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WORCESTER, Mass. – Kathryn Kennedy and Peter Renehan, both members of the College of the Holy Cross class of 2012, have been awarded Beckman Scholarships. The grant, which aims to significantly advance the education, research training and personal development of students studying chemistry, biochemistry, and the biological and medical sciences, was awarded to the College last year by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. It will provide four scholarships between 2009-2012. Holy Cross was one of nine institutions selected for the grant.

Established in 1997, each Beckman Scholarship is for $19,300 and is divided accordingly: $6,000 summer research stipend for each of two summers, $4,000 academic year research scholarship, $850 per summer for travel and supply funds, $1,600 for academic year travel and supply funds.

A chemistry major in the PreMed Program, Kennedy will be working with Richard Herrick, professor of chemistry. “My research involves the interactions of organometallic reagents and proteins that could eventually be used to diagnose or treat certain types of cancer,” she explains.

“This summer, I will be going to the University of Akron, where I will be trained in the process of growing protein crystals and determining the crystal structures of other compounds created in Professor Herrick’s lab,” explains Kennedy.

She also plans to use some of her travel funds to attend a chemistry conference in California in the fall.

On campus, she is a Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) tutor; she sits in on introductory chemistry classes, and runs problem-based sessions twice a week to give students extra practice and the opportunity to ask questions.

She is also a campus tour guide, a Noyce tutor for the Bancroft School, and a Dana Scholar.

After graduation, she plans to further her education.  “I am very interested in the development of new medications and medical techniques.”

Renehan, a chemistry major with an environmental studies concentration in the Premed Program, will work with Josh Farrell, associate professor of chemistry.

Renehan will be studying compounds in the environment to find a better way to dispose of nuclear waste and aromatic pollutants.

He plans to use some of his travel budget to attend a conference in California.

He is an executive board member of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), where he is a junior representative, and co-founder of Holy Cross EMS, a student-run EMT program, which is set to launch in the fall. He is also a PAL tutor in chemistry, a member of the Hanify-Howland Lecture Committee, a Dana Scholar, and an EMT at Naugatuck Ambulance in Naugatuck, Conn.

Upon graduation he plans to do full-time research and further his education.

Related Information

* Beckman Science Research Scholarship
* The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sarah Stanbury, English professor at the College of the Holy Cross, has recently been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a prestigious annual award that funds travel and research needs. Stanbury, who joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1992, was one of 180 recipients selected from a pool of nearly 3,000 applicants, and will begin her fellowship in January 2011.

The Guggenheim Fellowship competition is in its 86th year and awards are given to a diverse group of applicants, from artists to scientists, based on a candidate’s accomplishments and the promise of their project.

Stanbury won for her proposed manuscript, titled Creole Things in Chaucer’s World, which investigates the significance of manmade objects in the writing of Geoffrey Chaucer and by some of his 15th-century successors. In order to complete her research, Stanbury plans to travel to London, Prague and parts of Italy.

According to Stanbury, the idea for her manuscript evolved from previous work she had done on the work of Chaucer, one of her areas of interest.

“My work on Chaucer lately emerged from a book that I wrote in 2008, called The Visual Object of Desire in Late Medieval England,” says Stanbury, who will be on leave for three semesters, having also won a fellowship through Holy Cross. “That book talked about the way people in England wrote about religious objects, like the crucifix or statues of the Virgin Mary. I became interested in how ordinary household objects could be viewed. So this current research I am doing grew right out of my earlier work.”

Stanbury received tenure in 1996, serving as chair of the English department from 1997-99. The author of numerous articles and books, including The Visual Object of Desire in Late Medieval England (University of Pennsylvania Press, Middle Ages Series, 2008), Pearl (Medieval Institute Publications, 2001) and Seeing the Gawain-Poet: Description and the Act of Perception University of Pennsylvania Press, (Middle Ages Series, 1991), Stanbury has also won the O’Leary Faculty Recognition Award. Stanbury earned her B.A. in literature at Bennington College and her Ph.D. in English at Duke University.

Since 1995, four Holy Cross faculty members have received a Guggenheim fellowship, including Stanbury. Osvaldo Golijov, an associate professor in music, won a fellowship in 1995 while Robert ParkeHarrison, an associate professor of visual arts, won in 1999. Most recently, Leila Phillip of the English department received a fellowship in 2007.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross has received a major grant from the Henry Luce Foundation in the amount of $420,532 to encourage women undergraduates to major in the physical sciences, including mathematics, computer science, physics, and chemistry. The first Clare Booth Luce Scholars are Lindsey Tonge and Annie Cervin, both members of the class of 2011.

The Clare Boothe Luce Scholarship is awarded to two women majoring in the physical sciences who are entering their fourth year of study at the College. The scholarship will cover tuition, room and board, and fees. In addition, the College will support Luce Scholars with paid research fellowships during the summer prior to the start of their senior year.

Tonge, a chemistry major, has received a fellowship from the American Cancer Society to conduct cancer research at UMass Medical School under Nobel Prize Winner Craig Mello.  “This summer I am doing research on RNA interference (RNAi), which is one way the body regulates cells and tells certain genes to ‘turn on’ or ‘turn off,’” explains Tonge.  “Without RNAi our cells would rapidly grow out of control.  Therefore, there is great interest in RNAi and its implications in possible cures for cancer.”

During the school year, she works under Sarah Petty, assistant professor of chemistry, researching protein misfolding.  “For example, cataracts are actually misfolded proteins that fell out of solution, causing the milkiness in the eye,” she explains. “For the most part, it is difficult for a misfolded protein to regain function. However, we have found that under certain circumstances our model protein can actually regain function.”
She and Petty hope that if they can understand how and why their model protein folds and refolds, they can then apply that understanding to systems in the body and one day doctors may be able to reverse cataracts instead of having to remove them.

On campus, Tonge is a co-chair of the Science Ambassadors, a student group dedicated to making science fun for kids of all ages. “We conduct shows in Worcester schools and at Holy Cross,” she says.

She is an altar server coordinator, a member of the Holy Cross Goodtime Marching and Pep Band, and a volunteer in the Worcester community.

Upon graduation, she plans to go to graduate school and obtain her Ph.D. in chemistry.

Cervin, a mathematics major, will be spending the summer at the University of New Hampshire in NASA’s Research and Discover Program.  She will be researching how disasters that kill a marine population in one location can affect that same population in another location far away. “I hope to help figure out where marine protected areas should be located to most effectively replenish dying marine populations,” she explains.

At the end of the summer she will present her research at NASA’s Goddard Center in Maryland.

During the school year, she will be working with John Little, professor of mathematics at the College, on comparing different error-correcting codes. “These codes are used in many popular devices like CD audio systems,” she says.

On campus, Cervin will serve as the lead organizer (2010-11) of Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD), the largest student-run community service organization on campus. She is co-chair of Operation Smile; and a member of the Purple Key Society and Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society.

Upon graduation, she hopes to continue her education while serving others.

Related Information

* Clare Boothe Luce Scholarships for Women in the Physical Sciences

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross senior third baseman Matt Perry (Sudbury, Mass.) has been selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 41st round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Perry was the 1,243rd player taken overall in the draft. He becomes the first Crusader to be drafted since Drew Bigda went to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 39th round of the 2004 draft. Perry will become the 125th player in the history of the Holy Cross baseball program to sign a professional contract.

Perry was named first team All-Patriot League and second team All-New England this season, after being selected as the Patriot League Player of the Year in 2009. He posted a .409 batting average this year, with 81 hits, 54 runs scored and 36 runs batted in. Perry also set Holy Cross single-season records for games played (52), games started (52), at-bats (198), runs scored (54), hits (81) and total bases (116) in 2010. He concluded his Holy Cross career with a .365 batting average, a .537 slugging percentage, a .439 on-base percentage and 100 runs batted in.

Perry will become the third generation in his family to play professional baseball. His father, Ronnie Perry, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1979 and the Chicago White Sox in 1980, eventually signing with the White Sox. His grandfather, Ron Perry, signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954, before the advent of the draft. Both Perry’s father and grandfather also played collegiately at Holy Cross.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross graduated 715 seniors, and conferred four honorary degrees at its 164th Commencement exercises on Friday, May 28. Mark Shriver, vice president and managing director of Save the Children, delivered the principal address and received an honorary doctor of public service degree.

In addition to Shriver, Holy Cross awarded honorary degrees to: Rev. William A. Barry, S.J., spiritual director and author of numerous books, including Finding God in All Things; Rev. Sally Bingham, Episcopal priest and canon for the environment in the Diocese of California; and Sidney Callahan, author, lecturer, college professor and psychologist, who has written numerous books and articles devoted to religious, psychological and ethical questions.

Holy Cross senior Julianna B. Stuart, a religious studies major with a concentration in peace and conflict studies, from Storrs, Conn., delivered the valedictory address.

Local media was on hand to share the stories of the day.

NECN/Channel 3 (May 28, 2010)
Many Holy Cross grads accept jobs in Worcester

Telegram & Gazette (May 29, 2010)
College of the Holy Cross: Kennedys’ service legacy rekindled by speaker

Politics Daily (AOL.com) (May 31, 2010)
With Holy Cross Commencement Speech, Mark Shriver Continues Family Tradition

WORCESTER, Mass. – Seven faculty members at the College of the Holy Cross have been promoted to the rank of full professor. These promotions will be in effect for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Lawrence E. Cahoone, of the philosophy department, earned a B.A. from Clark University and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  He joined the Holy Cross faculty in 2000 and received tenure in 2003. At the College he served as chair of the College Curriculum Committee and chair of the Ad-Hoc committee to rewrite the Curriculum Committee Statute.  He is the author or editor of numerous publications, including From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology (Blackwell, 2003) and his most recent book, Cultural Revolutions: Reason versus Culture in Philosophy, Politics, and Jihad (Penn State, 2005). His research concentrates on social and postmodern philosophy and metaphysics and natural science. He lives in Wrentham, Mass.

James M. Kee, of the English department, received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1981, he has served the College in numerous roles, including, most recently, as Chair of the Search Committee for the Director of Library Services, a member of the Finance and Planning Council, and an advisor in the Mentor Program. He has served as interim vice president for academic affairs, dean, and the chair of the English department.  In 2007, he was the recipient of Holy Cross’ Distinguished Teaching Award. He resides in Paxton, Mass.

Lee Oser, of the English department, earned his B.A. from Reed College and his Ph.D. from Yale University.  An Edward Bennett Williams Fellow, Oser joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1998 and he received tenure in 2002.  He has served the college through numerous outlets including president of Phi Beta Kappa, chair of the Leonard J. McCarthy S.J. Memorial Prize, and co-chair of the Faculty Compensation Committee.  He has received numerous research grants including the Batchelor (Ford) Foundation grant, and this fall he was a recipient of a Holy Cross faculty fellowship.  His four books include The Ethics of Modernism: Moral Ideas in Yeats, Eliot, Joyce, Woolf, and Beckett (Cambridge University Press), The Return of Christian Humanism: Chesterton, Eliot, Tolkien, and the Romance of History (University of Missouri Press), and Out of What Chaos: A Novel (Scarith), all published in 2007. His poetry has appeared in leading magazines and journals, including National Review, Southwest Review, Commonweal, and Literary Imagination. He is secretary of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers. His research concentrates on religion and literature.

Robert ParkeHarrison, of the visual arts department, received his B.F.A. at the Kansas City Art Institute and his M.F.A. at the University of New Mexico.  A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1995, he received tenure in 2001.  ParkeHarrison has served as the faculty advisor of the Gesso student art organization and severed as studio head. He has also coordinated the visiting artists’ lectures, the Studio Reviews and departmental trips to New York City Museums and Mass Moca. In 1999, ParkeHarrison was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 2007 he was nominated and awarded the Nancy Graves Foundation Fellowship. Over the years has been a recipient of numerous Holy Cross research and publication grants.  His photography can be found in several museum collections around the country including the Whitney Museum, L.A. County Museum; and locally at the Worcester Art Museum, DeCordovia Museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and The Fogg Art Museum. His images have been published in journals including The New Yorker, Artforum, Art in America, and Harpers Magazine. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions including Counterpoint at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City, The Architect’s Brother at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, Calif. and at the George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y. ParkeHarrison continues to teach students the creative possibilities of utilizing photography as a medium to communicate ideas and explore issues.

Kenneth Neal Prestwich, of the biology department, earned his B.A. from Davidson College and his Ph.D. from the University of Florida.  He joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1984 and earned tenure in 1990.  In 2009, he was the recipient of Holy Cross’s Arthur J. O’Leary Faculty Recognition Award and received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Arachnological Society.  He has been the recipient of numerous grants including the Howard Hughes Medical Foundation and the Hewlett-Mellon Grant.  His research concentrates on measuring the acoustic scope of species’ mating calls.  Prestwich resides in North Brookfield, Mass., for the academic year and lives in Gainesville, Fla. for the summer and the months of December and January.

Richard Schmidt, of the psychology department, received his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. He joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1995 and received tenure in 1999.  He currently serves the College as a biopsychology concentration faculty member, and is a member of the psychology department’s Computer Committee, and the College Curriculum Committee.  He has received numerous grants for research, including in 2008 as the principal investigator for the Perceptual Pick-up Processes in Interpersonal Coordination from the National Science Foundation, and the most recent in 2009, as the co-investigator of the Social Coordination in Agents with Deficits from the Agence Nationale de La Recherche, France.  He currently holds a research position with the Center for the Ecological Study of Perception & Action at the University of Connecticut. His research concentrates on interpersonal movement coordination and its ramifications for social interactions. He resides in Holden, Mass.

Rev. Thomas Worcester, S.J., of the history department, earned his B.A. from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.  He joined the Holy Cross faculty in 1994 and received tenure in 2000.  He is the author of Seventeenth-Century Cultural Discourse: France and the Preaching of Bishop Camus (Mouton de Gruyter, 1997); he is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to the Jesuits (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and the author of numerous articles in publications including Seventeenth-Century French Studies, Sixteenth Century Journal, and French Colonial History.  Fr. Worcester was co-curator of two major art exhibitions supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, one at Boston College and one at the Worcester Art Museum. He has been the recipient of several faculty fellowships from Holy Cross, and was recognized with the College’s Marfuggi Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2006. He served as the Wade Chair at Marquette University for 2008-09.  He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa (Columbia University chapter) and numerous professional organizations including the American Catholic Historical Association and the Renaissance Society of America.  His research interests include religious culture in France and Italy, Jesuit history, and the history of the papacy.