News

WORCESTER, Mass. – Rabbi Norman M. Cohen will deliver a lecture on Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 304 of the Hogan Campus Center. Cohen’s lecture, entitled “What’s a Nice Jewish Boy Doing at Holy Cross?” is free and open to the public.

A 1972 graduate of Holy Cross, Cohen is currently the spiritual leader of Bet Shalom Congregation in Hopkins, Minn. Prior to this position, Cohen served Rockdale Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Cohen received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters degree from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Cincinnati, Ohio) in 1975 and Rabbinic Ordination in 1977. He has taught at numerous colleges, including Xavier University (Ohio), Macalester College (Minn.) and the United Theological Seminary (Ohio).

He is the author of “Jewish Bible Personages in the New Testament” (University Press of America). The past president of the Midwest Association of Reform Rabbis, he has served on a number of boards of Jewish and inter-religious organizations.

The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture and the Kraft-Hiatt Fund.

The Kraft-Hiatt Fund is endowed through gifts to Holy Cross and Brandeis University (Waltham, Mass.) from 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. – Cabaret, the Alternate College Theatre’s spring musical, will be performed Feb. 1-4 at 8 p.m. in the Fenwick Theatre at Holy Cross. There will be a matinee performance on Feb. 3 and 4 at 2 p.m.

Based on a book by Joe Masteroff, the lyrics to the musical were written by Fred Ebb and the music, by John Kander. Cabaret is directed by Elizabeth Waters ’01, produced by Rusmir Music ’01, and choreographed by Deborah DiAngelo ’03, with musical direction by Gary Ryan ’00.

Tickets are $7 for members of the Holy Cross community and $10 for general admission.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Approximately 350 Holy Cross students will depart from Worcester on March 3 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 12 sites in New Jersey, Virginia, Kentucky and Maine, to assist with home repair, visit the elderly, work in soup kitchens, help the disabled and tutor school children. This year’s 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.) Erin Dwyer and Jared Belliveau, both members of the Class of 2001, are the student coordinators.

A chapter of Habitat for Humanity was established at Holy Cross last year. Groups of student volunteers will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Palm Beach, Miami and Lake County, Fla.; as well as Flint River, Ga.; Calhoun County and Birmingham, Ala.; Starkville, Miss.; and Tarboro, N.C., to build low-income housing. Entirely student-run, Holy Cross Habitat for Humanity volunteers work in Worcester and Northboro year-round. Holy Cross’ chapter has been recognized nationally as the college who sends the most student volunteers. Ryan Leonard ’02, Katie Boland ’01, Emily Hogan ’02 and Jessica Baker ’03 make up the executive board.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross community will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 15, from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. in the lobby of the Hogan Campus Center. Sponsored by Student Affairs, the events are free and open to the public.

Videos depicting the life of Dr. King will be shown continuously from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. These films will be followed by student readings from 3 p.m.- 4 p.m. Various students will continuously read aloud the significant speeches of Dr. King in 10-minute intervals. The following speeches are scheduled to be read: “I Have a Dream”; Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (1964); and Dr. King’s eulogy for the martyred children in Birmingham, Ala.

There will also be a display of books by and about Dr. King at the event, courtesy of the College’s Dinand Library.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an eloquent black Baptist minister who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The politics and implications of the aging of the “baby boom” is the topic of a lecture at the Consortium Gerontology Studies Program Annual Event at Holy Cross on Monday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. The event will take place in Room 519 of the Hogan Campus Center; it is free and open to the public.

Professor Robert H. Binstock will deliver the lecture. He is Professor of Aging, Health and Society and Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.

Binstock received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1965. Since then, he has been a nationally recognized scholar in the field of gerontology, teaching at both Brandeis University and Harvard University. He is the author of numerous publications on gerontology including, Feasible Planning for Social Change (Morris & Binstock, 1996); he is co-editor of five editions of the Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (Binstock & George, 1996).

Binstock has published widely on the Older Americans Act; health care, health policy and biomedical ethics; and long-term care and Alzheimer’s disease. He has held prestigious leadership positions in the field of aging, such as Executive Director of the White House Task Force on Older Americans for President Lyndon B. Johnson (1967-68).

The former Chair of the Adult Development and Aging Research and Training Review Committee, National Institutes of Health (1970 – 71), Binstock served as President of the Gerontological Society of America (1975 – 76) and more recently, as Chair of the Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association (1996 – 97).

This lecture is sponsored by the following organizations at Holy Cross: the Gerontology Studies Program, the dean of the College and the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. It is also sponsored by the following community organizations: Fallon Community Health Plan, the Consortium Gerontology Studies Program, the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging, the Jewish Family Services and the Massachusetts Gerontological Association.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Richard Rodino Lecture on the Aims of the Liberal Arts will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College, will give this year’s lecture, entitled “Studia humanitatis, pietas, and christianitas: The Jesuit Tradition in the Liberal Arts.” A reception will follow the lecture.

Prior to becoming president, Fr. McFarland was a professor of computer science and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. Fr. McFarland taught at Boston College for 10 years as associate professor of computer science.

Fr. McFarland completed his bachelor’s degree in physics at Cornell University. He earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering (computer engineering) at Carnegie Mellon University. Soon after, he worked as a consultant at the AT&T Bell Laboratories, doing research in computer-aided design of digital systems.

Fr. McFarland joined the Jesuits in 1975. He studied at the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and earned a master’s in divinity and Th.M. in social ethics. He was ordained in the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at Holy Cross in 1984.

The annual Rodino Lecture series is devoted to the memory of Richard Rodino, formerly of the English department at Holy Cross. He played a central role in launching the College’s First Year Program. It is sponsored by the Office of the Dean and the First Year Program.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will begin offering ice skating lessons for deaf children, ages 4 and up, at the Hart Recreation Center ice rink. Skaters of all levels are invited and instruction will be in American Sign Language (ASL). Lessons will be on Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Classes begin on Jan. 20 and run until March 17.

The skating lessons will feature former deaf Olympic skater Jim Tourangeau and former deaf women’s Canadian team hockey player Chris Whitney as coaches.

The program is organized by Judy Freedman Fask, coordinator of the Holy Cross ASL and Deaf Culture Program. Holy Cross ASL students and local residents will volunteer at these events.

Preregistration is required. Cost is $65.00 for new skaters, $50.00 for skaters continuing from Session 1; financial assistance is available. Sign up by mail or register on the first day of class at 8:30 a.m.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Craig Karges, award-winning entertainer of illusion and psychic happenings, will give a performance at 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 19, in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center. Sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, the event is free and open to the public.

Karges’ show has been described as a “live version of The Twilight Zone,” during which tables “walk” and levitate; three borrowed finger rings are linked together in a chain; minds are read and predictions are made – and verified. Karges even risks his fee in a special demonstration of his abilities – if he fails, the money is returned to the college.

Karges has been named Campus Entertainer of the Year by the National Association for Campus Activities three times. He has been performing for college, corporate and other audiences for 18 years. In that time, he has made over 3000 appearances on three continents and in all 50 states.

Karges has also made numerous media appearances, most notably on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “CNN Headline News” and E! Entertainment Television. Currently, he is writing a book that will help the reader “fast-forward” their brains.

WORCESTER, Mass. – There will be a number of musical events during the month of January at Holy Cross. All concerts are free and open to the public.

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m.–The Apple Hill Orchestra will perform the Leonard Sulski Memorial Concert in the Brooks Concert Hall.

Sunday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m.–The Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Group will perform a concert in the Brooks Concert Hall. Tickets are required for this free performance; Call 617/638-9375.

Thursday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m.–David Pihl will perform a piano concert in the Brooks Concert Hall.

Sunday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m.–Susan Marchant will perform an organ concert in the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel.

For additional information contact the music department at 508/793-3528.

WORCESTER, Mass. – With the holidays approaching, members of the entire Holy Cross community have given of themselves to those in our community who are in need. According to Richard Mucci ’02, the organizer of the Mulledy Charity Drive, “Every Christian child loves Christmas but every child can’t have a Christmas. We here at Holy Cross are extremely fortunate so I thought it would be a good idea if the Holy Cross students gave to those not as fortunate.”

Some of the charitable events are as follows:

The Giving Tree
Members of the Holy Cross community are invited to pick an ornament off the tree in the Hogan Campus Center and to buy a gift for a person in need from the category specified on the ornament. This event is sponsored by the Student Alumni Association and the Purple Key Society.

Winter Clothes Drive
Held annually at Holy Cross, students, faculty, administrators and staff are invited to donate new or used winter clothing for adults and children in the Worcester community. This clothes drive is sponsored by Building Services.

Candy Cane Tree
Sponsored by the Personnel department, all are invited to take a candy cane off a designated Christmas tree and to buy a gift for a person in need. Gifts will go to the St. Mary’s Health Center Alzheimer’s Unit and to the Worcester Coalition, to be distributed to children in the Main South neighborhood.

Mulledy Hall Charity Drive
Residence Life staff in Mulledy Hall went door to door in the residence hall collecting money and toys for St. Paul’s Cathedral in Worcester. The students collected $500 and 25 toys from over 375 student residents.

Band Outreach Program
Each year around the holidays, members of the marching band play their instruments for community audiences. This year, 25 band members visited St. Mary’s Health Care Center, Clark Manor and Mt. Carmel to play a mixture of holiday carols and classic tunes. The students interacted socially with their audiences and invited their participation by providing tambourines and sleigh bells.

Chaplains’ Gift Collection
Holiday gifts for children and adults were collected by Sister Lucille Cormier of the Chaplains’ Office. They will be distributed to several churches in the Worcester area.