The College of the Holy Cross is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
,
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
liberal arts college
A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, about 40 miles (64 km) west of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
college in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and one of the oldest in the United States.
Opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
, it was the first Jesuit college in New England. Holy Cross sports teams are called the Crusaders and their sole color is purple; they compete in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
as members of the
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...
.
History
Beginnings
Holy Cross was founded by The Rt Rev.
Benedict Joseph Fenwick
Benedict Joseph Fenwick (September 3, 1782 – August 11, 1846) was an American Catholic prelate, Jesuit, and educator who served as the Bishop of Boston from 1825 until his death in 1846. In 1843, he founded the College of the Holy Cross in ...
,
S.J., second
Bishop of Boston, after his efforts to find a Catholic college in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
were thwarted by the city's Protestant civic leaders.
From the beginning of his tenure as bishop, Fenwick intended to establish a Catholic college within the boundaries of his diocese.
![fenwick cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Fenwick_cropped.jpg)
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 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
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
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 for 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 in October 1843 with the Rev.
Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., former president of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, 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. Initially the education was more at the elementary and high school level; later it became a higher level institution.
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 the valedictorian
James Augustine Healy
James Augustine Healy (April 6, 1830 – August 5, 1900) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first African American to serve as a Catholic priest or bishop. With his predominantly European ancestry, Healy passed for a ...
, the
mixed-race
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
son of an Irish planter in Georgia and his common-law wife, a
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
former slave. Healy is now recognized as the first African-American bishop in the United States, but at the time he identified as white Irish Catholic and was largely accepted as such, without denying his African ancestry. His father sent all his sons north for their education at Holy Cross College; two other sons became priests, and three daughters also made careers in the Catholic Church.
Healy graduated with his close friend Colby Kane, who would also go on to join the clergy, and was influential in many of Healy's early writings on Eucharistic
transubstantiation
Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of th ...
.
![Alumni Hall, College of the Holy Cross (2006)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Alumni_Hall%2C_College_of_the_Holy_Cross_%282006%29.jpg)
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 reasons, including
anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...
on the part of some legislators. The increased rate of immigration from Ireland during the famine years roused resistance from some residents of Massachusetts.
Initially, Holy Cross diplomas were signed by the president of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. After repeated denials, a charter was finally granted on March 24, 1865, by Governor
John Albion Andrew
John Albion Andrew (May 31, 1818 – October 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He was elected in 1860 as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts, serving between 1861 and 1866, and led the state's contributions to ...
.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, College of the Holy Cross was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the
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. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...
which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
Late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries
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 Michael C. McFarland 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 campaign, the college's endowment grew to more than $544 million.
On July 1, 2000, Rev.
Michael C. McFarland
Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. (born 1948) was the 31st president of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He succeeded Acting President Frank Vellaccio on July 1, 2000, and was succeeded by Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J.
Biog ...
, S.J., became the president of the college. In 2011,
Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, was named McFarland's successor.
In early 2018, the college began publicly exploring the possibility of changing its "Crusader" mascot and associated imagery. The college's leadership ultimately decided to keep the mascot, distinguishing its use of the nickname from the historical associations with
the crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
. In line with this, the college's leadership decided to retire the previously used imagery of an armed medieval knight associated with the nickname.
In September 2020, Boroughs announced his planned resignation effective June 30, 2021. He was succeeded by
Vincent D. Rougeau, Dean of the
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
With approximately 800 studen ...
. Rougeau is the first lay and first Black president in the history of the college.
Campus
![Fenwicklawn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Fenwicklawn.jpg)
Holy Cross' campus, a registered
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
, has won national awards for its landscaping. In 1977 Holy Cross was cited by the
Professional Grounds Management Society
The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) is an individual membership society of grounds professionals advancing the grounds management profession through education and professional development in the United States.
PGMS was officially ...
(PGMS) for having the best-maintained school or university grounds in the United States. Holy Cross is marked by an irregular layout as its 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
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
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.
The 37 college buildings include residential housing and academic buildings in the middle sections of the campus and athletic and practice facilities on the outskirts on its northern and southern ends. Holy Cross also owns six non-campus properties.
![Fenwick Hall CollegeOfTheHolyCross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Fenwick_Hall_CollegeOfTheHolyCross.jpg)
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 designed in 1843; it also houses the admissions offices and the Brooks Concert Hall. This area contains manicured trees and landscaped greens which include on the hillside three nude bronze statues by
Enzo Plazzotta
Enzo Plazzotta (29 May 1921 – 12 October 1981) was an Italian-born British sculptor.
Plazzotta was born in Mestre, near Venice, and spent his working life in London. He is best remembered for a fascination with and study of movement in bro ...
, Georg Klobe, and Welrick. The area around Fenwick and O'Kane Halls is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
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. The science complex was renamed for Dr.
Anthony Fauci
Anthony Stephen Fauci (; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president. ...
in 2022. 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
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
.
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 Ciampi Hall is now located in the northeast corner of the campus.
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 3.8 million volumes and more than 23,000 journal, magazine, and newspaper subscriptions held among the 20-plus regional institutions.
;Dinand Library
The main, Dinand Library holds an estimated 601,930 books, serials, and periodicals. Originally opened in 1927, it expanded in 1978 with two new wings dedicated to the memory of Joshua and Leah Hiatt and victims of the Nazi
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. The reading room of Dinand is also the scene of important college gatherings, among them the Presidential Awards Ceremony, first-year orientation presentations, and concerts.
![Okane hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Okane_hall.jpg)
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 audiovisual material documenting theatrical plays, lectures, and sporting and other events. The College Archives also hold a Special Collections section which consists of a 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, Rehm, Visual Resources, and Worcester Art Museum libraries
The five smaller libraries are Fenwick Music Library, O'Callahan Science Library, the Rehm Library, the Visual Resources Library, and the
Worcester Art Museum
The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ranks among th ...
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 college's biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics departments and the more neuroscientific side of psychology.
The Rehm Library, dedicated in September 2001, is housed within Smith Hall. It 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 a non-circulating collection of primary texts from an array of religious traditions. It was named in honor of alumnus Jack Rehm '54 and his family.
Environmental sustainability
In 2007, citing the college's commitment to Jesuit values, President Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The college's plan required the institution to reduce its carbon emissions by 20% before 2015. As an ultimate goal, Holy Cross aims to be carbon neutral by 2040. Holy Cross has taken numerous steps toward environmental sustainability, which has led to the reduction of the institution's carbon emissions by 46.8 percent between 2007 and 2017 according to the latest data.
In keeping with sustainability efforts, Holy Cross has enacted multiple initiatives to reduce waste and pollution. The college entered a contract with Zipcar to operate four cars to reduce the need for individually owned cars on campus.
Weather permitting, public safety officers operate battery powered cars and bicycles.
Additionally, Kimball dining hall, the main dining hall of the college, went trayless in 2009. Approximately 25 to 50 percent less food is wasted, and up to a half gallon of water is saved per tray not washed, saving 900 gallons of water a day. Holy Cross provides all students with a reusable drink container at the beginning of each academic year.
Academics
Holy Cross has 328 faculty members who teach 3,142 undergraduate students.
It offers 28 majors mainly focused on a liberal arts curriculum, each of which leads to the completion of the
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
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, sometimes called holocultural studies or comparative studies, is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences such as sociology, psychology, economics, political science that uses field data from many societies thr ...
; 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 () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
, English,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
,
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, and
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
.
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 a 72% acceptance rate and for law school a 92% acceptance rate.
The college claims that medical school acceptance rate for its graduates is more than twice the national average.
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
The Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) is an organization of lay volunteers who volunteer one year or more to community service with poor communities. JVC works in inner city neighborhoods and rural communities in about 36 different cities throughout ...
.
Holy Cross has embraced sometimes controversial schools of theological thought, including
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...
and
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
. As a result, in 1974, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine referred to Holy Cross as the "cradle of the Catholic Left" because it educated
Philip Berrigan
Philip Francis Berrigan, SSJ (October 5, 1923 – December 6, 2002) was an American peace activist and Catholic priest with the Josephites. He engaged in nonviolent, civil disobedience in the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament and was ...
and socialist leader
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was perhaps best known as the author of ''The Other America''. Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, professo ...
, author of the influential book on poverty, ''
The Other America
''The Other America'' () is Michael Harrington's best known and likely most influential book. He was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, political theorist, professor of political science, radio commentator, and foundin ...
''. 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
''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...
''. Since 2000, the college has hosted a conference allowing seminars from
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
and
NARAL
NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...
. 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.
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 Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and among the largest endowments in the United States. It was founded in 1937 by Josiah K. (J. K.) Lilly Sr. and his so ...
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.
Rankings
''
U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Holy Cross tied for 36th in the U.S. among liberal arts colleges for 2021, 99th in "Best Value Schools", and tied for 133rd in "Top Performers on Social Mobility". Holy Cross is the highest ranking Catholic college among the top 50 liberal arts schools on the ''U.S. News'' list. In 2019, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' ranked Holy Cross 77th among all colleges and universities in its "America's Top Colleges" list and 33rd among liberal arts colleges. ''
Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...
'' ranked Holy Cross 18th among liberal arts colleges in the U.S. for 2020, based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. ''
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It ...
'' places Holy Cross at 15th in its 2019 ranking of 149 best value liberal arts colleges in the United States. In ''
PayScale
Payscale is an American compensation software and data company which helps employers manage employee compensation and employees understand their worth in the job market. The website was launched on January 1, 2002. It was founded by Joe Giordano a ...
'' 2019–20 study, Holy Cross ranked 17th in the nation among liberal arts colleges for mid-career salary potential. College of the Holy Cross is
accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
by the
New England Commission of Higher Education
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and Higher education accreditation in the United States, accreditation of Public university, pub ...
.
Admissions
Holy Cross has traditionally drawn many of its students from a pool of historical Catholic high schools and private
boarding schools
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
, though a majority of current undergraduates come from public schools.
Holy Cross' overall undergraduate acceptance rate for the incoming 2019 class was 34 percent. In 2020, the middle 50% SAT score range for those who submitted a score was 1290–1430 out of 1600.
Holy Cross admitted its first women students in 1972, and its student population is currently majority female.
Holy Cross was described as one of the
Hidden Ivies
''Hidden Ivies'' is a college educational guide with the most recent edition, ''The Hidden Ivies, 3rd Edition: 63 of America's Top Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities'', published in 2016, by Howard and Matthew Greene.
Overview
Howard and M ...
for its academics and admissions process which are comparable to the Ivy League in the guide The Hidden Ivies, 3rd Edition: 63 of America's Top Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities, published in 2016.
In May 2005, Holy Cross announced that it would no longer make standardized test scores an admissions requirement. College officials said this policy would reduce the importance of admissions tests and place greater weight on the academic experience of a candidate as demonstrated through the high school transcript and recommendations. Tuition for full-time students for the 2017–18 academic year is $49,980.
Student life
Residential life
Holy Cross operates 11 on-campus residence halls divided into three geographic clusters. More than 90 percent of students live on campus.
First-year students will often live in one of the residence halls situated near the top of the hill nicknamed Easy Street, Hanselman, Clark, or Brooks Halls. Healy and Lehy are also on Easy Street, but they are reserved for upperclassmen. Another housing option, near the center section of campus, is Wheeler Hall, a Sophomore Residence Hall. Upperclassmen students can choose, depending on the results of the housing lottery held in the Spring, between the Easy Street residence halls, minus Hanselman, or the upperclass residence halls in the lower portion of campus: Alumni, Carlin, and Loyola. Additionally, seniors have the options of Williams Hall, formerly known as "The Senior Apartments", and Figge Hall, the newest residence hall on campus.
Residence hall pride is prominent on campus; various residence halls have created clubs or other forms of co-curricular programs.
![Carlinhall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Carlinhall.jpg)
The apartments in Williams Hall and Figge Hall are the most sought after living arrangements on campus. Each apartment houses four students and is equipped with a bathroom with separate shower, kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. Williams Hall was completed in 2003 and rededicated in honor of
Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams (May 31, 1920 – August 13, 1988) was an American lawyer who became a high-profile defense lawyer and co-founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Williams also owned several professional sports teams, including the Ba ...
on April 26, 2008.
In 2011, the college dedicated Figge Hall, located on the upper campus closer to the Easy Street halls.
Second-year to fourth-year students also have the option of living 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.
Student groups
A large number of student organizations are associated with the college. With its relative distance from a major city, and without a
Greek life 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.
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 Spire'', 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 ten Friday mornings each semester. Holy Cross also has a student-run radio station, ''
WCHC
WCHC (88.1 FM) 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"
The station is opera ...
-FM 88.1''. WCHC is a non-profit radio station that broadcasts commercial-free year round. The athletics department carries live broadcasts of many of the school's football, basketball, and hockey games. Holy Cross also has a law journal, ''The Holy Cross Journal of Law & Public Policy'', which is published annually by undergraduate students.
The Campus Activities Board (CAB), a student-run organization, runs several committees that oversee campus-wide activities and student services with a focus on evening and weekend programming. The Student Government Association (SGA) charters and provides most of the funding for these programs, 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 which draws its membership from student organizations. The SGA Judicial Council acts as the judiciary, hearing SGA-related appeals as well as those resulting from student parking violations issued by the Department of Public Safety. Finally, an Election Committee oversees student government elections and decides on appeals that result from them.
Alternate College Theatre (ACT) is a theatre group on campus where students take part in producing, designing, directing, writing, and acting in their own student-run productions. They work closely with the Theatre department on campus and put on three shows every year (two straight plays and one musical) along with various other productions and events.
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 Gondra, SJ (14 November 1907 – 5 February 1991) was a Spanish Basque priest who served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. He has been called a second founder of the Society, as he led the Jesu ...
, S.J., which Holy Cross describes as "a faith based program responding to the call to work for peace and justice in the world".
The Holy Cross
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
council is the third oldest college council in the order having been established in 1929.
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 along with 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
Stickball is a street game similar to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game played in large cities in the Northeastern United States, especially New York City and Philadelphia. The equipment consists of a broom handle and a rubber ball, ...
: Wheeler Hall is the most storied of the residence 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 is estimated that Holy Cross students began playing stickball at Wheeler Hall around 1940, and the college has developed its own version of the sport. The sport lends itself to neighborhood stickball, and is played with a tennis ball and broomstick. Wheeler Hall's five floors and symmetrical design makes it an ideal setting for the playing and spectating of the sport. A hill behind home plate helps contribute to the playing area's natural amphitheater-like setting.
*Battle of the Bands: Held the weekend prior to the end of classes, student-organized music groups compete to earn a coveted opening spot in the Sprint Weekend concert held the following weekend. Judges eliminate bands through a series of sets leading up to the final round, in which student attendees vote to select the winning band.
* 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, fireworks, and a Spring Concert. In the past, invited performers have included the
Pat McGee Band
The Pat McGee Band is a rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed by frontman Pat McGee, who attended Longwood College in Farmville, VA. On the heels of his solo release '' From the Wood'' in 1995, the Pat McGee Band signed with Warner Bros. ...
(2001),
Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...
(2002),
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label recor ...
(2003, 2016),
Howie Day
Howard Kern 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 to accompany himself. He self-financed and s ...
(2004),
The Roots
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
(2004),
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
and
The Starting Line
The Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1999.
History
Early years (1999–2001)
In 1999, the band that would become The Starting Line was initiated in Churchville, Pennsylvania via an e ...
(2005),
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald (vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar), Sam Farrar (bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is best known for it ...
(2006),
Guster
Guster is an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and fo ...
(2006),
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...
(2009),
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
(2010), J.Cole and the Far East Movement (2011), and
Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...
and
Walk the Moon
Walk the Moon (stylized as WALK THE MOON) is an American Rock music, rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2006, while a student at Kenyon College, deriving the band's name from the song "Walki ...
(2013).
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
and
The Knocks
The Knocks is an American electronic music duo consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson. They have released 3 full length albums Big Beat Records, Neon Gold">Big Beat Records (American record label)">Big Beat Records, Neon ...
performed a sold-out show in 2014. DJ Pup Dawg opened for
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
in 2015. In 2016, the recording artist
JoJo
Jojo, JoJo or Jo Jo is a given name, surname, nickname or stage name used by several people and fictional characters, including:
People with the given name, nickname or stage name Musicians
*JoJo (singer) (born 1990), American R&B singer, songwri ...
opened for the headliner
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label recor ...
. The group
Timeflies
Timeflies is an American pop-rap duo formed in October 2010 consisting of Cal Shapiro (b. October 3, 1988) and Rob Resnick (b. May 26, 1989). They are known for their popular original music and popular YouTube covers. They first performed togeth ...
opened for
T-Pain in 2017.
* 100 Days Ball: 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 a 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 in 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
;Color
The school color is
purple
Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...
. 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 Constantine the Great (born about 275 A.D., died in 337 A.D.) 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 is described as follows:
The outer circle 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
"''In hoc signo vinces''" (, ) is a Latin phrase conventionally translated into English as "In this sign thou shalt conquer".
The Latin phrase itself renders, rather loosely, the Greek phrase "", transliterated as "''en toútōi níka''" (, ...
'', which translates as, "By this sign thou shalt conquer". The phrase is credited to
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
.
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
Worcester ( ) is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England, of which it is the county town. It is south-west of Birmingham, north-west of London, north of Gloucester and north-east of Hereford. The population was 103,872 in the 2021 Census ...
. 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
A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expre ...
, reminiscent of those on the ancestral crest of
Bishop Fenwick
Edward Dominic Fenwick, (August 19, 1768 – September 26, 1832) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church, a Dominican friar and the first Bishop of Cincinnati.
Early life
Edward Fenwick was born August 19, 1768 on the family plantation ...
.
;Mascot
Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. 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.
In 2018, the college decided to phase out of using the Knight imagery, retiring the Holy Cross mascot Iggy T. Crusader. Holy Cross opted instead for the secondary (now primary) logo of a purple shield with an interlocking "HC".
;Motto
The Latin motto ''In Hoc Signo Vinces'', "In This Sign You Shall Conquer", has been attributed to Emperor
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
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.
Athletics
![Holy Cross Men's lacrosse v Colgate 2015 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Holy_Cross_Men%27s_lacrosse_v_Colgate_2015_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Holy Cross sponsors 27 varsity sports, all of which compete at the NCAA Division I level (FCS for football). The Crusaders are members of the Patriot League, the Atlantic Hockey Association, and Hockey East Conference in
women's hockey. Of its 27 varsity teams, Holy Cross supports 13 men's and 14 women's sport
The carrying of 26 Division I varsity programs gives Holy Cross the largest ratio of teams-per-enrollment in the country.
The college is a founding member of the
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...
, and boasts that one-quarter of its student body participates in its varsity athletic programs. For the first decade of its existence, Patriot League schools did not offer athletic scholarships. The league began allowing schools to offer athletic scholarships for all sports except football in 2001, after American University joined the league, and in 2012 league members were authorized to offer football scholarships as well.
Principal athletic facilities include the
Fitton Field
Fitton Field is a football stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts primarily used for College of the Holy Cross sporting events. The stadium opened in 1908 as the official home for the Holy Cross Crusaders football team. Before that, most games were ...
football stadium (capacity 23,500), Hart Recreation Center's basketball court (3,600), the newly renovated Fitton Field baseball park 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.
Holy Cross is one of eight schools to have won an NCAA championship in both baseball and basketball, having won the
1952 College World Series
The College World Series was the sixth NCAA-sanctioned baseball tournament that determined a national champion. The tournament was held as the conclusion of the 1952 NCAA baseball season and was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebr ...
and the
1947 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The college has also won the
1954 National Invitation Tournament
The 1954 National Invitation Tournament was the 1954 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.
Selected teams
Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament. and participated in the
1946 Orange Bowl. Since electing to focus more on academics than athletics, the college has had several notable moments on the national stage. In 2006, the
Holy Cross men's ice hockey team upset the No. 1 seed Minnesota Golden Gophers in the
2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In 2016, the
Holy Cross men's basketball team qualified for the
NCAA tournament, earning its first tournament win since 1953. In 2017, the
Holy Cross baseball team earned a bid to the
NCAA tournament, defeating no. 25 ranked Nebraska in the Corvallis Regional.
Alumni
File:Clarence Thomas official SCOTUS portrait.jpg, Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...
, United States Supreme Court Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
File:Bob Casey Jr. official photo.jpg, Bob Casey Jr.
Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Pen ...
, U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
File:Anthony Fauci 2020.jpg, Anthony Fauci
Anthony Stephen Fauci (; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president. ...
, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIAID's ...
File:Bob Cousy (1).jpeg, Bob Cousy
Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...
, former professional NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player, who is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
File:Jon Favreau (Crooked Media) @ SXSW 2017 (33547023995) (cropped).jpg, Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
, former White House Director of Speechwriting
The White House Director of Speechwriting is a role within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The officeholder serves as senior advisor and chief speechwriter to the President of the United States
The president o ...
and host of ''Pod Save America
''Pod Save America'' is an American progressive political podcast produced and distributed by Crooked Media. The podcast debuted in January 2017 and airs twice weekly, with the Tuesday edition hosted by former Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, ...
''
File:Chris Matthews 2011 Shankbone.JPG, Chris Matthews
Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
, political commentator
File:Bob Casey Sr.jpg, Bob Casey Sr.
Robert Patrick Casey Sr. (January 9, 1932 – May 30, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania who served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the ...
, former Governor of Pennsylvania
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
File:Bob Wright profile photo.png, Bob Wright
Robert Charles Wright (born April 23, 1943) is an American lawyer, businessman, right-wing lobbyist, and author. He is a former NBC executive, having served as president and CEO from 1986 to 2001, and chairman and CEO from 2001 until he retire ...
, former president and CEO of NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
File:Bill Simmons (cropped).jpg, Bill Simmons
William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...
, sports analyst and founder of '' The Ringer''
File:William J McDonough Face (14103256893) (cropped).jpg, William Joseph McDonough
William Joseph McDonough (April 21, 1934 – January 22, 2018) was a former 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 ...
, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) is one of 12 regional reserve banks of the Federal Reserve System, which is the American central bank. It is described as being the most important of the banks, due to it being in Economy of ...
File:Ann Dowd 2016 (cropped).jpg, Ann Dowd
Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), ''The Manchurian Candidate'' ...
, actress
File:Timothy-Leary-Los-Angeles-1989.jpg, Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...
, psychologist
File:Peter Welch official photo.jpg, Peter Welch
Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure in ...
, U.S. Congressman
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
Holy Cross had more 38,000 alumni as of November, 2021. There are currently 25 active 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 2019, the alumni median salary for a recent Holy Cross graduate was $62,800; the mid-career median salary for a Holy Cross graduate was $129,700.
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...
, United States
Supreme Court Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...
;
Chris Matthews
Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
, host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and NBC's The Chris Matthews Show; and
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
members and
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
immortals
Bob Cousy
Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...
and
Tom Heinsohn
Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...
are among the college's most famous alumni. LSD pioneer
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...
was a student at Holy Cross, though he withdrew after two years.
Michael Harrington
Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was perhaps best known as the author of ''The Other America''. Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, professo ...
, author of ''
The Other America
''The Other America'' () is Michael Harrington's best known and likely most influential book. He was an American democratic socialist, writer, political activist, political theorist, professor of political science, radio commentator, and foundin ...
'' 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
Philip Francis Berrigan, SSJ (October 5, 1923 – December 6, 2002) was an American peace activist and Catholic priest with the Josephites. He engaged in nonviolent, civil disobedience in the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament and was ...
.
Wendell Arthur Garrity,
United States federal judge
In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...
famous for issuing the 1974 order that Boston schools be desegregated by means of busing, is also an alumnus. Washington, D.C. super lawyer
Edward Bennett Williams
Edward Bennett Williams (May 31, 1920 – August 13, 1988) was an American lawyer who became a high-profile defense lawyer and co-founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly. Williams also owned several professional sports teams, including the Ba ...
was a graduate. In addition to his legal career, Williams owned the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
and
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
.
Bob Casey, Sr., Pennsylvania governor,
Bob Casey, Jr.
Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Penn ...
, his son, Pennsylvania treasurer and U.S. Senator, and
Edward D. DiPrete
Edward Daniel DiPrete (born July 8, 1934) is an American Republican Party politician and convicted felon from Rhode Island. He served as the 70th Governor of Rhode Island for three two-year terms, serving from 1985 to 1991. Convicted of numerou ...
, Governor of Rhode Island are among the most notable alumni with involvement in politics.
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
, Director of Speechwriting for
President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and co-creator of
Pod Save America
''Pod Save America'' is an American progressive political podcast produced and distributed by Crooked Media. The podcast debuted in January 2017 and airs twice weekly, with the Tuesday edition hosted by former Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, ...
.
Mark Kennedy Shriver
Mark Kennedy Shriver (born February 17, 1964) is an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for two consecutive terms, from 1995 to 2003. Since 2014, he has served as President of Save the Childre ...
, member of the
Kennedy political family
The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy be ...
and Vice President and managing director of U.S. Programs for the charity
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
, graduated from Holy Cross in 1986.
In 2003, an honorary degree and public platform was given to
pro-choice
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
Holy Cross alumnus
Chris Matthews
Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
despite pro-life alumni objections. 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 is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. McFarland along with the majority of the current Holy Cross community continue to defend this, stating that while 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
Robert Charles Wright (born April 23, 1943) is an American lawyer, businessman, right-wing lobbyist, and author. He is a former NBC executive, having served as president and CEO from 1986 to 2001, and chairman and CEO from 2001 until he retire ...
, Chairman & CEO,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
Universal, and Vice Chairman,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
;
James David Power III,
J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power is an American consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Michigan. The company was founded in 1968 by James David Power III. It conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for the aut ...
founder;
William J. McDonough, President of the
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 responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
and Vice Chairman of
Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
.
In media and the arts, Holy Cross has several distinguished alumni:
Ann Dowd
Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), ''The Manchurian Candidate'' ...
, Emmy-winning actress best known for her roles in ''
The Handmaid's Tale
''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which h ...
'' and ''
The Leftovers'';
Neil Hopkins
Neil Edward Hopkins (born May 13, 1977) 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 J ...
, actor best known for his roles in ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and ''
Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...
'';
Bill Simmons
William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...
,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.com sports columnist and head of The Ringer, Channel 33, and the Bill Simmons Podcast Network;
Dan Shaughnessy
Dan Shaughnessy (born July 20, 1953) is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for ''The Boston Globe'' since 1981. In 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Shaughnessy is often refe ...
, sports columnist for ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'';
Bartlett Sher
Bartlett B. Sher (born March 27, 1959) is an American theatre director. ''The New York Times'' has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but also in the international world of opera".A ...
,
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
-winning Broadway director;
Joe McGinniss
Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist.
The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...
, bestselling author of The Selling of the President, Fatal Vision, and other books;
Edward P. Jones
Edward Paul Jones (born October 5, 1950) is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel '' The Known World'' received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the International Dublin Literary Award.
Biography
Edward Paul Jones was born ...
, 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction for writing ''
The Known World
''The Known World'' is a 2003 historical novel by Edward P. Jones. Set in Virginia during the antebellum era, it examines the issues regarding the ownership of Black slaves by both white and Black Americans.
The book was published to acclaim, wh ...
'';
Billy Collins
William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) 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 (retired, 2016). Collins ...
, 2001–03 Poet Laureate of the United States;
Dave Anderson, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' sports columnist, 1981 winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
The Pulitzer Prize for Commentary is an award administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism "for distinguished commentary, using any available journalistic tool". It is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are ...
;
Jack Higgins
Henry "Harry" Patterson (27 July 1929 – 9 April 2022), commonly known by his pen name Jack Higgins, was a British author. He was a best-selling author of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His novel '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1975) sol ...
, editorial cartoonist for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'', 1989 winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
The Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary is one of the fourteen Pulitzer Prizes that is annually awarded for journalism in the United States. It is the successor to the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning awarded from 1922 t ...
; and
Kevin O'Connor, the host of TV's ''
This Old House
''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a websiteThisOldHouse.com. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the American television networ ...
''. In art and architecture,
Vito Acconci
Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an influential American performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His foundational p ...
.
In the sciences, Holy Cross also has several notable alumni, including
Joseph Murray
Joseph Edward Murray (April 1, 1919 – November 26, 2012) was an American plastic surgeon who performed the first successful human kidney transplant on identical twins Richard and Ronald Herrick on December 23, 1954.
Murray shared the No ...
, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine; immunologist
Anthony Fauci
Anthony Stephen Fauci (; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president. ...
, head of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIAID's ...
(NIAID) and
chief medical advisor to the president
The chief medical advisor to the president is a position within the White House Office, which is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Established in 2019, the position has been vacant since Dec. 31, 2022, when Ant ...
; and MacArthur Foundation "genius" bioengineer
Jim Collins.
See also
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have bee ...
*
List of presidents of the College of the Holy Cross
*
References
External links
*
Holy Cross Athletics website
{{Authority control
Educational institutions established in 1843
Jesuit universities and colleges in the United States
Catholic universities and colleges in Massachusetts
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Catholic Church in Massachusetts
Universities and colleges in Boston
University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
Universities and colleges in Worcester, Massachusetts
Patriot League
1843 establishments in Massachusetts