Dear Members of the Holy Cross Community,
I hope you are taking care this summer. I write to you today before the busy start of our new academic year to address and affirm who we are and what we value at Holy Cross.
Recently, the Diocese of Worcester announced a new policy on gender, sexuality and sexual identity across its 21 schools. Understandably, this policy has raised questions about its impact on the 5,000 students who attend these schools and on Holy Cross, which partners with these schools through teacher education, volunteerism and community efforts.
This policy does not apply to Holy Cross. As a Jesuit institution, Holy Cross is a work of the Society of Jesus, which means that its policies are separate from the Diocese of Worcester. As an accredited liberal arts college, we create policies and engage in decision-making through shared governance, which brings our board of trustees, administrative leaders and faculty together to shape our common life, with the deepest respect for the diversity of our community. Our relationship with the diocese is grounded in our shared faith commitments and mutual respect for our distinct missions within the Church.
We are actively in conversation with our community and church partners on this matter. For now, I want to affirm what we know to be true about our community and values. As I shared in my message last spring, at Holy Cross, our mission calls on us to embrace a diverse, inclusive learning environment for all campus members. Our Jesuit leaders provide clear principles to guide us: we are to recognize the inherent dignity of all human beings, walk with the excluded and work for a more just world. This is not contemporary ideology, it is the philosophy that lies at the heart of who we are and what we do.
The diocese’s new policy not only challenges our deeply held values, it targets specific identities and people in our community and surrounding county. This takes place in an emboldened and threatening context of anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and policy in our country. The start of a new semester will offer opportunities for much needed dialogue on these issues and the work ahead to foster inclusive excellence. To start, I look forward to next Friday’s Welcome Back BBQueer and to meeting with leaders from Outfront and Pride in September.
These conversations must also be accompanied by action. For example, soon STAR and HR Self-Service will offer new options to select for gender identity and preferred pronouns, and thereafter ITS will begin integrating that information into other college systems, such as Canvas and Google Workspace.
As I said this spring, there is more work to be done. I invite your engagement, thinking and honest conversation as that work progresses.
Sincerely,
Vincent D. Rougeau
President