From the President

(opposite) Fr. Boroughs celebrates Baccalaureate Mass for the class of 2021 in May; displaying the gift from the class of 2021 presented by the Noah Sisk ’21 and Victoria Tara ’21, Student Government Association co-presidents.

does it mean to be a Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning in today’s complex world, what role can the arts play in a Jesuit liberal arts college and what does it mean to be a Division I student-athlete? Given ongoing but increasingly visible national and international incidents of racism, how do we become a more inclusive, welcoming and sustaining campus community for various diverse constituencies? What does freedom of speech mean and how can it be challenging without being dehumanizing? Over the course of my years at Holy Cross, we have held two national elections and experienced enormous political conflict and even violence. We wonder if and how our democracy will survive. With increasing environmental degradation, we now wonder if life as we know it can survive. And, tragically, we know how devastating it can be when a student dies and a horrible accident causes our community great suffering. Over the past 16 months, a global pandemic continued to threaten life in vast areas of our world and has disrupted patterns of living for all of the human family.

As people of faith and commitment, we have approached each of these challenges with hope, discipline and creativity. We have used our minds and hearts to formulate responses that serve and sustain the human family and our common home. More than ever, we have seen in our alumni extraordinary leadership, generosity and service; we have witnessed the creativity and selfless commitment of our faculty; and we have been impressed by the resiliency and ingenuity of our students and staff. As an academic community, we have truly embodied our mission to be “women and men, for and with our world.”

While my time serving the Holy Cross community as president has come to an end, I want you to know that I will always be proud of my years as part of this extraordinary community and daily I will pray that the College continues to be the shining light on the hilltop that it has been for the past 178 years. ■

With deep gratitude,

Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J. President