View source for College of the Holy Cross

{{Short description|Private college in Worcester, Massachusetts, US}}
{{About
  |the liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts
  |other institutions
  |Holy Cross College (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = September 2019}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = College of the Holy Cross
 | image                  = College of the Holy Cross seal.svg
 | image_upright          = 0.6
 | latin_name             = Collegium Sanctae Crucis<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search |url=https://archive.org/search?query=%22Collegium+Sanctae+Crucis%22&sin=TXT |website=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
 | motto                  = ''[[In hoc signo vinces]]'' ([[Latin]])
 | type                   = [[Private college|Private]] [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts college]]
 | established            = {{Start date and age|1843|10}}
 | founder                = [[Benedict Joseph Fenwick]]<br />[[Thomas F. Mulledy]]
 | religious_affiliation  = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] ([[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]])
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist|[[National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities|NAICU]]|[[Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities|ACCU]]|[[Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities|AJCU]]|[[Worker Rights Consortium|WRC]]|[[Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts|HECCMA]]|[[Oberlin Group|OG]]|[[Annapolis Group|AG]]}}
 | endowment              = $1.109 billion (2024)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2024-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL-Feb-12-2025.xlsx |title=U.S. and Canadian 2024 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2024 Endowment Market Value, Change in Market Value from FY23 to FY24, and FY24 Endowment Market Values Per Full-time Equivalent Student |date=February 12, 2025 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) |access-date=February 12, 2025 |format=XLSX |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212074654/https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2024-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL-Feb-12-2025.xlsx |archive-date=February 12, 2025 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | president              = [[Vincent Rougeau]]
 | faculty                = 329 full-time, 36 part-time (winter 2024)
 | undergrad              = 3,256 (winter 2024)<ref>{{cite web |title=Holy Cross at a Glance |url=https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/at-a-glance |website=About Holy Cross |publisher=College of the Holy Cross}}</ref>
 | city                   = [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]
 | country                = U.S.
 | coordinates            = {{coord|42|14|21|N|71|48|30|W|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = [[Suburban]], 174 acres<br />(70 ha)
 | colors                 = {{color box|#800080|Purple}} and {{color box|#FFFFFF|White}}
 | sports_nickname        = [[Holy Cross Crusaders|Crusaders]]
 | sporting_affiliations  = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] – {{hlist|[[Patriot League]]|[[Atlantic Hockey America]]|[[Hockey East]]|[[Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges|EARC]]}}
 | website                = {{URL|www.holycross.edu}}
 | logo                   = College of the Holy Cross logo.svg
 | logo_upright           = .8
 | nrhp                   = {{Infobox NRHP
                             | name         = College of the Holy Cross
                             | embed        = yes
                             | nrhp_type    = 
                             | image        = 
                             | caption      = 
                             | location     = Fenwick and O'Kane Halls, surrounding landscaping
                             | locmapin     = Massachusetts
                             | built        = 1843
                             | architect    = Lamb, Capt. Edward, et al.
                             | architecture = Classical Revival, Gothic, Second Empire
                             | area         = {{convert|2.6|acre}}
                             | mpsub        = {{NRHP url|id=64000304|title=Worcester MRA}}
                             | refnum       = 80000491<ref name="nris">{{NRISref |refnum=80000491|version=2010a}}</ref>
                             | added        = March 5, 1980
                            }}
}}

The '''College of the Holy Cross''' is a [[Private college|private]] [[Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities|Jesuit]] [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts college]] in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], United States. It was founded by educators [[Benedict Joseph Fenwick]] and [[Thomas F. Mulledy]] in 1843 under the auspices of the [[Society of Jesus]]. Holy Cross was the first Catholic college in [[New England]] and is among the oldest [[Catholic higher education|Catholic institutions of higher education]] in the US.

Holy Cross is a four-year [[Residential college|residential]] [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] institution with approximately 3,000 students. Students choose from 64 academic programs, including interdisciplinary and self-designed majors in [[Liberal arts education|liberal arts disciplines]]. The college's {{convert|174|acre|ha|abbr=off|adj=on}} campus is situated on a hill overlooking the [[Blackstone River]] and Worcester. It has one of the [[List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment|largest financial endowments of any liberal arts college in the United States]], and is one of the academically competitive [[Hidden Ivies]]. In 1986, Holy Cross joined the [[Patriot League]], where its athletic teams compete as the [[Holy Cross Crusaders|Crusaders]] in [[NCAA Division I]].

[[List of College of the Holy Cross alumni|Notable graduates]] of Holy Cross include recipients of [[Emmy Awards|Emmy]], [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]], [[Academy Awards|Academy]], and [[Tony Awards|Tony]] awards; 5 [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholars]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=U.S. Rhodes Scholarships Number of Winners by Institution: U.S. Rhodes Scholars 1904 – 2023 |url=https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/media/46976/2023-rs-number-of-winners-by-institution.pdf |access-date=May 10, 2023 |website=[[Rhodes Scholarship]] |archive-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122231744/https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/media/46976/2023-rs-number-of-winners-by-institution.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> 5 [[Marshall Scholarship|Marshall Scholars]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Universities Awarded Marshall Scholarships |url=https://marshallscholarssandbox.org/geomap/US.html |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=[[Marshall Scholarship]] |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528055139/https://marshallscholarssandbox.org/geomap/US.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 6 [[Truman scholar|Truman Scholars]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Jessica |date=June 8, 2016 |title=Holy Cross Junior Earns Prestigious Truman Scholarship |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2016/06/08/holy-cross-junior-earns-prestigious-truman-scholarship-2/ |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref> [[Goldwater Scholar]]s and [[Watson Fellow]]s; [[Pulitzer Prize]] winners, a [[Nobel Prize]] laureate,{{Refn|[[Joseph E. Murray]], a 1940 graduate of Holy Cross, won the 1990 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] with [[E. Donnall Thomas]] for performing the world's first organ transplant.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 27, 2012 |title=In Memoriam: Joseph E. Murray '40, Nobel Prize Winner Who Performed First Organ Transplant |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2012/11/27/in-memoriam-joseph-e-murray-40-nobel-prize-winner-who-performed-first-organ-transplant/ |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref> |group=lower-alpha}} U.S. Senators,{{Refn|U.S. Senator [[Peter Welch]] (Vermont) and former U.S. Senator [[Bob Casey Jr.]] (Pennsylvania) graduated from Holy Cross in 1969 and 1982, respectively.|group=lower-alpha}} and [[Olympic athletics|Olympic athletes]]. Other notable alumni include [[Anthony Fauci]], Director of the [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]], and [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] justice [[Clarence Thomas]]. The college is a top producer of [[Fulbright scholars]], having graduated 182 grantees.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2022-02-28 |title=Top Producers of Fulbright U.S. Scholars and Students, 2021-22 |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/top-producers-of-fulbright-u-s-scholars-and-students-2021-22 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]] |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==

===Foundation===
The College of the Holy Cross was founded by [[Benedict Joseph Fenwick]], second [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston#Bishops of Boston|Bishop of Boston]], as the first Catholic college in [[New England]].{{Sfn|Kuzniewski|1999|p=1}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foskett Jr. |first=Steven H. |date=September 22, 2020 |title=Holy Cross president Boroughs to step down at end of academic year |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2020/09/22/holy-cross-president-boroughs-to-step-down-at-end-of-academic-year/114116306/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=[[The Worcester Telegram & Gazette]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Its establishment followed Fenwick's efforts to create a Catholic college in [[Boston]] which had been thwarted by the city's Protestant civic leaders.<ref name="thy">{{cite book|author=Kuzniewski, Anthony J.|title=Thy Honored Name: A History of the College of the Holy Cross, 1843-1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C04IVksMcN0C|year=1999|publisher=[[Catholic University of America Press|CUA Press]]|isbn=978-0-8132-0911-1|access-date=October 8, 2017|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031035053/https://books.google.com/books?id=C04IVksMcN0C|url-status=live}}</ref> From the beginning of his tenure as bishop, Fenwick intended to establish a Catholic college within the boundaries of his diocese; a new influx of immigrants after 1830, consisting mostly of Catholic [[Irish Americans]], prompted the need for a Jesuit educational institution.{{Sfn|Power|1955|p=29–30}} He considered [[Benedicta, Maine]], as a location, but abandoned the idea.<ref>{{cite book | last = Foley | first = Albert S. | year = 1954 | title = Bishop Healy: Beloved Outcaste | url = https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005946146 | location = New York City, New York | publisher = Farrar, Straus, and Young | oclc = 1223346 | pages = 135–136}}</ref> He petitioned the [[Society of Jesus]] to seek their approval in establishing an institution in Worcester, and they sent [[Thomas F. Mulledy]] to prepare a report regarding Fenwick's proposal.<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=https://www.holycross.edu/about-us/history/|title=History|publisher=holycross.edu|access-date=October 8, 2017|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021195145/https://www.holycross.edu/about-us/history|url-status=live}}</ref> Mulledy's favorable report secured the Society's approval in August 1843.{{Sfn|Power|1955|p=30}}

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 {{convert|45|mi|km}} west of the city in central Massachusetts, where he felt the Jesuits could operate with greater autonomy.<ref name="history"/> The bishop's letters record his enthusiasm for the project as well as for its location:

<blockquote>Next May I shall lay the foundation of a splendid College in Worcester&nbsp;... 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.<ref name="history"/></blockquote>

The site of the college, Mount Saint James, was originally occupied by a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] boarding school run by [[James Fitton (priest)|James Fitton]], with his lay collaborator Joseph Brigden. On February 2, 1843, Fitton sold the land to Fenwick and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston|Diocese of Boston]] to be used to found the Catholic college that the bishop had wanted in Boston.<ref name="thy" /> Fenwick gave the college the name of his cathedral church, the [[Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston|Cathedral of the Holy Cross]].

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| footer_align      = center
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 
| footer            = Fenwick Hall, named after Benedict Joseph Fenwick, was one of Holy Cross' inaugural structures. The building's [[cornerstone]] was laid on June 21, 1843<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Cross: 1843–1899 |url=https://www.holycross.edu/175th-anniversary/historical-timeline-holy-cross/1843-1899 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.holycross.edu |language=en}}</ref>
| width1            = 286
| image1            = DGHoly Cross College in 1861 (cropped).jpg
| caption1          = 
| width2            = 289
| image2            = Sketch of HC Fenwick 1880.png
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = 
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| caption3          = 
}}

=== Beginnings ===
[[File:Benedict Joseph Fenwick.jpg|thumb|[[Bishops in the Catholic Church|Bishop]] [[Benedict Joseph Fenwick]], founder of Holy Cross]]The school opened in October 1843 with Jesuit [[Thomas F. Mulledy]], 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.<ref name="thy"/> 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]], the [[mixed-race]] son of Michael Morris Healy, an Irish planter in Georgia and Eliza Clark Healy, an enslaved woman of mixed race.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Skerrett |first1=Joseph |last2=Skarrett |first2=Joseph |date=1978 |title=Michael Healy: Mullato Sailor |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44213861 |journal=Negro History Bulletin |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=884–892 |jstor=44213861 |issn=0028-2529}}</ref> Healy is now recognized as the first African-American bishop in the United States, but at the time he identified as white Irish Catholic.<ref>{{cite book|author=Powell, A. D.|title=Passing for Who You Really Are: Essays in Support of Multiracial Whiteness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjXFano997UC&q=Passing+for+Who+You+Really+Are&pg=PA63|access-date=8 October 2017|year=2005|publisher=Backintyme|isbn=978-0-939479-22-1|archive-date=December 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215210258/https://books.google.com/books?id=UjXFano997UC&q=Passing+for+Who+You+Really+Are&pg=PA63|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="thy"/>

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.<ref name="history"/>

Petitions to secure a charter for the college from the state legislature were denied in 1847 for a variety of reasons, including [[anti-Catholicism]] on the part of some legislators. The increased rate of immigration from Ireland during the famine years roused resistance from some residents of Massachusetts.<ref name="thy"/> 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 Albion Andrew]].<ref name="history"/>
===Modern history===
[[File:Eamon de Valera at Holy Cross College cph.3a47637.jpg|thumb|[[Éamon de Valera]], President of [[Ireland]], was conferred an honorary degree in 1920]]
During [[World War II]], College of the Holy Cross was one of 131 colleges and universities that took part in the [[V-12 Navy College Training Program]] which offered students a path to a Navy commission.<ref name="holycross-v-12">{{cite web |year=2011 |title=When the Navy docked on the Hill |url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/fall07/features/feature2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401000902/http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/fall07/features/feature2.html |archive-date=April 1, 2012 |access-date=September 28, 2011 |publisher=[[Worcester, Massachusetts]]: College of the Holy Cross}}</ref>

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&nbsp;million raised, surpassing its original goal of $175&nbsp;million.<ref name="capital">{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/press_releases/2006-2007/06_07_31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901103553/http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/press_releases/2006-2007/06_07_31 |url-status=dead |title=Holy Cross Completes Capital Campaign at Record $216.3 Million|archive-date=September 1, 2006}}</ref> The funds allowed Holy Cross to establish an additional 12 new faculty positions, along with more than 75 newly endowed scholarships for students. During the campaign, the college's endowment grew to more than $544&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Newsroom {{!}} Holy Cross celebrates accomplishments of "Lift High the Cross" campaign |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2006/11/06/holy-cross-celebrates-accomplishments-of-lift-high-the-cross-campaign/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref>

On July 1, 2000, [[Michael C. McFarland]] became the president of the college. In 2011, [[Philip Boroughs|Philip L. Boroughs]], the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at [[Georgetown University]], was named McFarland's successor.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.thehoya.com/fr-boroughs-to-be-president-of-holy-cross-1.2224245/ |title= Fr. Boroughs to Be President of Holy Cross |first= Upasana |last= Kaku |date= May 7, 2011 |work= [[The Hoya]] |access-date= May 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120315170117/http://www.thehoya.com/fr-boroughs-to-be-president-of-holy-cross-1.2224245 |archive-date= March 15, 2012 }}</ref> In 2021, he was succeeded by [[Vincent Rougeau|Vincent D. Rougeau]], dean of the [[Boston College Law School]]. Rougeau is the first lay and first black president in the history of the college.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2021/02/10/college-of-the-holy-cross-announces-33rd-president/|title=Newsroom &#124; College of the Holy Cross Announces 33rd President|access-date=February 10, 2021|archive-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024020736/https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2021/02/10/college-of-the-holy-cross-announces-33rd-president/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegram.com/news/20180315/holy-cross-to-dump-knight-mascot-keep-crusaders-name |title=Holy Cross to dump knight mascot, keep Crusaders name |author=Scott O'Connell |newspaper=[[Telegram & Gazette]] |date=March 15, 2018 |access-date=March 16, 2018 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112132225/https://www.telegram.com/news/20180315/holy-cross-to-dump-knight-mascot-keep-crusaders-name |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, the college ended its [[need-blind]] admissions policy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jaschik |first1=Scott |title=The Shrinking World of Need-Blind Admissions |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/05/13/college-holy-cross-abandons-need-blind-admissions |access-date=4 May 2023 |work=[[Inside Higher Ed]] |date=May 12, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

==Campus==
{{Multiple image
| align             = 
| direction         = 
| total_width       = 270
| perrow            = 1/2/1
| image1            = Fenwick DSC 1272.jpg
| caption1          = Fenwick Hall, named after Benedict Joseph Fenwick, is the college's flagship building
| image2            = Alumni Hall DSC 1267.jpg
| caption2          = Alumni Hall
| image3            = Fenwick Right Wing DSC 1264.jpg
| caption3          = {{nowrap|Right Wing of Fenwick}}
| image4            = Okane DSC 1293.jpg
| caption4          = O'Kane Hall, originally constructed as an extension of Fenwick Hall, opened in 1895
}}

Holy Cross is located on one of seven hills in the city outskirts of [[Worcester, Massachusetts]].{{Sfn|Fiske|2019|p=332}} Its {{convert|175|acre|km2|adj=on}} campus is a registered [[arboretum]] and is marked by an irregular layout situated on the northern slope of the Mount Saint James hill, where a panoramic view of the city of Worcester is visible. The design and landscape is ingrained into many themes and nicknames for the school which is collectively known as "The Hill".{{Sfn|Fiske|2019|p=332}}

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/directions/camp_map.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117042934/http://www.holycross.edu/directions/camp_map.html |url-status=dead |title=Holy Cross Campus Map|archive-date=November 17, 2006}}</ref>

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 with 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 includes on the hillside three bronze statues by [[Enzo Plazzotta]], Georg Klobe, and Welrick. The area around Fenwick and O'Kane Halls is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wor.k|title=NRHP nomination for Holy Cross College|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2014-04-16|archive-date=September 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927163039/https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=WOR.K|url-status=live}}</ref>

Notable buildings west of this area are Dinand Library; Smith Hall, the Hogan Campus Center; the [[Anthony Fauci|Anthony S. Fauci]] Integrated Science Complex housing O'Neil, Swords, and Haberlin Halls; and Beaven Hall, a former dormitory which is home to an assortment of academic departments. The science complex was renamed for Dr. [[Anthony Fauci]] in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fahy |first1=Claire |title=Holy Cross is renaming its science complex for Fauci. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/us/fauci-holy-cross.html |access-date=11 May 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=May 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511010932/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/us/fauci-holy-cross.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Carrasco |first1=Maria |title=Holy Cross Science Complex Renamed for Dr. Anthony Fauci |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/04/05/holy-cross-science-complex-renamed-dr-anthony-fauci |access-date=11 May 2022 |work=[[Inside Higher Ed]] |date=April 5, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=May 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511010932/https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/04/05/holy-cross-science-complex-renamed-dr-anthony-fauci |url-status=live }}</ref> Smith Hall, which opened in 2001, was financed in large part by Holy Cross alumnus Park B. Smith, notable for being built into a hillside of the campus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2003-2004/silverhammer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906221440/http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2003-2004/silverhammer |url-status=dead |title=Smith Hall Honored with Silver Hammer Award|archive-date=September 6, 2006}}</ref> Smith Hall connects 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/spring00/news/news1-spr00.html|title=Holy Cross Receives $10 Million Gift |magazine=Holy Cross Magazine |date=Spring 2000 |volume=34 |issue=2 |access-date=September 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519001318/http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/spring00/news/news1-spr00.html |archive-date=May 19, 2017}}</ref>  A plaza outside Smith Hall, named Memorial Plaza, commemorates seven Holy Cross alumni who perished in the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]].

To the eastern 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/archives-and-special-collections/photo-perspective-building-exteriors-loyola-hall|title=Photo Perspective- Building Exteriors- Loyola Hall – College of the Holy Cross|access-date=30 November 2016|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225111130/https://www.holycross.edu/archives-and-special-collections/photo-perspective-building-exteriors-loyola-hall|url-status=live}}</ref> The most recent former Jesuit residence, Ciampi Hall, which has been converted to dormitories along with the new townhouse style senior housing buildings, lie on the southwest side of campus.  The Joanne Chouinard-Luth Recreation and Wellness Center is one of the college's athletic centers, having finished construction in 2020 to replace the former Field House.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connell |first=Scott |date=March 6, 2019 |title=Holy Cross to build $30M wellness and rec center |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/education/campus/2019/03/06/college-of-holy-cross-to-build-30m-wellness-and-rec-center/5773388007/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=[[The Worcester Telegram & Gazette]] |language=en-US}}</ref>[[File:Prior Performing Arts DSC 1238.jpg|thumb|The Prior Performing Arts Center, completed in 2022, houses the Cantor Art {{nowrap|Gallery}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shaw |first=Matt |date=September 1, 2022 |title=A Panorama of Design: A New Massachusetts Theater Offers a Peek Behind the Curtain |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/arts/design-world-events-products-people.html |access-date=2023-06-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>|left]]

The newest Jesuit housing is located on Kendig Street near the Luth Athletic Complex.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Worcester Telegram & Gazette |url=https://www.telegram.com/restricted/?return=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2022/09/04/new-holy-cross-residence-project-surprises-and-upsets-neighbors/7963556001/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=www.telegram.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Newsroom {{!}} Apartment-style Residence Halls at Holy Cross Receive Approval from City of Worcester |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2022/03/29/apartment-style-residence-halls-at-holy-cross-receive-approval-from-city-of-worcester/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref> The Prior Performing Arts Center is located near the Hogan Campus center, slightly north of the crest of Mount Saint James. The $110 million 84,000 square foot facility opened in 2022 to provide a center for the arts on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duckett |first=Richard |date=April 21, 2023 |title=View from Prior Performing Arts Center at Holy Cross looking good for arts and inclusion |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/entertainment/arts/2023/04/21/view-from-new-center-at-holy-cross-looking-good-for-arts-and-inclusion/70084622007/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=[[The Worcester Telegram & Gazette]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Its construction continued the general trend of expanding upper campus with new construction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Newsroom {{!}} Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross—a New Facility Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro—Welcomes the Campus Community This Fall |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2022/09/12/prior-performing-arts-center-at-the-college-of-the-holy-cross-a-new-facility-designed-by-diller-scofidio-renfro-welcomes-the-campus-community-this-fall/#:~:text=The%2084,000-square-foot,,arts,%20and%20the%20performing%20arts. |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref>

In 2015, Holy Cross announced the construction of a $22 million facility in [[West Boylston, Massachusetts]], comprising 52 acres and a complex to provide a retreat for students.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saia |first=Rick |date=April 17, 2015 |title=Holy Cross breaks ground on $22M retreat |url=https://www.wbjournal.com/article/holy-cross-breaks-ground-on-22m-retreat-site |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=Worcester Business Journal}}</ref> It was opened in September 2016 as the Thomas P. Joyce '59 Contemplative Center.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connell |first=Scott |title=Holy Cross retreat center serves self-reflection, solitude |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/education/campus/2016/11/01/holy-cross-retreat-center-in-west-boylston-serves-self-reflection-solitude/24634108007/ |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=[[The Worcester Telegram & Gazette]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

===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&nbsp;million volumes and more than 23,000 journal, magazine, and newspaper subscriptions held among the 20-plus regional institutions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061119%2FHERITAGE%2F611190371&SearchID=73263536295144|title=Libraries find that regional collaboration is key|last=T&G|first=James D. Douglas Special to the Heritage|work=telegram.com|access-date=2017-09-26|language=en|archive-date=September 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927052835/http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20061119%2FHERITAGE%2F611190371&SearchID=73263536295144|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Dinand Library====
[[File:HC Dinand Library 1.'23.jpg|thumb|Dinand Library]]
Dinand Library serves as the college's main library. It 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 reading room of Dinand is also the scene of college gatherings, among them the Presidential Awards Ceremony, first-year orientation presentations, and concerts.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Dinand Library |url=https://www.holycross.edu/support-and-resources/holy-cross-libraries/about-libraries/dinand-library |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=College of the Holy Cross |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":2" />

====Fenwick, O'Callahan, Rehm, Visual Resources, and Worcester Art Museum libraries====
[[File:Okane hall.jpg|right|thumb|O'Kane Hall and clock tower, view from northern end of campus.]]The five smaller libraries are Fenwick Music Library, O'Callahan Science Library, the Rehm Library, the Visual Resources Library, and the [[Worcester Art Museum]] Library.

The Fenwick Music Library was founded in 1978. The Music Library houses 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/fenwick-music-library|title=Fenwick Music Library - College of the Holy Cross|website=www.holycross.edu|access-date=January 20, 2017|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418034435/https://www.holycross.edu/fenwick-music-library|url-status=live}}</ref>

The O'Callahan Science Library, named in honor of Joseph T. O'Callahan, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/ocallahan-science-library|title=O'Callahan Science Library - College of the Holy Cross|website=www.holycross.edu|access-date=January 20, 2017|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509161038/https://www.holycross.edu/ocallahan-science-library|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 houses 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.

====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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archives and Distinctive Collections |url=https://www.holycross.edu/archives-and-special-collections |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=College of the Holy Cross |language=en}}</ref>

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 Joseph J. Williams. There are also collections of material by and about Jesuits, college alumni, and friends of the college. The papers and medals of the first naval chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, [[Joseph T. O'Callahan]], are kept in the college archives. The archives also hold research material about Catholic New England, the education of deaf Catholics, the Holocaust, and New England history.<ref name="library">{{cite web |title=Archives & Special Collections - College of the Holy Cross |url=http://www.holycross.edu/support-and-resources/holy-cross-libraries/about-libraries/archives-special-collections |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121193215/https://www.holycross.edu/support-and-resources/holy-cross-libraries/about-libraries/archives-special-collections |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |access-date=January 20, 2017 |website=www.holycross.edu}}</ref>

===Environmental sustainability===
[[File:Joanne Chouinard-Luth Recreation and Wellness Center DSC 1302.jpg|thumb|Joanne Chouinard-Luth Recreation and Wellness Center]]
In 2007, citing the college's commitment to Jesuit values, President Michael C. McFarland signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.<ref>http://secondnature.org/wp-content/uploads/Carbon-Commitment_Charter-Signatories.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102142603/https://secondnature.org/wp-content/uploads/Carbon-Commitment_Charter-Signatories.pdf |date=November 2, 2021 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> The college's plan required the institution to reduce its carbon emissions by 20% before 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Holy Cross Finalizes Carbon Neutral Plan {{!}} Newsroom {{!}} College of the Holy Cross|url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2009/09/15/holy-cross-finalizes-carbon-neutral-plan/|access-date=2020-07-21|website=news.holycross.edu|archive-date=October 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027155655/https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2009/09/15/holy-cross-finalizes-carbon-neutral-plan/|url-status=live}}</ref> As an ultimate goal, Holy Cross aims to be carbon neutral by 2040.<ref>https://www.holycross.edu/sites/default/files/files/sustainability/carbon_neutral_plan.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821023940/https://www.holycross.edu/sites/default/files/files/sustainability/carbon_neutral_plan.pdf |date=August 21, 2016 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Institution Detail|url=https://reporting.secondnature.org/institution/detail!1730|access-date=2020-07-21|website=reporting.secondnature.org|archive-date=March 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303072242/https://reporting.secondnature.org/institution/detail!1730|url-status=live}}</ref>

The college entered a contract with Zipcar to operate four cars to reduce the need for individually owned cars on campus.<ref name="news.holycross.edu">{{Cite web|title=Holy Cross is the First College in Worcester to Have Zipcars on Campus {{!}} Newsroom {{!}} College of the Holy Cross|url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2007/10/03/holy-cross-is-the-first-college-in-worcester-to-have-zipcars-on-campus/|access-date=2020-07-21|website=news.holycross.edu|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028084227/https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2007/10/03/holy-cross-is-the-first-college-in-worcester-to-have-zipcars-on-campus/|url-status=live}}</ref> Weather permitting, public safety officers operate battery powered cars and bicycles.<ref name="news.holycross.edu"/> Additionally, Kimball dining hall, the main dining hall of the college, went trayless in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Rebecca |last1=Smith |first2=Kimberly |last2=Staley |title=Mother Kimball |name-list-style=amp |date=Winter 2016 |url=https://magazine.holycross.edu/issue_50_1/kimball |access-date=2020-07-21 |website=Holy Cross Magazine |volume=50 |issue=1 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411175543/https://magazine.holycross.edu/issue_50_1/kimball |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Academics==
[[File:HC Smith Hall DSC 1252.jpg|thumb|Smith Hall houses the philosophy and religious study departments]]
Holy Cross is noted for its departments in [[political science]], economics, chemistry, [[classics]],{{Refn|The college houses one of the largest departments in the country dedicated to the [[classics]].{{Sfn|Mosely & Tran et al.|2014|p=370}}|group=lower-alpha}} and literature.{{Sfn|Mosely & Tran et al.|2014|p=370}} Programs in [[sociology]], psychology, and mathematics are also popular among students, as are concentrations in philosophy and [[religious studies]] which relate to Jesuit focuses.{{Sfn|Fiske|2019|p=332–333}}

Holy Cross has 328 faculty members who teach 3,142 undergraduate students.<ref name="About">{{cite web|url=https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/holy-cross-glance|title=About Holy Cross|publisher=College of the Holy Cross|access-date=December 29, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408085214/https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/holy-cross-glance|url-status=live}}</ref> It offers 28 majors mainly focused on a liberal arts curriculum, each of which leads to the completion of the [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree; the college is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Massachusetts Institutions – NECHE |url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/ |access-date=May 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009082139/https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/ |url-status=live |publisher=[[New England Commission of Higher Education]] |archive-date=October 9, 2021}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/academics/|title=Academics – College of the Holy Cross|access-date=30 November 2016|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213223852/https://www.holycross.edu/academics|url-status=live}}</ref> Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were: Economics (131), Psychology (102), Political Science & Government (88), English Language and Literature (54), Biology/Biological Sciences (52), History (46).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Holy+cross&s=all&id=166124#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title= College of the Holy Cross |access-date=February 3, 2023}}</ref>

===Social justice and volunteerism===
[[File:Hogan Campus Center, College of the Holy Cross.jpg|thumb|Henry M. Hogan Campus Center]]
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]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/media/facts/ |title=Office of Public Affairs |publisher=Holycross.edu |access-date=2012-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708002854/http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/media/facts/ |archive-date=2011-07-08 }}</ref>

Holy Cross has embraced sometimes controversial schools of theological thought, including [[liberation theology]] and [[social justice]]. As a result, in 1974, ''[[Time (magazine)|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]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 8, 1974 |title=Religion: The New Counter-Reformation |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943916-1,00.html |access-date=2022-05-11 |archive-date= June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628235710/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943916-1,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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,<ref>{{cite web|title = Who Is Catholic? |work =The Chronicle of Higher Education|date = April 9, 2004|first = Burton |last =Bollag|url-access = registration|url =https://www.chronicle.com/article/who-is-catholic/}}</ref> liberation theology, and in its sponsorship of events such as the ''[[Vagina Monologues]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Meredith |last= Wholley |date=August 5, 2006 |url= http://www.campusmagazine.org/articledetail.aspx?id=98e9616f-c0e0-410f-89bf-1863ced269ea |title=A Holy War in Catholic Higher Education |magazine=Campus Magazine |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060806021403/http://www.campusmagazine.org/articledetail.aspx?id=98e9616f-c0e0-410f-89bf-1863ced269ea |archive-date= August 6, 2006}}</ref> Since 2000, the college has hosted a conference allowing seminars from [[Planned Parenthood]] and [[NARAL]]. In 2007, [[Robert Joseph McManus]], the diocese's bishop, wrote the college asking McFarland to cancel the event, and threatened to remove the Catholic status of the college if the conference was not cancelled.<ref name="McManusThreat">{{cite web |url=http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=5344 |title= Bishop asks Holy Cross not to rent space to teen pregnancy alliance |work=[[The Pilot (Massachusetts newspaper)|The Pilot]] |location=Boston |date=October 19, 2007 |access-date=November 7, 2007 |archive-date= April 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416161454/https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=5344 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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&nbsp;million.<ref name="lilly">{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/crec/website/lillyvoc.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210021145/http://www.holycross.edu/departments/crec/website/lillyvoc.htm |url-status=dead |title=Lilly Vocation Discernment Initiative|archive-date=February 10, 2007}}</ref> 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, Massachusetts|Worcester County]] for students considering career opportunities in ministry, government, and social service agencies.<ref name="lilly" />

==Rankings and reputation==
{{Infobox US university ranking
| Wamo_LA = 31
| USNWR_LA = 27
| Forbes = 102
| THE_WSJ = 60
}}

''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranked Holy Cross tied for 27th in the U.S. among liberal arts colleges for 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |title=College of the Holy Cross |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/holy-cross-2141 |website=US News}}</ref> 41st for best undergraduate education, 89th in "Best Value Schools", and tied for 59th in "Top Performers on Social Mobility".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/holy-cross-2141 |title=College of the Holy Cross Rankings |magazine=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |access-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-date=October 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019064304/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/holy-cross-2141 |url-status=live }}</ref> Holy Cross is the highest ranking Catholic college among the top 30 liberal arts schools on the ''U.S. News'' list. The college is a top producer of [[Fulbright scholars]],<ref name=":1"/> of which it has graduated 182 recipients as of 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Grantee Directory: College of the Holy Cross |url=https://us.fulbrightonline.org/alumni/grantee-directory?name=&us_institution%5B%5D=5892&sort= |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=[[Fulbright Program]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonner |first=Michael |date=March 21, 2022 |title=Holy Cross Again a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2022/03/21/holy-cross-again-a-top-producer-of-fulbright-scholars/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref>

[[Money.com|''Money'']] ranked Holy Cross as the 5th best liberal arts college in the U.S. as of 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Liberal Arts Colleges in America of 2022 by Money |url=https://money.com/best-colleges/rankings/best-liberal-arts/ |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Money}}</ref> In 2025, ''[[Forbes]]'' ranked Holy Cross 103rd among all colleges and universities in its "America's Top Colleges" list and 27th among liberal arts colleges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=College of the Holy Cross |url=https://www.forbes.com/colleges/college-of-the-holy-cross/?list=top-colleges |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, ''[[Washington Monthly]]'' ranked Holy Cross 18th among liberal arts colleges in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide/liberalarts |title=2020 Liberal Arts Colleges Ranking |magazine=[[Washington Monthly]] |date=August 28, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122024925/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020college-guide/liberalarts |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Kiplinger's Personal Finance]]'' placed Holy Cross at 15th in its 2019 ranking of 149 best value liberal arts colleges in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Table | magazine=[[Kiplinger's Personal Finance]] | title=Best Values in Private Colleges | date=July 2019 | access-date=September 11, 2019 | archive-date=June 12, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612012946/https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Table | url-status=live }}</ref> In ''[[PayScale]]''{{'s}} 2019–20 study, Holy Cross ranked 17th in the nation among liberal arts colleges for mid-career salary potential.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/best-schools-by-type/bachelors/liberal-arts-schools |title=PayScale 2019-2020 Salary Report: Best Liberal Arts Colleges by Salary Potential |publisher=PayScale |access-date=July 14, 2020 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213210700/https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/best-schools-by-type/bachelors/liberal-arts-schools |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 2023 ''[[Times Higher Education]]'' ranking of top Catholic colleges and universities published by ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' (WSJ), Holy Cross placed fourth nationally.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023 |title=Top Ranked Catholic Colleges and Universities |url=https://graphics.wsj.com/table/COLLEGE_RANKINGS_CATHOLIC |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |language=en |archive-date=August 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815190053/https://graphics.wsj.com/table/COLLEGE_RANKINGS_CATHOLIC |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the WSJ and College Pulse 2024 rankings, Holy Cross was the seventh best college in Massachusetts and the 60th best college nationally.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=These are the 22 best colleges in Massachusetts, according to a new ranking |url=https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/these-are-22-best-colleges-massachusetts-according-new-ranking/CDUYDKV5URFCJOKF2WV3UJ3FYA/ |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Boston 25 News |publisher=[[WFXT]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Admissions ===
{{Infobox U.S. college admissions
|year= 2023
|ref=<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Common Data Set 2023–2024 |url=https://www.holycross.edu/sites/default/files/2024-02/College%20of%20the%20Holy%20Cross%20Common%20Data%20Set%202023-2024.pdf |access-date=April 16, 2024 |website=College of the Holy Cross}}</ref>|admissions rate= 21
|change ref=<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=College of the Holy Cross Common Data Set 2017–2018|url=https://www.holycross.edu/sites/default/files/files/planningandspecialproj/cds_2017-2018.pdf |access-date=June 6, 2023|website=www.holycross.edu}}</ref>|admit rate=21%|admit rate change= -18
|yield rate 17.3
|yield rate=45%|yield rate change=+13.8
|SAT EBRW=680–730
|SAT Math=660–720
|ACT=29–33
|top decile=61%
|top quarter=86%}}Admissions to Holy Cross is considered "more selective" by ''[[U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking|U.S News & World Report]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-27 |title=College of the Holy Cross Admissions |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/holy-cross-2141/applying  |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=US News}}</ref> In 2024, the school reported its lowest admissions rate in its history—17.6 percent—among the largest applicant pool.<ref name="class2028">{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2024 |title=New Year, New Admission Milestones for the Class of 2028 |url=https://hcspire.com/2024/09/13/new-year-new-admission-milestones-for-the-class-of-2028/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=The Spire |language=en}}</ref> Holy Cross has traditionally drawn many of its students from a pool of historical Catholic high schools and private [[boarding schools]], though a majority of current undergraduates come from public schools.<ref name="About"/>

In 2022, the middle 50% SAT score range for those who submitted a score was 1260–1430 out of 1600; the middle 50% ACT composite score range was 28–32.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Holy Cross at a Glance |url=https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/holy-cross-glance |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=College of the Holy Cross |language=en}}</ref>  Holy Cross admitted its first women students in 1972, and its student population is currently majority female.<ref name="About" /> Holy Cross was described as one of the [[Hidden Ivies]] 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.<ref>{{cite book |last= Greene |first= Howard |date= August 17, 2016|title= The Hidden Ivies |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_bkIDAAAQBAJ |url-status= live|publisher= Collins Reference |isbn= 9780062644596 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628210147/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hidden_Ivies_3rd_Edition_The_EPUB/_bkIDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |archive-date= 28 June 2020}}</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.holycross.edu/admissions/apply/testing.html Holy Cross admissions office] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115062445/http://www.holycross.edu/admissions/apply/testing.html |date=2007-01-15 }} As of October 2016, more than 730 four-year colleges and universities of varying rank do not use the SAT I, CLT, or ACT to admit bachelor's degree applicants.{{cite web|url=http://www.fairtest.org./optinit.htm|title=FairTest – The National Center for Fair and Open Testing|access-date=30 November 2016|archive-date=April 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415023754/http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional|url-status=live}}</ref> Tuition for full-time students for the 2022–23 academic year was $57,600.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Cross at a Glance |url=https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/holy-cross-glance |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=College of the Holy Cross |language=en}}</ref>

==Student life==
===Residential life===
[[File:St Joseph Memorial Chapel DSC 1257.jpg|thumb|St. Joseph Memorial Chapel is Holy Cross' primary spiritual building, constructed as a memorial to alumni who perished in [[World War I|WWI]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modern Campus Map {{!}} St. Joseph Memorial Chapel |url=https://cdn.maps.moderncampus.net/nucloudmap/index.html?map=60 |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=College of the Holy Cross Modern Campus}}</ref>|left]]

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", Figge Hall and the townhouses.<ref name="halls">{{cite web|url=https://www.holycross.edu/campus-life/housing/campus-housing |title=On-Campus Housing|website = College of the Holy Cross}}</ref>

The apartments in Williams Hall, Figge Hall and the senior townhouses are the most sought after living arrangements on campus. For Williams and Figge Halls, 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]] on April 26, 2008.<ref name="halls"/> In 2011, the college dedicated Figge Hall, located on the upper campus closer to the Easy Street halls.<ref>{{cite web|title=Figge Hall|url=http://www.holycross.edu/studentlife/housing/oncampus/halls/newapartments.html|access-date=4 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205001335/http://www.holycross.edu/studentlife/housing/oncampus/halls/newapartments.html|archive-date=5 February 2013}}</ref>

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.<ref name="halls"/>

===Student groups===
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Wheeler Hall HC 23.1.jpg
| caption1          = Wheeler Hall, opened in January 1940, was the college's first fully integrated dorm<ref>{{Cite web |title=Newsroom {{!}} Inside Holy Cross' Most Unique Dorm Community |url=https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2020/04/22/inside-holy-cross-most-unique-dorm-community/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=news.holycross.edu}}</ref>
| image2            = HC Memorial Placa DCD 12.jpg
| caption2          = Memorial Plaza
| image3            = HCHall DSC 1248.jpg
| caption3          = Beaven Hall
| image4            = Kimball Hall DSC 1259.jpg
| caption4          = Kimball Hall, completed in 1935, houses the college's dining hall
}}
A large number of student organizations are associated with the college. With its relative distance from a major city, and without a [[Fraternities and sororities|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, Clay, 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hcspire.com/|title=The Spire|date=May 18, 2025|website=The Spire}}</ref>

Holy Cross has a student-run radio station, ''[[WCHC]]-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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://college.holycross.edu/sga/history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040610175736/http://college.holycross.edu/sga/history.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2004-06-10|title=Student Government Association: Constitution & History}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/chaplains/spud.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908003045/http://www.holycross.edu//departments/chaplains/spud.htm |url-status=dead |title=Holy Cross: SPUD|archive-date=September 8, 2006}}</ref> 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 [[Pedro Arrupe]], which Holy Cross describes as "a faith based program responding to the call to work for peace and justice in the world".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/departments/chaplains/arrupe.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909055127/http://www.holycross.edu//departments/chaplains/arrupe.htm |url-status=dead |title=Holy Cross: Arrupe|archive-date=September 9, 2006}}</ref>

The Holy Cross [[Knights of Columbus]] council is the third oldest college council in the order having been established in 1929.<ref>{{cite book | title = The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts | first = Vincent A. | last = Lapomarda, S.J. | publisher = Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council | edition = second | year = 1992 | location = Norwood, Massachusetts }}</ref>

Formed in 1845, the [[Holy Cross Goodtime Marching Band]] is one of the oldest organizations at the college, and one of the oldest college bands in the United States.{{sfn|Kuzniewski|1999|p=67}} They are joined at athletic events by the Holy Cross Cheer Team.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wallace |first1=Caroline |title=Cheer is Back at Holy Cross! |url=https://hcspire.com/2021/10/01/cheer-is-back-at-holy-cross/ |access-date=21 November 2023 |publisher=The Spire |date=1 October 2021}}</ref>

== Insignia and representations of Holy Cross ==
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| image2            = Holy Cross cheer team MAKE SOME NOISE.jpg
| caption2          = Holy Cross Cheer Team
| image1            = Goodtime Marching Band College of the Holy Cross.jpg
| caption1          = [[Holy Cross Goodtime Marching Band]]
}}

===Color===
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 [[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.<ref name="color"/>

===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]]'', which translates as, "By this sign thou shalt conquer". The phrase is credited to Constantine the Great.

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]].<ref name="seal">{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/abouthc/why/history/seal/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903004723/http://www.holycross.edu/abouthc/why/history/seal/ |url-status=dead |title=Holy Cross College Seal|archive-date=September 3, 2006}}</ref>

===Mascot===
Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the [[Crusades|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.<ref name="color">{{Cite web|url=http://www.holycross.edu/abouthc/why/history/color/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421025858/http://www.holycross.edu/abouthc/why/history/color/ |url-status=dead |title=Holy Cross: Color, Mascot, & Songs|archive-date=April 21, 2009}}</ref> 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".

==Athletics==
{{main|Holy Cross Crusaders}}

[[File:Holy Cross Men's lacrosse v Colgate 2015 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Holy Cross Crusaders men's lacrosse|Crusaders men's lacrosse]] team plays a game against the [[Colgate Raiders men's lacrosse|Colgate Raiders]] in 2015]]
Holy Cross sponsors 27 varsity sports, all of which compete at the [[NCAA Division I]] level ([[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS for football]]). The Crusaders are members of the [[Patriot League]], the [[Atlantic Hockey America]] for [[Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey|men's ice hockey]], and [[Hockey East|Hockey East Association]] in [[Holy Cross Crusaders women's ice hockey|women's ice hockey]]. Of its 27 varsity teams, Holy Cross supports 13 men's and 14 women's sports. 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, and claims that one-quarter of its student body participates in its varsity athletic programs. 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.<ref name=IHEFeb12>{{cite news | title=Then there was one | first=Allie | last=Grasgreen | date=February 14, 2012 | work=Inside Higher Ed | url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/14/football-scholarships-patriot-league-distances-self-ivies | access-date=January 29, 2016 | archive-date=March 8, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308155523/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/14/football-scholarships-patriot-league-distances-self-ivies | url-status=live }}</ref>

Principal athletic facilities include the [[Fitton Field]] football stadium (capacity 23,500), [[Hart Center|Hart Recreation Center]]'s basketball court (3,600), the [[Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field]] (3,000), Hart Ice Rink (1,600), [[Linda Johnson Smith Soccer 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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theonlycolors.com/2013/6/25/4465326/national-championships-by-the-numbers|title=National Championships by the Numbers|website=SB Nation|date=June 25, 2013|access-date=February 25, 2017|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308015821/https://www.theonlycolors.com/2013/6/25/4465326/national-championships-by-the-numbers|url-status=live}}</ref> to have won an NCAA championship in both baseball and basketball, having won the [[1952 College World Series]] and the [[1947 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament]]. The college has also won the [[1954 National Invitation 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 Crusaders men's ice hockey|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 Crusaders men's basketball|Holy Cross men's basketball team]] qualified for the [[March Madness 2016|NCAA tournament]], earning its first tournament win since 1953.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/2016/03/18/facts-about-holy-cross-improbable-ncaa-tournament-trip/KJovQgEO6O2puJQR2tunjM/story.html|title=10 facts about Holy Cross' improbable NCAA Tournament trip|website=Boston.com|access-date=2016-03-19|archive-date=March 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325173815/http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/2016/03/18/facts-about-holy-cross-improbable-ncaa-tournament-trip/KJovQgEO6O2puJQR2tunjM/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Alumni==
{{Main|List of College of the Holy Cross alumni}}
<gallery class="center" classes="center" mode="nolines" widths="145" heights="145">
File:Clarence Thomas official SCOTUS portrait.jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Clarence Thomas]],<br />[[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]]}}
File:Anthony Fauci 2020.jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Anthony Fauci]],<br />Director of the [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]]}}
File:Bob Casey Jr. official photo.jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Bob Casey Jr.]],<br /> [[U.S. Senator]] from [[Pennsylvania]]}}
File:Peter Welch official Senate photo.jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Peter Welch]],<br />Incumbent [[U.S. Senator]] from [[Vermont]]}}
File:WALSH, DAVID. GOVERNOR LCCN2016858785 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[David I. Walsh]],<br />[[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Massachusetts]]}}
File:Patrick Francis Healy.jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Patrick Francis Healy]],<br />29th [[President of Georgetown University]]}}
File:Bob Cousy (1).jpeg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Bob Cousy]],<br />13-time [[NBA All-Star]] and 1957 [[NBA Most Valuable Player]]}}
File:Timothy Leary (1969 press photo).jpg|{{Longitem|[[Timothy Leary]],<br>Harvard psychologist and drug advocate}}
File:Astronaut Joseph Kerwin portrait (croppedlandscape).jpg|{{Longitem|[[Joseph P. Kerwin]],<br>[[NASA]] Astronaut for [[Skylab 2]]}}
File:Jon Favreau (Crooked Media) @ SXSW 2017 (33547023995) (cropped).jpg|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Jon Favreau (speechwriter)|Jon Favreau]],<br />[[White House Director of Speechwriting]]}}
File:Bob Wright profile photo.png|alt=|{{Longitem|[[Bob Wright]],<br />President, CEO, and Chairman of [[NBC]]}}
File:John Demers official photo (cropped).png|{{Longitem|[[John Demers]],<br>[[U.S. Assistant Attorney General]] and acting [[U.S. Attorney General]]}}
</gallery>

As of November 2021, Holy Cross had more than 38,000 alumni. There are currently 25 active alumni clubs in the U.S. and 1 international club.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2021 |title=Holy Cross at a Glance |url=https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/holy-cross-glance |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=Holy Cross |archive-date=May 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529232827/https://www.holycross.edu/about-holy-cross/holy-cross-glance }}</ref> Holy Cross alumni have made significant contributions in the fields of government, law, academia, business, arts, journalism, and athletics, among others. Alumni of the college are particularly overrepresented in the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]], where Holy Cross has one of the highest ratios of members of Congress to students.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tummarello |first=Kate Tummarello |date=October 3, 2011 |title=Holy Cross Alumni at Home on the Hill: Massachusetts Liberal Arts School Has Graduated Four Members Of Congress; Quite a High Ratio for the Small Jesuit Institution |url=https://rollcall.com/2011/10/03/holy-cross-alumni-at-home-on-the-hill/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=[[Roll Call]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[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 [[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]]. [[Wendell Arthur Garrity Jr.|Wendell Arthur Garrity]], [[United States federal judge]] famous for issuing the 1974 order that Boston schools be desegregated by means of busing, is also an alumnus. Alumnus [[Thomas G. Kelley]] received the [[Medal of Honor]] for his actions during the [[Vietnam War]]. Washington, D.C., lawyer [[Edward Bennett Williams]] was also a graduate. In addition to his legal career, Williams owned the [[Washington Redskins]] and [[Baltimore Orioles]]. Alumnus [[Harry J. Goett]] was first director of NASA [[Goddard Space Flight Center]].

[[Robert P. Casey|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 (speechwriter)|Jon Favreau]], Director of Speechwriting for [[Barack Obama|President Barack Obama]] and co-creator of [[Pod Save America]]. [[Mark Kennedy Shriver]], member of the [[Kennedy political family]] and 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 [[pro-choice]] Holy Cross alumnus Chris Matthews despite pro-life alumni objections. College President 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]]. 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.<ref name="NRO">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment043003.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030501190357/http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment043003.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-05-01 |title=Society of Drinan |work=[[National Review]] |first=Jack |last=Fowler |date=April 30, 2003}}</ref>

Several alumni have held top positions in the world of business and finance: [[Bob Wright]], Chairman & CEO, [[NBC]] Universal, and Vice Chairman, [[General Electric]]; [[J.D. Power III|James David Power III]], [[J.D. Power and Associates]] founder; [[William J. McDonough]], President of the [[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]] and Vice Chairman of [[Merrill Lynch]].

In media and the arts, Holy Cross has several distinguished alumni: [[Ann Dowd]], Emmy-winning actress best known for her roles in ''[[The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)|The Handmaid's Tale]]'' and ''[[The Leftovers (TV series)|The Leftovers]]'';<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.holycross.edu/blog/2017/09/18/ann-dowd-78-p20-wins-emmy-award-for-the-handmaids-tale/ |title=Ann Dowd '78, P20 Wins Emmy Award for 'The Handmaid's Tale' |last=Markantonatos |first=Nikolas |date=September 18, 2017 |publisher=College of the Holy Cross |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511202436/https://news.holycross.edu/blog/2017/09/18/ann-dowd-78-p20-wins-emmy-award-for-the-handmaids-tale/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Neil Hopkins]], actor best known for his roles in ''[[Lost (2004 TV series)|Lost]]'' and ''[[Nip/Tuck]]''; [[Bill Simmons]], [[ESPN]].com sports columnist and head of The Ringer, Channel 33, and the Bill Simmons Podcast Network; [[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; [[Dave Anderson (sportswriter)|Dave Anderson]], ''[[The New York Times]]'' sports columnist, 1981 winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize for Commentary]]; [[Jack Higgins (cartoonist)|Jack Higgins]], editorial cartoonist for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', 1989 winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning]]; and [[Kevin O'Connor (TV personality)|Kevin O'Connor]], the host of TV's ''[[This Old House]]''. 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 [[Chief Medical Advisor to the President|chief medical advisor to the president]]; and MacArthur Foundation "genius" bioengineer [[James Collins (bioengineer)|Jim Collins]].

==See also==
* [[List of Jesuit sites]]
* [[List of presidents of the College of the Holy Cross]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in eastern Worcester, Massachusetts]]

== Footnotes ==
<references group="lower-alpha"></references>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJgaAAAAYAAJ |title=Historical Sketch of the College of the Holy Cross |publisher=Hamilton |year=1883 |oclc=813002942 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216184133/https://books.google.com/books?id=cJgaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA18 |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Meagher |first=Walter J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Go4bHAAACAAJ |title=History of the College of the Holy Cross, 1843-1901 |publisher=[[Fordham University Press]] |year=1944 |type=PhD Dissertation}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Power |first=Edward J. |date=March 1955 |title=The Formative Years of Catholic Colleges Founded Before 1850 and Still in Existence as Colleges or Universities |journal=[[Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia]] |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=19–34 |jstor=44210362}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Meagher |first1=Walter J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_kpGQAACAAJ |title=The Spires of Fenwick: A History of the College of the Holy Cross, 1843-1963 |last2=Grattan |first2=William J. |publisher=[[Vantage Press]] |year=1966 |location=New York, NY |asin=B003L1K1XQ}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kuzniewski |first=Anthony J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASufAAAAMAAJ |title=Thy Honored Name: A History of the College of the Holy Cross, 1843–1994 |publisher=[[Catholic University of America Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-81320-911-1 |location=Washington, D.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215234222/https://books.google.com/books?id=C04IVksMcN0C&pg=PG90 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gleason |first=Philip |date=January 2008 |title=From an Indefinite Homogeneity: Catholic Colleges in Antebellum America |journal=[[The Catholic Historical Review]] |publisher=[[Catholic University of America Press]] |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=45–74 |doi=10.1353/cat.2008.0047 |jstor=25166919|s2cid=144486743 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Brady |first=Diane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=omOdaA8q77cC |title=Fraternity |year=2012 |publisher=[[Spiegel & Grau]] |isbn=978-0385524742 |publication-date=January 3, 2012 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |author=[[Yale Daily News]] |title=The Insider's Guide to the Colleges |date=July 1, 2014 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=978-1-4668-4835-1 |editor-last=Mosely |editor-first=Connor |edition=41st |location=New York |pages= |language=en |contribution= |ref={{harvid|Mosely & Tran et al.|2014}} |editor-last2=Tran |editor-first2=Matthew}}
* {{Cite book |last=McGreevy |first=John T. |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691171623/american-jesuits-and-the-world |title=American Jesuits and the World |year=2016 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=9781400882847 |publication-date=May 24, 2016 |doi=10.1515/9781400882847}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fiske |first=Edward B. |title=[[Fiske Guide to Colleges|Fiske Guide to Colleges 2020]] |date=June 15, 2019 |publisher=[[Sourcebooks]] |isbn=978-1492664949 |edition=36th |location=[[Naperville, Illinois]] |publication-date=July 9, 2019}}
* {{Cite news |date=May 21, 2021 |title=One Hundred and Seventy-Fifth Commencement |publisher=College of the Holy Cross |url=https://issuu.com/holycross/docs/commencement_program_web_may2021 |access-date=May 14, 2023 |via=[[Issuu]]}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{official website}}
* [https://goholycross.com/ Holy Cross Athletics website]

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