACT to admit bachelor degree applicants including Holy Cross. Tuition for full-time students for the 2006-07 academic year is $32,820.
Montserrat Program
Holy Cross’ nationally recognized Montserrat Program, previously known as the First Year Program, serves as a unique, interdisciplinary approach to curricula and courses for incoming first year students. The Montserrat Program emphasizes discussion in a small, seminar format and promotes learning outside the classroom through a unique incorporation of residence hall life.Students choose from seminars and are encouraged to choose out of interest, not due to major or common area requirement. The seminar is a year-long course, although some professors team-teach a seminar and switch positions for the fall and spring semesters. Each seminar is grouped into a residence cluster. For example, a student could be in either the "Industry and Empire" or "Islam and the West: Encounters" seminar but belong to the "Global Society" cluster.
The Montserrat Program is an extension of the First Year Program, or FYP, created in 1992. By tradition, the FYP seminars incorporated 19th-century Russian author Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's question: "How, Then, Shall We Live?" The theme for the 2006 academic year was "With so many claims of what's good and true, how then shall we live? Even though each seminar covers different academic areas, all FYP students read six common readings. All FYP members lived within the same residence hall, Hanselman Hall, which distinguishes it from other first-year efforts at colleges and universities nationwide minus a residential component.
In March 2006, Holy Cross voted to implement a universal program for all first-year students. In an effort to extend these favorable results, the College expanded FYP from the 150-student program to the Montserrat Program which includes all first-year Holy Cross students.Through Montserrat, the College hopes that "Placing new students into high-level courses that grapple with big-picture ideas, the college hopes, will promote self-discovery and reflections about what makes a life well-lived." Like in the First Year Program, the College emphasizes better living through education and reflection through Montserrat.
Honors Program
Holy Cross offers a distinct honors program for high ability undergraduates. The Honors program is open to students in all majors. This highly selective program is limited to 36 students in each of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes from any major, and incorporates an honors colloquium and a thesis. An emphasis on independent research prepares students for their intensive thesis projects, the results of which are published within the College. Honors students also publicly present their findings at the annual academic conference, a highlight of the academic year. Additionally, some academic departments offer their own honors programs.Holy Cross students have been honored in recent years as Fulbright, Goldwater, Marshall, and Truman Scholars.
Social justice and volunteerism
As noted by the college mission statement, "What is our special responsibility to the world's poor and powerless?", a key focus of Holy Cross, as an institution, is the Jesuit philosophy of homines pro aliis, "men and women for others." In 2010, Holy Cross obtained the highest rank of the 28 U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities in the percentage of its graduates who go on to serve in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.Holy Cross has embraced sometimes controversial schools of theological thought, including liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. As a result, in 1974, Time Magazine referred to Holy Cross as the "cradle of the Catholic Left" because it educated Philip Berrigan
Philip Berrigan
Philip Francis Berrigan was an internationally renowned American peace activist, Christian anarchist and former Roman Catholic priest...
and socialist leader Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, professor of political science, radio commentator and founder of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Personal life:...
, author of the influential book on poverty, The Other America
The Other America
Michael Harrington’s book The Other America was an influential study of poverty in the United States, published in 1962 by Macmillan. A widely read review, "Our Invisible Poor," in The New Yorker by Dwight Macdonald brought the book to the attention of President John F. Kennedy.The Other America...
. Today, Holy Cross, similar to the religious order of the Jesuits as a whole, has been criticized by some parties for being overly liberal and deviating substantially from official Church teaching and papal directives, especially on such issues as abortion, homosexuality, liberation theology, and in its sponsorship of events such as the Vagina Monologues. Since 2000, the College has hosted a conference allowing seminars from Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
and NARAL. In 2007, Bishop Robert McManus wrote the College asking Fr. McFarland to cancel the event, and threatened to remove the Catholic status of the College if the conference was not cancelled. As of 2010, Bishop McManus has not followed through on this threat.
In 2001, Holy Cross was one of 28 colleges and universities in the country to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and is among the ten largest such endowments in the United States....
in the amount of $2 million. With the grant, the school launched a five-year program to "make theological and spiritual resources available to students as they discern their life work, including consideration of vocations of ministerial service within religious denominations." The grant has also been used to fund internships within the city of Worcester and Worcester County
Worcester County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...
for students considering career opportunities in ministry, government, and social service agencies.
Overview
Holy Cross' campus, a registered arboretumArboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, has won national awards for its landscaping. In 1977, Holy Cross was cited by the Professional Grounds Management Society
Professional Grounds Management Society
The Professional Grounds Management Society is an individual membership society of grounds professionals advancing the grounds management profession through education and professional development in the United States....
(PGMS) for having the best-maintained school or university grounds in the United States Holy Cross is marked by an irregular layout as its 175 acre (0.7082005 km²) campus is situated on the northern slope of a very steep hill named Mount Saint James which offers it a panoramic view of the city of Worcester. The Princeton Review ranked the campus as #5 most beautiful campus in the nation in 2010 and consistently ranks the campus in the top 15. The design and landscape is ingrained into many themes and nicknames for the school which is commonly known as The Hill.
Today, some 37 college buildings are divided primarily with residential housing and academic buildings located in the middle sections of the campus, with athletic and practice facilities on the outskirts of the campus on its northern and southern ends. Holy Cross also owns 6 non-campus properties.
Anchoring the traditional campus gateway of Linden Lane are Stein and O’Kane Halls, the latter of which is marked by a clock tower. The oldest part of campus lies in this area, as O’Kane is connected to Fenwick Hall, the first building which was designed in 1843; it also houses the admissions offices and the Brooks Concert Hall. This area contains manicured trees and landscaped greens which include three nude bronze statues by Enzo Plazzotta, Georg Klobe, and Welrick on the hillside. This is a popular spot for pranks as students take turns dressing up the statues.
Notable buildings north of this area are Dinand Library; Smith Hall, the Hogan Campus Center; the scientific complex housing O'Neil, Swords, and Haberlin Halls, and Beaven Hall, home to an assortment of academic departments. Smith Hall, opened in 2001, was financed in large part by Holy Cross alumnus Park B. Smith, and is architecturally impressive as it is built into a hillside of the campus. Smith Hall connects the lower campus, where much of the academic life occurs, and the upper campus, where much of the social and residential life takes place on campus due to its design which incorporates Fenwick Hall. A plaza outside Smith Hall, named Memorial Plaza, commemorates seven Holy Cross alumni who perished in the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
To the western end of campus lies Millard Art Center, St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, the Chaplains' Office (Campion House), and Loyola Hall, which served as the Jesuit residence in the past, but has since been converted into another hall for student housing. The Jesuit residence is now located in the Northeast corner of the campus, called Ciampi Hall.
Residential life
Holy Cross operates 10 on-campus residence halls divided into three geographic clusters. More than 90 percent of students live on campus. Freshman students will often live in one of the residence halls situated at the northern end of campus nicknamed Easy Street: Hanselman or Mulledy Halls. Healy, Lehy, and Clark are also on Easy Street, but they are reserved for upperclassmen. Another housing option, near the center section of campus, is Wheeler Hall, a freshman resident hall. Upperclassmen students can choose, depending on the results of the housing lottery held in the Spring, between the above residence halls, minus Hanselman and Wheeler, or the fully upperclassmen residence halls in the lower portion of campus: Alumni, Carlin, Loyola, and Williams Hall, formerly known as "The Senior Apartments." Dorm pride is highly prominent on campus; various dorms have created clubs or other forms of co-curricular programs.The apartments in Williams Hall are the most sought after living arrangements on campus. Completed in 2003, each apartment houses four students and comes equipped with a bathroom with separate shower, kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. Williams Hall was rededicated in honor of Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams was a Washington, D.C. trial attorney who founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly and owned several professional sports teams...
on April 26, 2008.
Second-year to fourth-year students also have the option to live off-campus, but only a small percentage do so, as the school has built additional housing in recent years and the number of desirable apartments near campus is limited.
Libraries
The Holy Cross Library System is composed of four libraries centrally located within the campus grounds. Including its affiliation with the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System, a collaborative formed in 2003 by more than 20 academic, public and special libraries with research collections in the central Massachusetts area, Holy Cross students have access to a combined total of approximately 3,800,000 volumes and more than 23,000 journal, magazine and newspaper subscriptions.Dinand Library
The main library, Dinand Library, holds an estimated 601,930 books, serials, and periodicals. Originally opened in 1927, the Dinand Library expanded in 1978 with two new wings dedicated to the memory of Joshua and Leah Hiatt and victims of the Nazi Holocaust. The reading room of Dinand is also the scene of important College gatherings, including the Presidential Awards Ceremony, first-year orientation presentations, concerts, and other events.
College Archives
Dinand Library also houses the College Archives which collects, preserves, and arranges records of permanent value from the college's foundation in 1843 to the present. The Archives contain complete runs of all college publications including yearbooks, the college catalog, The Crusader, its predecessor The Tomahawk, the literary magazine The Purple, newsletters, pamphlets, and similar material. An extensive photograph collection documents administrators, staff, faculty, students, alumni, athletic teams, student activities, the built environment and college life in general.
There is also an extensive collection of audio visual material documenting theatrical plays, lectures, and sporting and other events. The College Archives also hold a Special Collections section which consists of the College's Rare Book Collection, and the Jesuitana Collection (material by and about Jesuits). Noted collections include: the papers of James Michael Curley, David I. Walsh, Louise Imogen Guiney, and Rev. Joseph J. Williams, S.J. There are also collections of material by and about Jesuits, college alumni, and friends of the college. The first naval chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, Rev. Joseph T. O'Callahan, S.J.
Joseph T. O'Callahan
Joseph Timothy O'Callahan was a Jesuit priest and, during World War II, a United States Navy chaplain. He was awarded the U.S...
, was laid to rest in the cemetery on campus and his award is kept in the college archives. The archives also hold research material about Catholic New England, the education of deaf Catholics, the Holocaust, as well as New England history.
Fenwick, O'Callahan, and Rehm libraries
The three smaller libraries, ordered respectively by size and book volume, are Fenwick Music Library, O'Callahan Science Library, and the Rehm Library.
The Fenwick Music Library was founded in 1978. Particularly noteworthy are the Music Library's collections of scores and recordings of 20th-century composers, world music recordings and composer biographies. The Music Library owns many of the authoritative editions of significant composers collected works, such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.
The O'Callahan Science Library, named in honor of Rev. Joseph T. O'Callahan, S.J.
Joseph T. O'Callahan
Joseph Timothy O'Callahan was a Jesuit priest and, during World War II, a United States Navy chaplain. He was awarded the U.S...
, houses over 95,000 volumes of works and periodicals serving the Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics Departments of the Holy Cross and the more neuroscientific side of Psychology.
The Rehm Library, dedicated in September 2001, is housed within Smith Hall. The Rehm Library serves as the primary public space for the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture and other departments with offices within Smith Hall. Rehm Library provides space for hospitality, Center-sponsored lectures and events, quiet space for reading and reflection, and enhanced library resources on religion and spirituality. While not a library in the traditional sense, the shelves of Rehm Library house primary texts of an array of religious traditions. It was named in honor of alumnus Jack Rehm '54 and his family.
Athletics
Holy Cross sponsors 27 varsity sports; all but two of which compete at the NCAA Division I level (FCS for football),and NCAA Division I Hockey. The Crusaders are members of the Patriot League, the Atlantic Hockey Association, the Division III Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference in women's hockey, and the Big South Conference in women's golf. Of its 25 varsity teams, Holy Cross supports twelve men's and thirteen women's sports.http://goholycross.cstv.com/calendar/holy-schedule.html The carrying of 23 Division I varsity programs gives Holy Cross the largest ratio of teams-per-enrollment in the country.It is a founding member of the Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
, and boasts that one-quarter of its student body participates in its varsity athletic programs.
Principal athletic facilities include the Fitton Field
Fitton Field
Fitton Field is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts. Primarily used for College of the Holy Cross sporting events, the baseball stadium also serves as the home field for the Can-Am League Worcester Tornadoes.-History and layout:...
football stadium (capacity 23,500), Hart Recreation Center's basketball court (3,600), the newly renovated Fitton Field baseball park, which also called Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field (3,000), Holy Cross Field House, Hart Ice Rink (1,600), Linda Johnson Smith Stadium
Linda Johnson Smith Stadium
Linda Johnson Smith Stadium is a 1,320 seat stadium located in Worcester, Massachusetts on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross. The stadium is primarily used for soccer....
(1,320) and Smith Wellness Center, located inside the Hart Center. The Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium opened in the fall of 2006. Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field is also home to the Worcester Tornadoes
Worcester Tornadoes
The Worcester Tornadoes are a professional baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States. The Tornadoes are a member of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
, a Can-Am minor league baseball team.
Student groups
A large number of student organizations are associated with the university. With its relative distance from a major city, and without a Greek lifeFraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
at Holy Cross, undergraduate social life revolves around a number of school-sponsored groups, events and off-campus houses on nearby city streets (notably Boyden, Cambridge, Caro, Chelsea, College and Southbridge streets), which are open to upperclassmen and serve a similar role to that which fraternities and sororities do at some other campuses.
Holy Cross has award-winning moot and mock trial
Mock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
teams. The team has won and placed highly in various national tournaments, including top two finishes at the National Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament during two of the past four years. Holy Cross also has a unique student-published law journal, The Holy Cross Journal of Law & Public Policy, which is published annually by undergraduate students.
The college also features a variety of student journals, media, and newspapers including The Fenwick Review, a journal of conservative thought; The Advocate, a journal based in liberal principles; and The Crusader, the weekly newspaper published by Holy Cross students for the college community. Free copies of the 4,000-circulation paper are available online or at campus newsstands on 10 Friday mornings each semester. Holy Cross also has a student-run radio station, WCHC
WCHC
WCHC is the student-run radio station of College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, its city of license and broadcasts at a frequency of 88.1 MHz.WCHC's official slogan is: "Worcester's Only Alternative Source"...
-FM 88.1. WCHC, thanks to its position as a non-profit radio station, broadcasts commercial free year round even though students are only allowed to DJ during the academic year. Its sports department also carries live broadcasts of many of the school's football, basketball, and hockey games.
The "Campus Activities Board (CAB)", a student-run organization, runs several committees that oversee campus-wide activities and student services. The Student Government Association (SGA) charters and provides most of the funding for these organizations, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. SGA was developed under a model of shared governance with the Division of Student Affairs. The SGA maintains that it represents students through college governance, offers student services, and launches new programs and initiatives. This government consists of a dual executive of Co-Presidents along with an Executive Cabinet. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the elected Senate and the larger General Assembly.
The largest student organization at Holy Cross, Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD), is a community service organization sponsored by the college Chaplains’ Office consisting of over 45 different outreach programs and over 600 active members. Other volunteer and social justice programs offered by Holy Cross include Pax Christi, the Appalachia Service Project, Oxfam America (formerly Student Coalition on Hunger and Homelessness (SCOHAH)), and the Arrupe Immersion Program, named in honor of Fr. Pedro Arrupe
Pedro Arrupe
Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. was the twenty eighth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Bilbao, Spain.-Education and training:...
, S.J., which Holy Cross describes as a faith based program responding to the call to work for peace and justice in the world.
Marching Band
First formed in 1845, the College of the Holy Cross “Goodtime” Marching Band is the oldest continually running student organization on campus. Performing at football games since 1910, the band’s role has expanded significantly and grown to include a cross-section of students who have immense school spirit and strong camaraderie, always looking to share their Purple Pride with others. In addition to Holy Cross students, the Band also accepts members from schools in the Worcester Consortium. The Band currently consists of members from all classes, musical backgrounds, and academic disciplines.During the fall, the "Goodtime" Marching Band practices three times a week for 90-minutes each session and performs at all home football games as well as select away games. Performances responsibilities at each sporting event include a pre-game show of traditional Holy Cross music, playing pop songs in the stands, a halftime field show, a “5th Quarter” post-game show, as well as a variety of traditional “crazy antics”.
Come Spring semester, marching band members trade in their traditional uniforms for striped rugby shirts and transform into the Holy Cross Crusader Pep Band. The band attends all home basketball games and select hockey games for both the men and women’s sports teams.
Traditions
Student life at the Holy Cross is marked by a number of unique traditions and celebrations:- Pub Night: On most Tuesdays during the school year, seniors, and various upperclassmen gather at the Pub located in the Hogan Campus Center. The event coincides with the "10 Spot", a weekly open mic night for Holy Cross bands, and occasionally outside performers, which occurs next to the Pub.
- Stickball:Wheeler Hall is the most storied of the resident halls, known for its unique traditions. It is also the site for a popular campus sport known as stickball, a long standing Holy Cross tradition usually played by Wheeler residents. It has been roughly estimated that Holy Cross students began playing stickball at Wheeler Hall around 1940. The Holy Cross version's origins are unknown. The sport lends itself to neighborhood stickball, and is played with a tennis ball and broomstick, just like the popular city sport. Wheeler Hall's five floors and symmetrical design makes it an ideal setting for the sport. A hill behind home plate helps contribute to the playing area's natural amphitheater-like setting.
- Spring Weekend: The Spring Weekend, organized by the Campus Activities Board(CAB), is an annual event which marks the end of classes. Always held the week before finals, events include the Spring Carnival, the Battle of the BandsBattle of the BandsBattle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
, and a Spring Concert. In the past, invited performers have included the Pat McGee BandPat McGee BandThe Pat McGee Band is a rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed by frontman Pat McGee, who attended Longwood University in Farmville, VA. On the heels of his solo release From the Wood in 1995, the Pat McGee Band signed with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Giant Records in 1999...
(2001), Wyclef JeanWyclef JeanWyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
(2002), Third Eye BlindThird Eye BlindThird Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...
(2003), Howie DayHowie DayHoward Kern "Howie" Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself...
(2004), The RootsThe RootsThe Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
(2004), FabolousFabolousJohn David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
and The Starting LineThe Starting LineThe Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1999.- Formation and history :In 1999, the band that would become The Starting Line was initiated in Churchville, Pennsylvania via an e-mail from guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli...
(2005), Phantom PlanetPhantom PlanetPhantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
(2006), GusterGusterGuster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1991, the group is known for its live performances and humor, founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel came about to begin practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford,...
(2006), O.A.R.O.A.R.O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...
and Stephen Kellogg (2007), and Jason MrazJason MrazJason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
and EverclearEverclear (band)Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
(2008), Lupe Fiasco (2009), Drake (2010), and Far East Movement (2011). - 100 Days Dance: Each spring, when 100 days are left at Holy Cross for the graduating Senior Class, the Purple Key Society (PKS), a service organization which fosters school spirit, loyalty and enthusiasm, sponsors an informal dinner and dance in their honor. Tradition holds that attendees make list of fellow seniors they would like to kiss, and attempt to follow through before the night is over.
- Purple Pride Day: Each year, the Purple Key Society chooses a day to banner the campus the color purple, the official school color, to foster school spirit and pride. This includes giving out purple balloons, purple t-shirts, purple cookies, purple stickers and various other items throughout the day. Purple Pride Day usually coincides with a Holy Cross sporting event.
- Cape Week: Following the close of the Spring semester, many students spend a week of vacation on Cape Cod. Students typically rent homes or stay in nearby hotels for a few days of parties and gatherings. Typically, students spend the week in Hyannis or in neighboring towns.
Insignia and representations of Holy Cross
ColorThe school color is purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
. There are two theories of how Holy Cross chose purple as its official color. One suggests it was derived from the royal purple used by King Constantine the Great (born about 275 A.D., died in 337 AD) as displayed on his labarum (military standard) and on those of later Christian emperors of Rome.
College Seal
The outer circle of the seal states in Latin "College of the Holy Cross, Society of Jesus, Worcester, Massachusetts."
The inner shield contains an open book (symbol of learning) and a cross of gold (symbol of Christian faith). Written in the book is the college's motto, In Hoc Signo Vinces.
The cross divides the lower part of the shield into quarters, which are alternately red and sable, the colors on the ancient shield of Worcester, England. The upper part of the shield has in its center the emblem of the Society of Jesus, a blazing sun with the letters IHS, the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek. On either side is a martlet
Martlet
A martlet is a heraldic charge depicting a stylized bird with short tufts of feathers in the place of legs...
, reminiscent of those on the ancestral crest of Bishop Fenwick.
Mascot
Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. It is reported that the name "Crusader" was first associated with Holy Cross in 1884 at an alumni banquet in Boston, where an engraved Crusader mounted on an armored horse appeared at the head of the menu.
Motto
The Latin motto In Hoc Signo Vinces, "In This Sign You Shall Conquer", has been attributed to Emperor Constantine
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
the Great, a Roman emperor noted for his tolerance of Christians. According to some historians, Constantine had a dream or vision of a flaming cross in the sky with this inscription on the day preceding his decisive victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge (October 28, 312). This victory led to his capturing Rome and convinced him of the importance of Christianity.
Town and gown
In more recent years, "town and gownTown and gown
Town and gown are two distinct communities of a university town; "town" being the non-academic population and "gown" metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews, although the term is also used to describe...
" relations have soured, and Holy Cross has had varying levels of disagreement with the surrounding residential College Hill community. The administration and the Student Government Association (SGA), have worked to improve this situation by directing various initiatives in recent years including the redevelopment of a nearby park, and its co-sponsorship, with the Society of Jesus of New England, to create the Nativity School of Worcester, an all-scholarship middle school serving boys from the city of Worcester. Holy Cross also has created student liaison positions to attend Community meetings and engage residents and also created new on-campus housing to lessen the off-campus population.
Alumni
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
, United States Supreme Court Justice; Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
, host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and NBC's The Chris Matthews Show; and Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
members and former Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
immortals Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy
Robert Joseph "Bob" Cousy is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6'1" , 175-pound Cousy played point guard with the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1951 to 1963 and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969–70 season...
and Tom Heinsohn are among the college's most famous alumni. LSD pioneer Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
was a student at Holy Cross, though he withdrew after two years. Michael Harrington
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael "Mike" Harrington was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, professor of political science, radio commentator and founder of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Personal life:...
, author of "The Other America
The Other America
Michael Harrington’s book The Other America was an influential study of poverty in the United States, published in 1962 by Macmillan. A widely read review, "Our Invisible Poor," in The New Yorker by Dwight Macdonald brought the book to the attention of President John F. Kennedy.The Other America...
" and an influential figure in initiating the 1960s War on Poverty was a graduate of the College, as was the famed pacifist leader Phillip Berrigan.
Bob Casey, Sr.
Robert P. Casey
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...
, Pennsylvania governor, Bob Casey, Jr.
Bob Casey, Jr.
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Jr. is the senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as Pennsylvania Treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General. He is the son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr..He is the first Democrat elected to a full term in...
, his son, Pennsylvania treasurer and U.S. Senator, and Edward D. DiPrete
Edward D. DiPrete
Edward Daniel DiPrete is an American Republican Party politician from Rhode Island.DiPrete served as the 70th Governor of Rhode Island from 1985 to 1991, and was defeated for reelection in a landslide by former federal attorney and millionaire businessman Bruce Sundlun in 1990, who had twice lost...
, Governor of Rhode Island are among the most notable alumni with involvement in politics. Jon Favreau
Jon Favreau (speechwriter)
Jonathan "Jon" Favreau is Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama. Favreau attended the College of the Holy Cross, graduating as valedictorian. In college, he accumulated a variety of scholastic honors, and took part in and directed numerous community and civic programs...
who was chief speechwriter for Barack Obama's 2008 campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Upon Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's election, Favreau was selected to serve in President Barack Obama's White House as Director of Speechwriting. Mark Kennedy Shriver
Mark Kennedy Shriver
Mark Kennedy Shriver is a United States Democratic Party politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for two consecutive terms, from 1995 to 2003. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of US Programs for the charity Save the Children...
, member of the Kennedy political family and current Vice President and Managing Director of U.S. Programs for the charity Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
, graduated from Holy Cross in 1986.
In 2003, an honorary degree and public platform was given to allegedly pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
Holy Cross alumnus Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
despite pro-life alumni objection. College President Fr. Michael McFarland defended the invitation and degree, despite clear direction from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop policies and Catholic Church policies never to give a public platform to those at odds with central holdings of the Church, such as the teachings on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. Father McFarland, along with the majority of the current Holy Cross community continue to defend this, stating that while Chris Matthews is pro-choice, that is not his defining characteristic and he did not talk purely about abortion in his speech.
Several alumni have held top positions in the world of business and finance: Bob Wright, former Chairman & CEO, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Universal, and Vice Chairman, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
; James David Power III, J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to marketing and advertising firms. The firm is best known for...
founder; William J. McDonough
William J. McDonough
William Joseph McDonough is vice chairman and special advisor to the chairman at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., responsible for assisting senior management in the company's business development efforts with governments and financial institutions.-Biography:From 2003 to 2005, he was chairman of the...
, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is located at 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses New York state, the 12 northern counties of New Jersey,...
and current Vice Chairman of Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
.
In media and the arts, Holy Cross has several distinguished alumni: Neil Hopkins
Neil Hopkins
Neil Edward Hopkins is an American television and film actor. He is a trained actor and singer; best known for his portrayal of Charlie's heroin-addicted brother Liam on Lost.-Early life:Hopkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey...
, actor best known for his roles in Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
and Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
; Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.com sports columnist; Dan Shaughnessy
Dan Shaughnessy
Dan Shaughnessy is an American sports writer.-Career:After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross, Shaughnessy began his career as a beat reporter covering the Baltimore Orioles for the Baltimore Sun in 1977. He has been a sports writer for the Boston Globe for approximately 30 years,...
, sports columnist for the Boston Globe; Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but...
, Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning Broadway director; Joe McGinniss
Joe McGinniss
Joe McGinniss is an American author of nonfiction and novels. He first came to prominence with the best-selling The Selling of the President, 1968 which described the marketing of then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon, and has authored 11 works since that time...
, bestselling author of The Selling of the President, Fatal Vision, and other books; Edward P. Jones
Edward P. Jones
Edward Paul Jones is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel The Known World received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.-Biography:...
, 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction for writing The Known World
The Known World
The Known World is a 2003 historical novel by Edward P. Jones. It was his first novel and second book. Set in antebellum Virginia, it examines issues regarding the ownership of black slaves by free black people as well as by whites...
; Billy Collins
Billy Collins
Billy Collins is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida...
, 2001-03 Poet Laureate of the United States; and Dave Anderson
Dave Anderson (sportswriter)
Dave Anderson is an American sportswriter based in New York City. After graduating in 1947 from Xavier High School - an elite Jesuit preparatory school in New York City - Anderson attended the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, graduating in 1951.Anderson has written for a number of New...
, New York Times sports columnist, 1981 winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for commentary; and Jack Higgins
Jack Higgins (cartoonist)
Jack Higgins is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times.-Early life and career:...
, editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times, 1989 winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for editorial cartooning. In art and architecture, Vito Acconci
Vito Acconci
Vito Hannibal Acconci is a Bronx, New York-born, Brooklyn-based designer, landscape architect, performance and installation artist.-Education:...
.
In the sciences, Holy Cross also has several notable alumni, including Joseph Murray
Joseph Murray
Joseph Edward Murray is a retired American plastic surgeon. He performed the first successful human kidney transplant on identical twins on December 23, 1954....
, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine; immunologist Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci
Anthony S. Fauci is an immunologist who has made substantial contributions to research in the areas of AIDS and other immunodeficiencies, both as a scientist and as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .-Education and career:Anthony Stephen Fauci was born on...
, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health , an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services...
(NIAID); and MacArthur Foundation "genius" bioengineer Jim Collins
James Collins (Boston University)
James J. Collins is an American bioengineer, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator...
.
Awards
- Sanctae Crucis Award. The highest non-degree recognition bestowed by the college on an alumnus or alumna. Awards are given in the categories: Distinguished Professional Achievement, Outstanding Community Service and Outstanding Young Alumnus/Alumna.
- LEED-Gold certification. The major components of the new Integrated Science Complex at the College of the Holy Cross have earned LEED-Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is the first LEED Gold-certified project on campus.
Holy Cross in media and popular culture
- Former president John BrooksJohn E. BrooksThe Reverend John E. Brooks was born in Massachusetts and joined the Society of Jesus in 1950. In 1970, he was elected as the 25th president of College of the Holy Cross based in Worcester, MA....
and a group of successful black alumni were profiled in an issue of BusinessWeek magazine http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_11/b4025079.htm in March 2007. - Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
mentions Holy Cross in his novel The Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received...
. - James PattersonJames PattersonJames B. Patterson is an American author of thriller novels, largely known for his series about American psychologist Alex Cross...
mentions Holy Cross in his book The Big, Bad Wolf in which the college is described to as "a Jesuit school that, justly or unjustly, had some reputation for being homophobic." In the book Holy Cross serves as the setting for the murder of one gay male student and the kidnapping of another by human slave traffickers. - Philip RothPhilip RothPhilip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
mentions the "smart, rowdy boys from Holy Cross and Boston CollegeBoston CollegeBoston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
" in his novel American PastoralAmerican PastoralAmerican Pastoral is a Philip Roth novel concerning Seymour "Swede" Levov, a Jewish-American businessman and former high school athlete from Newark, New Jersey. Levov's happy and conventional upper middle class life is ruined by the domestic social and political turmoil of the 1960s, which in the...
. - In the 2001 film Harvard ManHarvard ManHarvard Man is a 2001 feature film written and directed by James Toback. It had only a limited distribution in theatres in July 2002, and received little critical or popular acclaim, although it achieved some success when it was released on video and DVD in October of that year.The film stars...
, Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
plays a Holy Cross cheerleader named Cindy Bandolini. - Chris MatthewsChris MatthewsChristopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
, 1967, host of MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
’s HardballHardball with Chris MatthewsHardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
, films parts of his documentary reflecting on the 40th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, The Day America Changed, on the campus of Holy Cross. During the final segment of the documentary, Matthews, while walking on the lawn in front of Kimball Dining Hall, describes where he was when he learned about the president's death as a student. - Holy Cross' Fitton Field provided the scenery for the climatic football scene in the Disney movie, The Game PlanThe Game Plan (film)The Game Plan is a 2007 family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and starring The Rock. This is the last film in which Johnson uses his ring name "The Rock." This is also the last Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista, due to Disney semi-retiring the name in May 2007, making all other...
. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays football for the fictional Boston Rebels in the film. - Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into The Real WorldTen Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into The Real WorldTen Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out into the Real World is a book by Maria Shriver, published in 2000. It evolved from her commencement address at College of the Holy Cross, during which she said "Ten Things I Wish Someone had told me at Graduation Before I Went Out in the World"...
, a book by Maria ShriverMaria ShriverMaria Owings Shriver is an American journalist and author of six best-selling books. She has received a Peabody Award, and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. As executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of...
, published in 2000, evolved from commencement address she had given at Holy Cross in 1998. - In 1962, Time Magazine recognized Holy Cross as part of the "Catholic Ivy League".
- In episodes #21 and #26 of The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, Holy Cross is mentioned as a potential college for Tony's daughter Meadow.