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Environmental challenges are often framed in future tense — how our actions will impact our children and our children’s children. But what are some of the consequences of the choices we make with regard to the environment that we can feel now and in our own lifetimes? And what might we have to change — and give up — to set a new path for remediation and sustainability?

The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture continues to explore these questions with its yearlong series, In Our Lifetimes: Environmental Change and Stewardship. This semester, lectures will tackle the global issues of freshwater scarcity, the biodiversity of species and the effects of pesticides on human health, while members of the Presidential Task Force on the Environment at Holy Cross will lay out the plans and challenges for reducing the College’s carbon footprint and promoting sustainability on campus.

All events will be held in Rehm Library, Smith Hall, and are free and open to the public. Events are also recorded and accessible anytime from the Center’s website.

Journalist and author Steven Solomon opens the second half of the series with a lecture titled “When the Well Runs Dry: Finding Solutions for the Freshwater Crisis,” on Feb. 3 at 4:30 p.m. In his recent book, Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization, Solomon asserts that freshwater scarcity is one of the 21st century’s decisive, looming challenges and is driving new political, economic and environmental realities across the globe.

On Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m., John Cannon, associate director for planning and operations in Physical Plant, and Katherine Kiel, associate professor of economics, will talk about the efforts of the College and the actions of students that have the greatest positive and negative impacts on sustainability on campus. Cannon and Kiel are members of the Presidential Task Force on the Environment, the committee that drafted the College’s carbon neutral plan and is charged with promoting good environmental practices on campus.

Holy Cross alumnus Kierán Suckling ’88 returns to Mount St. James on Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. to talk about “The Biodiversity Crisis: Why Driving Species Extinct Makes Us Less Human.” Founder and executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, Suckling created and maintains the country’s most comprehensive endangered species database. He will talk about the extent of biodiversity loss in the United States and globally, and why the extinction crisis, though most often spoken of in ecological terms, is undermining our own humanity.

Finally, the series will conclude with a talk exploring the real health implications of widespread pesticide use. Brenda Eskenazi, director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California Berkeley, will share “Lessons from the Fields: Pesticides and Health,” on March 28 at 4:30 p.m. Eskenazi has studied the effects of environmental exposures to reproductive, perinatal and children’s health for two decades. Her talk is the Katherine A. Henry ’86 Memorial Lecture, part of an annual series that addresses women’s health issues.

Learn more about In Our Lifetimes and listen to last semester’s talks online.

Waterfall

The Council of Editors of Learned Journals, an allied organization of the Modern Language Association, has awarded “Interfaces,” a bilingual illustrated journal co-edited by a Holy Cross professor, with the Parnassus Award for Significant Editorial Achievement.

The award is only given every three years.

Maurice Géracht has served as co-editor of the French-English journal “Interfaces” since 2000, and has been involved with the publication since it was founded in 1990 by the late Michel Baridon, professor emeritus of the University of Burgundy, professor of the gardens at l’Ecole du Louvre, and at the Versailles National School of Landscape Architecture. “Interfaces” earned the imprimatur of the National Center for Scientific Research in 1995. It is now published jointly by Holy Cross and the Université Paris Diderot. Frédéric Ogée, professor of English literature at Université Paris Diderot, is the other editor of the journal.

The Parnassus Award is based on a single issue of a journal published within the previous three years, and organizers emphasize that it recognizes “significant realization of editorial mission” and the highest standards of editorial practice, including high-quality content, compelling arrangement of contents, style, visual appeal and readability.

Géracht accepted his award at the Modern Language Association Convention in Los Angeles on Jan. 8.

“The CELJ Parnassus Award for Significant Editorial Achievement is assessment and recognition by peer editors; it is therefore at once humbling, satisfying, affirming and energizing,” says Geracht. “I must say I was stunned when I first received the news. It is certainly a signal that we are doing something right, that we are doing something special, and that we can, and that we must push ahead to do much more.

“In the letter announcing the award, and at the ceremony, “Interfaces” was praised for the high quality of its content and scholarship, the readability of both its French and English contributions. Noted as well was ‘the amount of editorial care and detail in assembling the scholarship, the art, and the prose that form each issue.’ I was pleased about that last point. For me, good criticism and scholarship and belles-lettres are not mutually exclusive.”

The Stephen J. Prior Professor of Humanities in the English department, Géracht earned his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. Fluent in French, he was born and raised in Paris and moved to America as an adolescent. He has been teaching in the Holy Cross English department since 1966.

“Interfaces” focuses on the dividing line — the “interface” — between language and the image, two means of expression different and yet inseparable. This interface was displaced when the cinema made the image move, then speak, thus making time its medium and creating a new type of discourse. But the old interface between language and the static image still remains and its power is enhanced by modern technology.

Two issues are published per year, centered on a theme or author with full bibliography. “Interfaces” is innovative as it contains a CD which allows it to include as many images as its contributors have rights to publish, as well as film frames, and, as in a recent issue, a 20 minute original video. More, “Interfaces” also includes in every copy of every issue an original signed and numbered work of art (e.g., lithograph, photograph, etching) appropriate to the theme of the volume. Some of the art offerings have been by famous international artists, including Arakawa, Calum Colvin, Dara Gellman, and print maker Michael Phillips, who created several fascimiles from Blake’s “Songs of Innocence and Experience.” Others have national or more local reputations. All are very collectible. “Interfaces” is printed by the Graphic Arts department at Holy Cross.

Many staff members at Holy Cross share in the award, says Géracht. They include: Mary Morrisard-Larkin, CD designer (director of Educational Technology); Sharon D. Matys, layout designer (desktop publishing, Graphic Arts); Margaret Nelson, cover designer (academic computing support specialist, Educational Technology); and Pamela Reponen, copy editor (assistant editor, Holy Cross Magazine).

Numerous faculty members serve as advisory editors, including John Cull, professor of Spanish; James Kee, professor of English; Ambroise Kom, professor of French; Richard Matlak, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies and professor of English; Stephen Vineberg, professor of theatre; Helen M. Whall, professor of English; and Rev. Thomas Worcester, S.J., professor of history.

Photography by John Buckingham

Maurice Geracht

The Holy Cross Community will continue its yearlong celebration of the College’s Jesuit heritage with spring events highlighting the global presence of the Society of Jesus. The “Jesuits Around the Globe” series includes guest lectures, liturgies, discussions and concerts, all of which draw upon Jesuit influence—past and present—in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Jesuit Heritage 2010-11 is organized by the Mission & Identity Committee. For additional information, contact Rev. Greg Lynch, S.J., or Tom Cadigan.

The following spring semester events are open to the Holy Cross community and to the public.

Monday, Feb. 7
4:30 p.m., Hogan Campus Center, room 519
Beyond Ricci: Celebrating 400 Years of the Chinese Catholic Church
Rev. Jeremy Clarke, S.J., will show his film Beyond Ricci, a look at the legacy of the great 16th-century Jesuit missionary to China.  The film describes Ricci’s accomplishments and the growth of the Catholic Church in China from the late 16th century to the present day.  Clarke is assistant professor in the history department at Boston College.

Thursday, March 31
4:30 p.m., Rehm Library
From the Rising of the Sun Even to its Setting: Jesuit Perspectives on the Arts, East and West
Rev. Thomas Lucas, S.J., will offer a multimedia presentation on how the early Jesuits used the arts and architecture as dazzling rhetorical tools of persuasion across the world from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Lucas is University Professor and Director of the Thacher Gallery at the University of San Francisco.

Sunday, May 1
3 p.m., St. Joseph Chapel
Jesuit Heritage Concert of Baroque Music
Featuring the Holy Cross Schola Cantorum; Ensemble Abendmusik; and Jennifer McPherson, Holy Cross Organ Scholar 2013.  Directed by James David Christie.

With the beginning of a new semester, a new fitness option for Holy Cross students will officially open.

The Loyola Fitness Studio in the basement of Loyola Hall is a newly renovated 2,800-square foot space with state-of-the-art cardiovascular equipment and an area for stretching. It provides students with an alternative to the Smith Wellness Center in the Hart Recreation Center.

The facility, which has wireless Internet access, will be open to students as of 6 a.m. on Jan. 24.

The exercise machines — including nine treadmills, five ellipticals, five stationary bikes, and two adaptive motion trainers — all have large, 12-inch interactive screens, with cable and entertainment access for iPods and MP3 players. The five stationary bicycles include one recumbent bike and two interactive bikes which users can experience different “terrains” and “race” with each other. The facility also features a 17-piece Nautilus system.

All residential students have card-swipe access to the fitness studio through a back entrance to Loyola Hall.

When the College is in session, the facility will be open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

View photos of the Loyola Fitness Studio.

Treadmill

Holy Cross will celebrate the 25th national holiday honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. with a talk titled “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, March 31, 1968” at a brown bag lunch on Jan. 17 from noon to 1 p.m. in Suite B of the Hogan Campus Center. Dessert and beverages will be provided.

Robert T. Jones, trainer and facilitator of Kingian Nonviolence, will give the talk. Kingian Nonviolence is a philosophy and methodology that provides the knowledge, skills and motivation necessary for people to pursue peaceful strategies for solving personal and community problems.

A civil rights leader, Dr. King is heralded as one of America’s greatest advocates for peace, justice and freedom.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A year after the earthquake, Haiti is still struggling — and the world is still trying to determine the best ways to help a devastated nation. The current issue of Holy Cross Magazine features the reflections and stories of Holy Cross alumni who are standing in solidarity with the people of Haiti and have joined the efforts toward healing, justice, and hope.

Elizabeth Sheehan ’81, founder of Containers2Clinics, tells how she worked with designers and engineers to convert metal shipping containers into medical clinics — and how the first one opened to serve women, girls, and infants at a hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Navy Cmdr. Tim Donahue, M.D., ’91 arrived in Haiti on Jan. 19, 2010 on the USNS Comfort, where he was chief of surgery. His team treated hundreds of injured people in the initial days after the earthquake.

Haitian-born Wesley Laîné ’10 works as a project manager with International Action, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that helps provide clean water in Haiti.

Their stories can be found on the website of Holy Cross Magazine. The website also contains several web exclusives: Laîné shares observations from his visit to Haiti in October, and Michael Hughes, M.D., ’84 writes about the week he spent working at Haiti’s Port-au-Prince University Hospital.

Photography by Andres Martinez Casares/EPA/Landov

Haiti cover

Nearly 100 alumni working in the financial services industry gathered at Bank of America Merrill Lynch five days before Christmas. But it wasn’t a holiday party — they were there for the annual Holy Cross Finance Networking Reception designed to help the 69 students in attendance navigate their careers.

The event, now in its seventh year, was hosted by Jim Probert, head of Americas, Investment Grade Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., some alums hung around talking to students until almost 9.

“It was a terrific illustration of the willingness of Holy Cross alumni to step up and assist our students without hesitation,” says Amy Murphy, director of the Career Planning Center.

“It was encouraging to see the turnout — the room was packed to the point where there were people overflowing into the lobby,” says Juliana Biolsi ’12, a psychology major. “The enthusiasm of the alumni helped settle my nerves about entering the challenging world of business.”

The event is held the first working day after fall semester final exams each year to accommodate students who do not live in close proximity to New York. Students can then use their time in January to shadow and set up further meetings with the alumni they meet at the reception. All financial services industries are represented, including investment banking, asset management, fixed income, financial planning, hedge funds, insurance, operations, human resources, and technology.

Alumni are keen to offer their assistance to the students

“As someone who utilized the Holy Cross alumni network as an undergraduate and still continues to now, this tool cannot be underestimated in its ability to aid in building connections and cultivating relationships with other ‘men and women for others,’ ” says Meg Moran ’08, assistant program manager, U.S. Global Markets Graduate Development at Barclays Capital.

In addition to doling out advice on job and internship searches, interview preparation, and networking, alumni made sure students aren’t taking Holy Cross’ liberal arts education for granted.

“At the event, I often found myself discussing that a career on Wall Street is without a doubt attainable regardless of one’s major and course of study while at Holy Cross,” says Moran. “While an interest in the financial markets and business is certainly necessary, the ability to think critically and work hard, both skills fostered at Holy Cross, are far more difficult to teach on the job than Excel shortcuts and bond math.”

Given their propensity to helping alma mater, alumni were, not surprisingly, behind the inception of the program.

Members of the Holy Cross Leadership Council of New York initiated the event in 2004 after noticing that students interested in working in financial services industries weren’t always fully informed about the nature of the business.

“Working with Amy Murphy, I started this networking event seven years ago to give students from Holy Cross an opportunity to meet with alumni in the financial sector in New York City and ask the kinds of questions they might not feel comfortable asking in a normal interview setting,” says John Mullman ’82, P07, managing director of portfolio manager at Jennison Associates in New York, who has spearheaded the event since its inception.

The event has grown since 2004, when it was first hosted at Morgan Stanley and drew about 40 students and 25 alumni, according to Murphy. The event is hosted by different alums each year.

“I had the opportunity to talk with a number of alumni who gave me great advice — from interviewing tips to book recommendations — and even some insight into the market entering into 2011,” says Biolsi.

She adds: “I left the reception so proud to say that I attend Holy Cross,” says Biolsi. “The network of alumni that I will soon join is amazing. I am so grateful for their active participation in helping current students follow in their footsteps to success in business.”

Related Information:

• Career Planning
  

  Networking

The College of the Holy Cross has received top awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District I Communication Awards committee for its newly designed admissions publications and enhanced admissions website. The College’s admissions viewbook, a 48-page booklet titled “Being Holy Cross,” earned a gold award.  The entire suite of new admissions publications combined with the redesigned website received a silver award, which was the highest award given in the category of admissions recruiting packages.

The winning entries are the result of a collaborative marketing effort by the College’s Office of Admissions and the Office of Public Affairs, along with creative partners kor group, the Boston-based design firm; digital marketing agency Pixelgroove of New York; copywriter Susan Geib of Written Work in Durham, N.H.; and Boston photographer/videographer Greg Hren.  The new materials, introduced in August 2010, included complete redesign of the suite of Holy Cross student recruitment publications.  The vibrant new designs, dynamic campus photography and compelling text are enhanced by an interactive approach that drives readers to online videos and slide shows, all serving to bring the Holy Cross experience “to life.”

“We are thrilled with this recognition from our peers in education,” said Ellen Ryder, director of public affairs at Holy Cross. “We all know that teens live online, but print publications are still critically important vehicles to communicate what’s special about a college and why it may be the right fit for a student. Telling the story of Holy Cross in a way that worked in both print and on the web was definitely a challenge.  We were very fortunate to have creative partners who understood our challenge and were committed to finding solutions.”

The new publications and enhanced admissions website were developed in response to comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research conducted by Widmeyer Communications among high school students and their parents.  The research findings, which included information about how prospective students gather information in their college search, helped provide Holy Cross with a strategic communications blueprint.

Ann McDermott, director of admissions, said that a distinguishing aspect of the new material was that the print publications and website enhancements were conceptualized, developed and deployed simultaneously.

“Our new publications—including the viewbook, poster, financial aid brochure, and visit guide with a campus map—are all designed to work together with our online presence. We wanted prospective students and their parents to be able to easily move between media for information and detail about the College’s faculty, students, academics, athletics, and cocurricular offerings.”

Since the debut of the new publications and website in August 2010, page views of the new admissions site are up 35 percent over the same period last year, and views of the College’s home page are up 40 percent. Views are also up for the “Visiting Holy Cross” page (34 percent), financial aid site (25 percent), and “Contact Us” page (22 percent).

Holy Cross will be honored, along with other award winners, at the CASE District I conference in Boston on January 27-28.

CASE is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas. CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with their alumni and donors, raise funds for campus projects, produce recruitment materials, market their institutions to prospective students, diversify the profession, and foster public support of education. The CASE District I awards program recognizes the communications work of educational institutions located in the Northeast and parts of Canada.

View the new admissions site.

Sixteen Holy Cross students joined thousands of students from Jesuit institutions across the country in Washington D.C. for the annual Ignatian Family Teach-in (IFT) on the weekend of Nov. 13- 15, to protest the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as School of the Americas (SOA).

Sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, this was the first year the protest was held in Washington, D.C.  Previously, since 1995, Jesuits, former Jesuits, lay pastoral leaders, and the broader Ignatian family had gathered at the gates of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Fort Benning to call for the closure of the institute and to commemorate the deaths of the Salvadoran Jesuit martyrs, their housekeeper and her daughter, the four churchwomen, and the many other men, women, and children who have been innocent victims of civil war and bloodshed.

The annual event also featured an advocacy day, when representatives from the Jesuit schools visited their respective U.S. Representatives and Senators.  Holy Cross collaborated with Boston College, Boston College High School, and Boston College School of Theology and advocated three social justice issues: the closing of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the DREAM Act (a bill that would provide illegal alien students who graduate from U.S. high schools the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four-year institution of higher learning), and support for a climate change policy.  Holy Cross students met with Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown and Representatives Mike Capuano (8th District), Barney Frank (4th District), and Jim McGovern (3rd District).  The group met with staff members from Sen. Brown, Sen. Kerry, and Rep. Capuano’s office, and met personally met with Rep. McGovern and Frank.

“The IFT was great because I was able to see over 1,200 other like-minded students come together and not only protest, but also  meet with government officials and simply voice our opinions in a formal setting,” says Matt King ’14.  “It was also a time where I, just a Holy Cross student, could be a voice for positive change on a national level.”

Gordon Wong ’11 recounts: “For a long time I thought that my vote didn’t really count for anything.  But having gone down to D.C. and meeting with elected officials from Massachusetts, I now know how important it is not only to vote, but also to be an active member of society. What I learned from this experience is that our officials want to hear from us.  It’s moving to see a room full of young voices making requests from a politician or their staff person.  The experience reminded me that people still have power.”

The Holy Cross students who participated are all members of Pax Christi, a local chapter of a national organization called Pax Christi USA, which calls for the nonviolent solutions to armed conflicts.

Students

From the bird’s eye view atop the Washington Monument to the underground depths of the Metrorail system, I, alongside 15 fellow Crusaders, soaked up the D.C. experience this past fall semester. The competitive Washington Semester Program challenges Holy Cross upperclassmen to develop skills fostered by our liberal arts education by questioning and analyzing the contributions of agencies, think tanks, public interest organizations, and other groups to our democratic system.

With deeply-rooted passions to practice law and to advocate for society’s less fortunate, I interned for the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, Family Services Division, Child Protection Unit. This experience provided me with the opportunity to work directly with two attorneys while exploring how the law strives to best protect abused and neglected youth.

My days were spent composing orders, drafting motions, collecting testimony from witnesses, engaging in conversation with professionals, and observing how various hearings and trials unfolded. From this internship, I not only gained an understanding of the professional responsibilities of an attorney, but also was constantly reminded of the importance of solidarity. Together, we must work to address social, political, and economic inequalities feeding into our foster care system, as well as to provide support to American families in the best interest of the next generation.

In addition to interning four full-time days per week, my other academic responsibilities included writing a 50 page thesis and preparing for a weekly public policy seminar. Both scholarly projects fostered my development of a professional work ethic and strengthened my analytical and writing skills.

The Washington Semester far exceeds the typical classroom learning experiences as the city pieces together our country’s past, present, and future. Learning opportunities sprung up every single day. Over the course of the semester, I was fortunate enough to hear Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer share his interpretation of the Constitution as well as Alan Bjerga, president of the National Press Club, describe his thoughts on the changing media culture. Additionally, any spare second was devoted to experiencing the historical artifacts housed within the Smithsonian museums, National Archives, and Library of Congress.

The semester would not have been complete, however, without the support exhibited by Holy Cross alumni. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’71 welcomed us into his chambers and engaged us in the joys as well as challenges of his position within the judicial system. Brian Morrissey ’04, a former law clerk for Justice Thomas, discussed his insider view of the court.

NBC/MSNBC Studios also invited us to view a taping of Hardball. Host Chris Matthews’67 inspired us to form our own perspectives of the world around us based off experience. Adam Verdugo ’06, a producer at NBC News and prior participant in the Washington Semester Program, described his journey across the country to cover the elections. The Holy Cross Club of the Capital Region and Phil Colvin ’04, president of the Holy Cross Club of the Capital Region, also arranged multiple Holy Cross networking opportunities. Crusaders past and present united while relishing the joy of a tailgate and cheering on our football team against Georgetown in late September.

While traveling full speed ahead in pursuing my interests, I did not forget to tend to the needs of my 20-something adventurous self. Weekends allotted time to savor every last bite of a chocolate sprinkle cupcake from the nationally renowned Georgetown Cupcake, enjoy the sights and sounds at a Nationals as well as Capitals game, and participate in events on the National Mall. I am also proud to say my roommates and I prepared family style dinners more often than we ate out, and we mastered the routes of the blue, yellow, red, orange, and green metro lines.

As this chapter of my undergraduate education concludes, I am thankful for the experiences and people who forever stole pieces of my heart as well as for Holy Cross’ dedication to aiding its students in pursuing their dreams.

Sara Lonks ’12, from North Providence, R.I., is a political science major with a Peace and Conflict Studies concentration.

Related Information:

• Read a blog by Tricia Dunn ’12 who also took part in the Washington Semester Program this fall
  

  Lonks