News

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a conference, titled “Sacred Spaces: Legacy and Responsibility,” from Friday, April 5, through Sunday, April 7, at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. The conference is designed to explore the history and culture surrounding sites of worship, as well as offer practical advice on archiving and insuring these sites.

Sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross, and supported by the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, the conference will have approximately 250 participants, including scholars, music specialists, archivists, preservationists, college students and clergy members.

Leading scholars and practitioners will present their research through papers, roundtable discussions and lectures on topics such as music, architecture and art of American buildings from the 19th century. In addition, there will be concerts of sacred music, tours of local historical churches, and viewing of material profiling restoration programs.

The conference is being held in conjunction with an exhibit of prints and sacred objects, titled “Sacred Spaces: Building and Remembering Sites of Worship in the Nineteenth Century,” on display at the College’s Cantor Art Gallery through April 14.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Nearly 400 Holy Cross students, alumni, faculty and staff will take part in the fifth annual “Holy Cross Cares Day” on Saturday, March 23.

Showing their appreciation for the Worcester community, participants will spend the day performing service-oriented activities, such as painting at several Worcester community centers, raking vacant lots and putting up fences.

The day begins at 9 a.m., with a breakfast and send-off from representatives of the Holy Cross administration. Buses will transport the participants to numerous sites around the city. Participants will work all day and return to Holy Cross around 2 p.m., when the day will culminate with a picnic lunch.

Among the sites slated to be part of Holy Cross Cares Day are: Willis Center Houses, the Mustard Seed, Jeremiah’s Inn, Cookson Park and HOPE Lodge.

WORCESTER, Mass. – A collegiate a cappella invitational concert will be held at the College of the Holy Cross on Friday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center.

The concert is titled “Aural Fixation” and will feature “Fools on the Hill,” the host group from Holy Cross, as well as “The Veritones” from Harvard, and “Voice Male” from Brandeis University.

Tickets are $2 with a Holy Cross identification card, and $4 for the general public, and will be sold at the door.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Edward T. O’Donnell, associate professor of history at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., is an expert in the field of Irish-American history. He is author of the just-released “1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish-American History” (Broadway Books, 2002) and the forthcoming “Henry George for Mayor! Irish Nationalism, Labor Radicalism, and Independent Politics in Gilded Age New York City” (Columbia University Press).

In addition, O’Donnell writes a weekly history column, “Hibernian Chronicle,” for the Irish Echo, the largest-selling Irish-American weekly in the U.S. In 1996, O’Donnell curated “Gaelic Gotham: A History of the Irish in New York,” at the Museum of the City of New York, the largest museum exhibit ever mounted on the Irish in America. He also served as a historical consultant to the PBS documentary “Long Journey Home: The Irish in America” (Buena Vista Films, Lennon Documentary Group, 1996).

He may be contacted at 508.793.3730 (office), 508.829.4964 (home office) or eodonnel@holycross.edu

WORCESTER, Mass. – Children in the Worcester community, age 12 and younger, are invited to participate in an Easter egg hunt at Holy Cross on Saturday, March 23, at 9 a.m. The free event will take place on the lawn in front of the Hart Center. In the event of rain, the event will take place inside the College’s Hart Center. The “Easter Bunny” will be present.

The fun is being sponsored by Holy Cross S.A.D.E.R. (Student Ambassadors Developing External Relations).

WORCESTER, Mass. – Two Holy Cross Mock Trial teams placed fourth and fifth out of 20 college and university teams in the Mock Trial Regional Tournament held last month. After defeating long-standing rivals, such as Yale University, Holy Cross received two bids for the National Competition. Only the top six placed teams hold this honor, and the Northeastern Region is considered to be the most competitive in the nation. The College will send two teams to the tournament, which will be held in St. Paul, Minn., from March 15-17.

The fourth-placed team is comprised of Chris Hirl ’03, Meghan McNamara ’02, Noah McPike ’05, John O’Donnell (Captain) ’04, Matt Pieraldi ’04, John Steffy ’04 and Adam Zybluweski ’05.

The second team includes Shauna Crehan ’04, Liz Crowley ’02, Ruth Demeter ’05, Amanda DeVuono ’05, Erin Hickey ’03, Cecilia Kelly (Captain) ’04, Rian Romeo ’05 and Erin Tierney ’03. To the delight of everyone, this young team unexpectedly took home fifth place and a bid for the tournament.

According to Advisor Scott Sandstrom, associate professor of accounting and pre-law advisor, “Mock Trial tournaments force students to plan, analyze, work as a team and prepare strategies … precisely the skills that students should learn at top liberal arts colleges like Holy Cross.”

Erin Tierney, a senior Mock Trial member who one day hopes to go to law school, adds, “Mock Trial is a good opportunity for students that want to explore the field of law.”

The Mock Trial Team started in the fall of 1997 at Holy Cross. Teams consist of six to eight students who take on roles of attorneys and witnesses in a simulated court case. Participants gain experience in areas such as the stages of trial, how to argue objections, and how to direct and cross-examine a witness. The Holy Cross Mock Trial team finished sixth out of 393 teams at the National Mock Trial Tournament last spring, and was honored with “The Spirit of Mock Trial,” a major award given to the team that embodies civility and fair play in the practice of law.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Approximately 300 Holy Cross students will depart from Worcester on March 2 to spend their spring break participating in the Appalachia Service Program and Habitat for Humanity.

Students involved in the Appalachia Service Program (a program created at Holy Cross more than 20 years ago) will travel to 11 sites in Virginia and Kentucky to assist with home repair, visit the elderly, work in soup kitchens, help the disabled and tutor school children. The program is being lead by Chris Kearns-Barrett, a 1983 graduate of Holy Cross. (His wife, Marybeth Kearns-Barrett, is an associate director in the chaplains’ office at Holy Cross and a member of the Class of 1984.) Marianne Bellino and Joe Petriello, both members of the Class of 2002, are the student coordinators.

A chapter of Habitat for Humanity was established at Holy Cross two years ago. Groups of student volunteers will travel to 12 sites in Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama to build low-income housing. Entirely student-run, Holy Cross Habitat for Humanity volunteers work in Worcester and Northboro year-round. They are in the process of building the first Holy Cross co-sponsored house in Worcester. Last year, Holy Cross’ chapter was recognized nationally as the college who sent the most student volunteers. Ryan Leonard and Maura Kaveney, both members of the Class of 2002, are the student coordinators.

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a public dialogue and debate on the topic of rape on Thursday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center at Holy Cross. The discussion is part of a College symposium, titled “Rethinking Rape: The Ethics and Politics of Sexual Assault.”

The event organizers are two Holy Cross alumnae who were instrumental in the formation of Holy Cross’ Women’s Studies Program.

Maria Bevacqua, Class of 1990, is assistant professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Minnesota-Mankato. She is author of “Rape on the Public Agenda: Feminism and the Politics of Sexual Assault,” Northeastern University Press, 2000.

Ann J. Cahill, Class of 1991, is assistant professor of Philosophy at Elon University and author of “Rethinking Rape,” Cornell University Press, 2001, and “Women on the Hill: Alumnae Reflect on Twenty Years of Coeducation, 1972-1992,” Holy Cross, 1993. The latter book is regularly taught at Holy Cross.

The books will be available for purchase and book signing at the event.

This event is sponsored by the Women’s Studies Program and co-sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Seven faculty members at Holy Cross have been promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure.

Nancy E. Andrews of the classics department earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College, and both a master’s and Ph.D. from Harvard University. A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1996, Andrews has served on the Committee on Faculty Affairs and has served as president of the College’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She is the recipient of the Harvard-Danforth Award for Distinction in Teaching. Andrews is author of “Philosophical Satire in Callimachus’ Aetia Prologue,” Hellinistica Groningana III (1998). She is a resident of Worcester.

Bertram D. Ashe of the English department earned a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University, a master’s from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Ph.D. from the College of William and Mary. A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1996, Ashe has served in the College’s Odyssey program for the past three years, and has served as director of the African-American Studies Program since 1999. A past Holy Cross Summer Research Fellow, Ashe is author of the forthcoming “From Within the Frame: Storytelling in African-American Fiction” (New York: Routledge). Ashe resides in Worcester.

Francisco Gago-Jover of the Spanish department received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Valladolid in Spain, and both a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A member of the Holy Cross community since 1996, Gago-Jover has served as both a Judicial and Faculty Advisor. He has received two Hewlett-Mellon grants to develop course materials at Holy Cross. He is author of “Arte de bien morir y Breve confesionario,” (1999), and editor of the Dictionary of the Old Spanish Language. Gago-Jover resides in Worcester.

Lee Oser of the English department earned a bachelor’s degree from Reed College, and both a master’s and Ph.D. from Yale University. A member of the Holy Cross community since 1998, Oser is one of the College’s Edward Bennett Williams Fellows. He has served on the Committee on Faculty Affairs and is a member of the Philosophy Reading Group. He is currently working on two book projects with the help of a Ford Foundation Grant. Oser is author of “T.S. Elliot and American Poetry,” (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1998). He is a resident of Worcester.

Denise Schaeffer of the political science department earned a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College, and both a master’s and Ph.D. from Fordham University. A member of the Holy Cross community since 1995, Schaeffer is an active member in the Women’s Studies Committee. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for College Teachers. Outside of Holy Cross, Schaeffer has served as chair of the American Political Science Association in the Politics and Literature Division. She is author of the forthcoming article, “The Utility of Ink: Rousseau and Robinson Crusoe,” (The Review of Politics). Schaeffer is a resident of Natick.

Edward John Soares of the mathematics department earned a bachelor’s degree from Providence College, and both a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. He has been a member of the Holy Cross community since 1996, and has acted on the Committee on Faculty Affairs and the Sub-Committee on the Economic Status of the Faculty. Soares also serves as assistant professor of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He is co-author of “Noise characterization of block-iterative reconstruction algorithms: I. Theory.” Soares is a resident of Worcester.

Madeline Vargas of the biology department earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. Vargas has been a member of the Holy Cross community since 1995, and serves on the Academic Affairs Council. She is currently the Biochemistry Concentration Coordinator. Vargas is the recipient of numerous awards, including one from the American Society of Cell Biology. She is the author of “Liposome-mediated DNA uptake and transient expression in Thermotoga.” Vargas currently resides Worcester.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross’ Visual Arts Department announces its spring semester calendar of events. All event are free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 21
4 p.m., O’Kane Hall, Room 495
Stephanie Leone will speak about “The Palazzo Pamphilj and the PiazzaNavona: Creating a Family Dominion in Baroque Rome.” Leone is assistant professor in the Fine Arts Department at Boston College.

Tuesday, April 9
5 p.m., O’Kane Hall, Room 495
Matthew Simitis will speak about “Appetite for Destruction: Monuments and Cultural Production.” Simitis is a 1995 graduate of Holy Cross. He earned his master’s degree in architecture at MIT.

Thursday, April 25, through Friday, May 24
O’Kane Hall, Cantor Art Gallery
Assorted works of studio art will be on display by the Senior Concentration Seminar. Contact the Gallery at 508/793-3356 for hours.

Thursday, April 25
7 p.m., Stein Hall, Room 129
Ann Torke, video artist, will show her films “Out of House and Home,” “Dime a Dozen” and “Whenever I see Lawrence.” These films are part of the Holy Cross Women’s Film Series.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The first annual Condé Nast Lecture on Media, Ethics and Values will be presented at Holy Cross on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center. The discussion is free and open to the public.

The lecture will feature a distinguished panel of journalists who will address the topic, “Press Covering Press – What Does It Teach Us?” The panel will be moderated by David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker. Participants include: Ken Auletta, media reporter for The New Yorker; Matthew Rose of the Wall Street Journal; Keith Kelly of the New York Post; and Scott Donaton of Ad Age.

The new lecture series is made possible by a gift from The Condé Nast Publications, Inc. Steve Florio, president and CEO of Condé Nast and a member of the board of trustees at Holy Cross, will introduce the panel.

Condé Nast publishes numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit and Gourmet. Condé Nast Publications mission stresses its commitment “to journalistic integrity, influential reporting and superior design.”

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will dedicate and bless a permanent memorial to its seven alumni/ae killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The dedication will take place on Monday, March 11, 2002, beginning at 3:00 p.m. with a liturgy in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. Holy Cross President Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. will preside at the liturgy.

The College has commissioned the creation of a bronze plaque on which the seven names are engraved as a permanent memorial. The plaque will be placed in the beautiful plaza outside of the new Smith Hall – to be dedicated as Memorial Plaza. A magnificent fountain, dedicated to Jesuit martyrs, will be added to the plaza next summer. Following the liturgy, the Most Reverend George E. Rueger ’53, Auxiliary Bishop of Worcester, will bless the plaque and Memorial Plaza.

The families of the seven alumni/AE will attend the dedication ceremony and liturgy. The alumni/AE lost on Sept 11: Edward A. Brennan III, Class of 1986; Thomas D. Burke, Class of 1985; Neilie A. Heffernan Casey, Class of 1990; John G. Farrell, Class of 1991; Todd A. Isaac, Class of 1994; Beth A. Quigley, Class of 1997; and John J. Ryan, Class of 1978.

Note to media: cameras and recording equipment are not allowed in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel.

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a panel on human rights and religious freedom in Asia on Tuesday, Feb. 26, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Room 519 of the Hogan Campus Center. Sponsored by the Asian Studies Concentration and the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, the panel is free and open to the public.

The speakers will specifically address cases from contemporary Indonesia, India and China. The panel is intended to provoke discussion and debate concerning the issue of human rights in Asia. The structure of the presentations will also allow ample time for dialogue with the audience.

The speakers are as follows:

Christianto Wibisono will speak on the tensions between Islamic law and the secular democratic state in Indonesia. Wibisono was a personal assistant to the former Indonesian Vice-President H. Adam Malik and as founder of the Indonesia Business Data Center, played a key role in exposing corruption in the Soeharto regime.

Rev. John C.B. Webster will speak on the condition of “Christian Dalits” (Untouchables) in contemporary India. In his work as both pastor and scholar, Webster has become one of the leading authorities on the subject of Untouchable converts to Christianity in India. He is a member of the Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.).

Liu Binyan was the leading investigative reporter for the People’s Daily but was denied return to his native China after his criticism of the Tianamen Massacre in 1989. Now affiliated with the Princeton Asia Initiative and Radio Free Asia, Binyan will speak on “Human Rights in the Chinese Mind.”

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a lecture by Farah Jasmine Griffin on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Rehm Library of Smith Hall. The lecture, titled “Bluenotes and Butterflies: Thoughts on Black Women’s Vocality,” is free and open to the public. There will be a book signing following the lecture.

Griffin is professor of English and Comparative Literature and of African-American Studies at Columbia University. She has written extensively in the fields of African-American literature, music, history and politics. Her latest book, “If You Can’t Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday,” confronts the myths surrounding the life of one of the most famous jazz vocalists of all time.

Griffin is also author of “Who Set You Flowin’?: The African-American Migration Narrative,” and editor of both “Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends: Letters from Addie Brown of Hartford, CT, and Rebecca Primus of Royal Oak, MD” and “Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing.”

Formerly associate professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania and Mary Ingraham Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe College, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her Ph.D. from Yale University.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The musical The Wiz will be performed Thursday, Feb. 21, through Saturday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center at Holy Cross. There will be a matinee performance on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The production, presented by the Holy Cross Class of 2002, is directed by Kim Gray, produced by Pete Scifo and Guiliana Paoli, choreographed by Amy Vashlishan and Michelle Kelly, with musical direction by Kate Murray; all are members of the Class of 2002.

Based on “The Wizard of Oz,” The Wiz follows Dorothy from Kansas to Oz and back again, with all new music, lyrics and a modern sense of humor.

Tickets are $5 for the Holy Cross community, $7 general admission and $4 for children; they will be available at the door.

Proceeds will be donated to the Holy Cross Class of 2002 Senior Gift Fund, which has endowed a Community Service Scholarship for a deserving Holy Cross student.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will host an interactive dialogue workshop, titled “Finding a Spiritual Home: Where Do Jewish Deaf Go?” on Sunday, Feb. 24, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Room 403 of the Hogan Campus Center. It will be followed by a dairy lunch at 12:15 p.m.

Facilitated by Marla Berkowitz, the workshop is intended for a range of participants, including rabbis and hearing individuals in the Jewish community, Jewish Deaf individuals and interpreters.

The goal of the dialogue is to identify strategies for finding a spiritual home for Jewish Deaf. Questions such as the following will be addressed: Where do Jewish Deaf go to identify pathways to carry on the Jewish traditions in this secular society? Why are there large numbers of Jewish Deaf remaining unaffiliated from becoming members of synagogues and local Jewish Deaf organizations? Who will continue to carry the torch on behalf of the Jewish Deaf community?

Berkowitz, who is Deaf and fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), has presented extensively throughout the U.S. and in Israel about Judaism and the Jewish Deaf. She is co-founder of The Jewish Deaf Resource Center, Inc., based in New York City.

The registration fee is $10; the event is co-sponsored by the Deaf Studies Program and a Lilly Endowment Grant to the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross; Holyoke Community College; and the Northeastern University Interpreter Education Project, U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration, Interpreter Training Program Grant #H160A50000-20.

ASL/English interpreters provided for the workshop only.

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a lecture by Dr. Nancy Patterson Sevcenko on Thursday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. in Room 519 of the Hogan Campus Center. The lecture, titled “Byzantine Patmos: The Story and Treasures of the Monastery of St. John,” is free and open to the public.

Sevcenko earned her Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University. She has taught courses on Byzantine at Tufts University, UMASS-Boston and Harvard Extension School. Editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium and a volume of essays, titled “Medieval Cyprus,” she is author of “The Life of St. Nicholas in Byzantine Art,” a book on Byzantine manuscript illumination and various articles on the art’s connection with saints and liturgy.

Sevcenko is currently preparing a catalog of the Greek manuscripts at Princeton University and a catalog of illuminated manuscripts in the Monastery of St. John on Patmos library. Former president of the Byzantine Studies Conference, she currently serves as president of the United States National Committee for Byzantine Studies.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the classics department at Holy Cross and the Hellenic Arts Society of Worcester.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Do you know how to dance to the riotous, celebratory music of a Jewish wedding? Have you ever heard it? Members of the Holy Cross community, the greater Worcester Jewish community and the general public are invited to attend a free concert by the world-renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band on Sunday, Feb. 10, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center.

The concert will consist of music, dancing and educational opportunities, where the audience will learn about the cultural context of klezmer music. This particular form of music draws from a wide variety of sources, including the songs of itinerant medieval Jewish minstrels, Eastern European folk traditions, synagogue chant, American blues and Jazz.

Now entering its 17th season, the Klezmer Conservatory Band has performed all over the U.S., at such venues as Radio City Music Hall, the Ravinia Festival, the Saratoga Music Festival and the Mann Music Center. The band regularly tours Europe, having appeared in the first-ever International Yiddish Festival in Krakow, Poland, and at the Dranouter Folk Festival in Belgium. They have also performed at Australia’s Adelaide Festival and New Zealand’s International Festival of the Arts.

The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, the Kraft-Hiatt Fund for Jewish-Christian Understanding, the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts and the Office of Student Programs and Leadership Development.

The Kraft-Hiatt Fund is endowed through gifts to Holy Cross and Brandeis University (Waltham, Mass.) from the late Worcester philanthropist Jacob Hiatt, and his daughter and son-in-law, Myra and Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. The goal of the fund is to encourage greater understanding between Christians and Jews.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Several hundred college students will compete in the fourth annual Holy Cross Ballroom Dance Competition in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; doors open at 8 a.m. The event is open to the public; door price is $10 for visitors and free for children and college students with a valid school ID.

Team and individual competitions at all skill levels will be held and ribbons will be awarded to the top dancers. The event features exotic costumes and a wide variety of music and dance. The categories include waltz, swing, rhumba, tango, foxtrot, cha-cha, lindy hop, hustle and a special wildcard dance. In addition to Holy Cross, the following colleges are expected to field competitors: Clark University, WPI, Tufts University, Northeastern University, University of Rhode Island, Harvard and MIT.