News

WORCESTER, Mass. – “TOYS,” the Deaf Russian mime group, will be performing on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center. The event is $5 general admission; children under 5 are free. Holy Cross students, faculty and staff are free with their college ID.

The performance will be interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL) and English. It will be followed by a panel discussion with the actors.

This event is sponsored by the Russian department, the ASL/Deaf studies program, the ASL Club and the Worcester Center for Living and Working.

WORCESTER, Mass. – As part of the annual Religion and Modernity Lecture Series at Holy Cross, there will be two lectures held in November. Sponsored by the dean of the College and the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, the lectures are free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Nov. 7

Rev. Mark S. Massa, S.J., professor of church history at Fordham University (Bronx, N.Y.), will give a lecture entitled, “The New Anti-Catholicism, the Old Anti-Catholicism, and the Analogical Imagination,” at 4 p.m. in Room 328 of the Hogan Campus Center.

Fr. Massa is also the director of the American studies program at Fordham. He is the author of “Catholics and American Culture: Fulton Sheen, Dorothy Day, and the Notre Dame Football Team.”

Tuesday, Nov. 14

Werner Jeanrond, professor of systematic theology and chair of the theology department at the University of Lund in Sweden, will give a lecture entitled, “The Search for Christian Identity and Religious Pluralism,” at 4 p.m. in the Browsing Room of Dinand Library.

Professor Jeanrond is the author of numerous articles and books on theological and philosophical hermeneutics, God, Christology, ecclesiology and interreligious dialogue. His book titles include, “Call and Response: The Challenge of Christian Life” and “Presence of God.”

Before taking his position at the University of Lund in 1994, Jeanrond was a professor of theology at the University of Dublin in Ireland. He is currently the editor of the “Swedish Journal of Theology” and co-editor of “CONCILIUM,” the international journal of Catholic theology.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross was notified recently that it has been re-accredited for another ten years by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges, Inc. Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC).

In a letter to Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of Holy Cross, Adrian Tinsley, chair of NEASC, noted: “Continuation of College of the Holy Cross’s accreditation is based upon the Commission’s finding that the institution’s fulfillment of the Standards for Accreditation is highly commendable in virtually every respect. Moreover, we commend the College for the great seriousness with which it underwent the process of re-accreditation, and for the thoughtfulness and candor of the self-study which it prepared.” (See entire letter, attached.)

In a letter to the Holy Cross community, Fr. McFarland wrote about the accreditation: “This good news was not unexpected but it was never taken for granted. It is the result of more than one year’s worth of effort by a committee of faculty, administrators and students. They researched and wrote an important self-study document and, with the involvement of many members of our community, hosted a visit by a team of NEASC officials to complete the assessment.”

“The NEASC report indicates that Holy Cross is a vibrant and impressive institution with many virtues,” continued McFarland. “It is a wonderful tribute to the hard work of all who participated.”

WORCESTER, Mass. – Christopher Merrill, a poet, critic and former William Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at Holy Cross, will lead a discussion on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m. in the Browsing Room of the Dinand Library. Merrill will be available for book signing at the event, which is free and open to the public.

Also participating in the discussion will be Marian St. Onge, the director of international programs at Boston College, and Eric Gordy, professor of sociology at Clark University. The discussion will center around Merrill’s most recent book, “Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars,” the first non-native literary work on the Balkan conflict. The book chronicles Merrill’s 10 wartime journeys to the Balkans, through a combination of biography, war reportage and reflection.

Merrill’s books include three collections of poetry, “Workbook,” “Fevers & Tides” and “Watch Fire.”  His nonfiction works include “The Grass of Another Country: A Journey Through the World of Soccer” and “The Old Bridge: The Third Balkan War and the Age of the Refugee.”

Merrill’s visit is sponsored by the English department, the peace and conflict studies program, the dean of the College and the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Rev. John Baldovin, S.J., professor of historical and liturgical theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., will give the annual El Salvador Commemorative Lecture on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. in Room 519 of the Hogan Campus Center. Fr. Baldovin’s lecture, entitled “Liturgy and the Remembrance of Victims,” is free and open to the public.

A 1969 graduate of Holy Cross, Fr. Baldovin completed his doctoral work in theology at Yale University in 1982. He has taught at LeMoyne College, Fordham University and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, where he also served for a year as acting president.

A member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and of Societas Liturgica, Fr. Baldovin also sits on the advisory board of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). He has published widely in the area of Christian liturgical studies.

Started in 1995, this lecture serves to remember the six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter that were brutally murdered in El Salvador. They were martyred in 1989. The lecture is sponsored by the Jesuit Community, the religious studies department, the Chaplains’ Office and Alpha Sigma Nu.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Chastity Bono, former entertainment media director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), will give a lecture at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24, in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center. Sponsored by ABiGaLe and Allies, the lecture is free and open to the public.

Chastity Bono is a writer and former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, a national lesbian and gay political organization. She will speak on her experiences as a lesbian and share her coming-out process. Bono’s lecture is part of Rainbow Alliance Week at Holy Cross, designed to raise awareness about gay, lesbian and bisexual issues at the College.

In her 1998 book, “Family Outing,” Bono shares an account of the anguish of young gay and lesbian people, and how commitment and courage leads them and those around them to accept homosexuality and acknowledge homophobia.

Bono was born in 1969 to the pop singing duo Sonny and Cher. While studying film and drama in college, she started a band called Ceremony that released one album, in 1993. Two years later, she came out as a lesbian in The Advocate, a national gay magazine. Soon after, she began a career writing for the magazine.

In her position with GLAAD, Bono was one of the nation’s most visible advocates for lesbian and gay rights. She developed strategies addressing lesbian and gay concerns while designing public forums and educational events that focused on lesbian and gay issues and trends unfolding from within the entertainment industry.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Mohammed Bilal, former cast member of MTV’s highest-rated show, “The Real World” San Francisco, will give a lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center. Sponsored by the Bishop Healy Multicultural Society, Campus Activities Board, Asian Students for International Awareness, African American Studies and Student Affairs, this lecture is free and open to the public.

Bilal shared his life with over 1.5 million people every week, as one of the seven cast members of “The Real World.” He is currently a member of Midnight Voices, a hip-hop band that has been nominated for numerous urban contemporary band awards. Bilal is a musician, poet and writer who educates audiences about some of today’s social ills. He will soon be publishing his first book that explores issues from image manipulation to anti-Semitism.

Bilal will speak on the topics of diversity, AIDS awareness and personal responsibility. His lecture will be based on the negative effects that racism, drug abuse, AIDS and violence have had on young people. Through a high energy, poetic, hip-hop storytelling format, Bilal will encourage his audience to accept personal accountability for one’s actions, with the hope of building a responsible society.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Award-winning poet Billy Collins will give a poetry reading on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. Sponsored by the English department and the dean of the College, this event is free and open to the public.

A graduate of the Holy Cross class of 1963, Collins is an English professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York. He is the author of six books of poetry, including, “Picnic, Lightning,” “The Art of Drowning,” “The Apple That Astonished Paris” and “Questions about Angels.” He also has recorded a spoken word compact disc, “The Best Cigarette.”

Collins’ poetry has appeared in anthologies, textbooks and a variety of periodicals including, “Poetry,” “The American Poetry Review,” “The Paris Review” and “The New Yorker.” Recently the New York Times featured him in a front page article. He has been featured in the Pushcart Prize anthology and The Best American Poetry for 1992, 1993 and 1997.

A recipient of fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, Collins has also won the Bess Hokin Prize, the Frederick Bock Prize, the Oscar Blumenthal Prize and the Levinson Prize.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University, will deliver the 35th annual Hanify-Howland lecture on Monday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m., in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center. Glendon’s lecture, entitled, “Perils and Promise of the International Human Rights Project,” is free and open to the public.

Glendon writes and teaches in the fields of human rights, comparative law, constitutional law and legal theory; she is the author of nine books. She received her bachelor of arts, juris doctor and master of comparative law degrees from the University of Chicago. During a postgraduate fellowship for the study of European law, Glendon studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and was a legal intern with the European Economic Community.

From 1963 to 1968, she practiced law with the Chicago firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt, and served as a volunteer civil rights attorney. Glendon taught at Boston College Law School from 1968 to 1986 and has been a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School and the Gregorian University in Rome.

In 1994, Glendon was appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of Social Science. She currently serves as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Glendon received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Holy Cross in 1989.

The annual Hanify-Howland Lecture Series honors the late Edward F. Hanify, a 1904 Holy Cross graduate and a Massachusetts Superior Court justice for 15 years, who died in 1954. The series was started by Hanify’s friend, the late Weston Howland of Milton, Mass., a board chairman of Warwick Mills, Inc., who died in 1976.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will host a community block party for College Hill neighbors and their children on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the lawn of the Hart Recreation Center. Sponsored by Holy Cross Residence Life and Student Affairs Departments, the event is free and open to the public.

As part of the Holy Cross Community Alliance, the event aims to bring Holy Cross and its neighbors closer together. Run by student volunteers, the event will consist of face decorating, games, relay races and a Halloween costume contest. A barbecue lunch will be served. The Holy Cross men’s basketball team will be in attendance, offering free clinics for local children.

In the event of rain, the event will be moved to the Fieldhouse.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Deborah L. Rhode, Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law at Stanford University Law School, will deliver a lecture on Monday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m., in Room 519 of the Hogan Campus Center. Rhode’s lecture, entitled, “Gender Difference and Gender Disadvantage,” is free and open to the public.

Professor Rhode is director of the Keck Center on Legal Ethics and the Legal Profession, and chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession. She is the author of eight books, including, “Professional Responsibility,” “Speaking of Sex;” “Legal Ethics,” “The Politics of Pregnancy” and “Justice and Gender.”

There will be a reception to follow.

This lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Pre-law Advisor, Women’s Studies Concentration, Political Science Department, Phi Beta Kappa and Pi of MASS Chapter.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will host the third annual Deaf Services/Technology Expo on Friday, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center. Sponsored by the Holy Cross American Sign Language (ASL) program, Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf (MSAD) and Northeast Technical Assistance Center (NETAC), all events are free and open to the public.

This event is a consumer trade show that will provide an opportunity for open exchange of information, education, marketing and networking for Deaf and hard of hearing members of the community; professionals, researchers, teachers and students.

The Deaf Services/Technology Expo will consist of exhibitors, presentations and a performance. This event will feature vendors of assistive devices and educational materials, providers of community services, educational programs, recreational organizations and businesses.