Feb. 1, 2023
Dear Students and Colleagues,
Today is the day we set our sights on a bold vision for Holy Cross’ future. It’s a vision that affirms what is most distinctive and valuable about a Holy Cross education, and one that challenges us to help Holy Cross ascend to great new heights.
“Aspire: Our Strategic Vision for a Hope-Filled Future” sets an ambitious course for Holy Cross for the next five to 10 years. You can see how we are sharing our aspirations broadly at the new Aspire website and in the video below.
Aspire articulates a set of strategic priorities that will guide and inspire our work together in service of the College’s mission, which is more relevant and critical than ever. Wide-ranging input over the past three years from hundreds of students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as admitted students and Worcester community members, helped to shape Aspire. I thank you for your ideas, input and feedback, and for your dedication to this extraordinary institution.
Holy Cross, as the nation’s only undergraduate Jesuit liberal arts college, has a unique opportunity and responsibility to pursue our mission in service of a more just and humane world.
The six overarching pillars of Aspire aim to build upon our long-standing excellence and deeply held values to create a Holy Cross that best serves our students and, in turn, propels them in service of the wider world, for and with others. The pillars center academic and inclusive excellence; the distinctive role of Jesuit, Catholic formation in the student experience; and the value of the College’s identity as truly in and of Worcester. To create the future we envision, our strategic priorities seek to grow and support a best-in-class workforce and workplace and reimagine our approach to philanthropy and engagement.
The plan, endorsed enthusiastically by our Board of Trustees last weekend, is a starting point, and the work to realize our vision for the future is our collective endeavor. In the coming months, we will develop detailed plans in several areas, and we will convene conversations to get your perspectives and ideas to inform those plans. Please keep an eye out for invitations to such conversations, which will begin this semester with convenings around the student experience (Pillar 2), our engagement with Worcester (Pillar 4), and workforce and workplace development (Pillar 5).
We also will communicate and celebrate progress toward our goals. One such occasion will be a President’s Town Hall at 4 p.m. on March 1, where we will celebrate together the launch of Aspire. Please save the date for the town hall; an invitation for the in person event will follow later this month.
I hope you all see yourselves in Aspire—both in the work to accomplish our goals and in the ways we articulate what Holy Cross means and why it matters. Every one of you defines who and what Holy Cross is today, and you will be instrumental in creating its future. Let’s get started.
Sincerely,
Vincent D. Rougeau
President