Honorary Degree Citation - Michael Francis Collins, M.D ’77

Visionary chief executive. Generous public health leader. Extraordinary servant to  vulnerable communities.

Dr. Michael Collins, you have dedicated your career to improving the lives of others through higher education and healthcare. You led Caritas Christi Health Care System to become the second-largest health care system in New England. You have overseen one of the nation’s most entrepreneurial and highly regarded medical schools through the complexity of a pandemic, while also implementing measures to improve diversity and inclusion on your campus. You have  generously and expertly helped to guide the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts and the City of Worcester through the COVID-19 pandemic.

You came to Holy Cross in 1973 from nearby Walpole, Massachusetts. You earned your medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, and your practical training led to a series of faculty and administrative positions. In 1994 you were asked to become President and CEO of the non-profit Caritas Christi Health Care System and President of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Boston. Under your leadership, Caritas Christi grew to become the second largest health care system in New England, serving poor communities and caring for all individuals with dignity and respect.

You returned to higher education in 2005 to become the president of the University of Massachusetts Boston where you strengthened ties between the school and the local Dorchester community and increased the profile of the campus. In 2007, you were named interim chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The following year you were named chancellor of the medical school and senior vice president of health sciences for the University of Massachusetts system. In this role you oversee an incredibly complex academic and research organization, including Commonwealth Medicine, a consulting division that seeks to broaden access and care to vulnerable populations, and MassBiologics, the nation’s only nonprofit, university-based FDA-licensed discoverer and manufacturer of vaccines and other biologics.

Your commitment to justice and to serving vulnerable communities is always at the forefront. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you established the Vaccine Corps program, with more than 7,000 volunteers statewide, to bring COVID-19 vaccinations to groups and communities where people need them the most. You have made diversity, equity and inclusion a core value for your organization, and are seeking ways to address the public health impacts of racism.

A devoted son of Holy Cross, you have served as a member and Chair of our Board of Trustees. You and Maryellen watched both of your children, Michael ‘07 and Elizabeth ‘09, graduate from the College, and your mentorship of Holy Cross alumni physicians is legendary.

That all may know of our great esteem for you and our strong support for your generous leadership in educating skilled and ethical physicians, broadening access to high quality healthcare in Massachusetts and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic the College of the Holy Cross confers upon you this day the degree, Doctor of Public Administration, honoris causa.