Post by hc2020 on Sept 22, 2020 17:01:55 GMT -5
Here is his announcement:
Dear Holy Cross Alumni, Parents and Friends,
In my annual Fall Address (video | text) just a little while ago, I shared with many of our faculty, staff and students some personal news that I want to be sure you learn directly from me. With the blessing of the Board of Trustees, I have decided to step down from the presidency of the College of the Holy Cross on June 30, 2021.
Beyond the joys of my ordination and my ministry as a Jesuit priest, serving as the President of Holy Cross has been a distinct honor and privilege and the highlight of my professional life. As you can imagine, this decision was not easy. I have been discerning for the past year what is best for this institution which I love and also for myself. I have been in close conversation with the Chair of our Board, Rick Patterson ’80, throughout this time. When I began my term as president at the age of 62, I was older than most beginning presidents; and now nine years later, I feel that new energy and some different skills are needed to address the realities of the coming years. This time feels like a natural inflection and transition point for the institution: our seven year campaign just ended most successfully and we have just begun a strategic planning process that will set goals for the College for the next three to five years. As I know from my own experience, it is important that a new president be part of that process, as it will give shape to his or her energies and commitments throughout their term of office.
Rick Patterson will be assembling a representative search committee in the weeks ahead.
As I reflect on the past nine years, beyond the challenges, tragedies and painful realities we have recently experienced, I marvel at all that we have accomplished together. Most importantly we have seen 6,302 young adults benefit from the transformational educational experience we offer here at Holy Cross and become alumni of this great institution. This is at the heart of what we do and why so many of you remain connected and committed to it. In addition, we have just completed the largest campaign in the College’s history raising over $420 million to attain new standards of excellence in teaching, learning, creativity, and scholarship across the College. As a consequence of the exceptional support and generosity of our alumni, families and friends, we have made structurally visible our commitment to an education which integrates mind, body, spirit and community in four beautiful world class facilities. We have enhanced the student experience, instituted new academic initiatives, and strengthened our Jesuit and Catholic mission and the spiritual life of our students, faculty and staff. We have invested in building a diverse, inclusive, respectful and equitable community, and we have continued to support our local Worcester community. We have also celebrated many milestones, including the 40th anniversary of coeducation, the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Union, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Cross Alumni Association and the 175th anniversary of the founding of the College.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my work with all of you and I will especially miss traveling to see you in your home cities and towns. Our alumni, parent and volunteer networks are powerful and your work has had a profound impact on our success. I am grateful to have forged personal relationships with so many of you.
In my address this afternoon, I quoted Professor Leonard DeLorenzo from Notre Dame who wrote: “Our lives are on loan, and we must give ourselves in service of others.” While that is existentially true for us all, it is also literally true in my case. Twenty years ago I was loaned from my Oregon Province to the Maryland Province when I went to work for Georgetown University. And when I came to Holy Cross, I was then loaned from the Oregon Province to the New England Province. We have now amalgamated provinces with new names, but the sense of being on loan on many levels has been a part of my identity for years, and I have been wonderfully graced in each new work and community.
I hope to take a sabbatical after I leave Holy Cross and will then be reassigned to another Jesuit work. While the job of being a college president isn’t getting any easier, as all my colleagues attest, nonetheless, the College has been a graced place for me as a Jesuit to give myself in service of others. And I know it is for all our faculty and staff, as well.
Having been a student, then a staff member and later a faculty member at institutions when a major leadership transition took place, I know well the uncertainty that it occasions. I believe that this is a good time for us to make this transition as we begin a new season of our institutional life following a most successful campaign, continue our strategic planning process, and prepare for new opportunities and realities in the near future. As I observe the College’s ever growing reputation, strong enrollment and outstanding students, its remarkably dedicated and caring faculty and staff, our truly selfless and committed executive team, cabinet, and their associates, the most active and loyal alumni in the country, and a Board of Trustees that is the most extraordinarily supportive, generous, and cohesive Board that I have experienced, I am confident that in the next eight months, we will attract an excellent and skilled president who will generate exciting opportunities and resources and take the College to new heights.
Sincerely,
Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
President
Dear Holy Cross Alumni, Parents and Friends,
In my annual Fall Address (video | text) just a little while ago, I shared with many of our faculty, staff and students some personal news that I want to be sure you learn directly from me. With the blessing of the Board of Trustees, I have decided to step down from the presidency of the College of the Holy Cross on June 30, 2021.
Beyond the joys of my ordination and my ministry as a Jesuit priest, serving as the President of Holy Cross has been a distinct honor and privilege and the highlight of my professional life. As you can imagine, this decision was not easy. I have been discerning for the past year what is best for this institution which I love and also for myself. I have been in close conversation with the Chair of our Board, Rick Patterson ’80, throughout this time. When I began my term as president at the age of 62, I was older than most beginning presidents; and now nine years later, I feel that new energy and some different skills are needed to address the realities of the coming years. This time feels like a natural inflection and transition point for the institution: our seven year campaign just ended most successfully and we have just begun a strategic planning process that will set goals for the College for the next three to five years. As I know from my own experience, it is important that a new president be part of that process, as it will give shape to his or her energies and commitments throughout their term of office.
Rick Patterson will be assembling a representative search committee in the weeks ahead.
As I reflect on the past nine years, beyond the challenges, tragedies and painful realities we have recently experienced, I marvel at all that we have accomplished together. Most importantly we have seen 6,302 young adults benefit from the transformational educational experience we offer here at Holy Cross and become alumni of this great institution. This is at the heart of what we do and why so many of you remain connected and committed to it. In addition, we have just completed the largest campaign in the College’s history raising over $420 million to attain new standards of excellence in teaching, learning, creativity, and scholarship across the College. As a consequence of the exceptional support and generosity of our alumni, families and friends, we have made structurally visible our commitment to an education which integrates mind, body, spirit and community in four beautiful world class facilities. We have enhanced the student experience, instituted new academic initiatives, and strengthened our Jesuit and Catholic mission and the spiritual life of our students, faculty and staff. We have invested in building a diverse, inclusive, respectful and equitable community, and we have continued to support our local Worcester community. We have also celebrated many milestones, including the 40th anniversary of coeducation, the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Union, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Cross Alumni Association and the 175th anniversary of the founding of the College.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my work with all of you and I will especially miss traveling to see you in your home cities and towns. Our alumni, parent and volunteer networks are powerful and your work has had a profound impact on our success. I am grateful to have forged personal relationships with so many of you.
In my address this afternoon, I quoted Professor Leonard DeLorenzo from Notre Dame who wrote: “Our lives are on loan, and we must give ourselves in service of others.” While that is existentially true for us all, it is also literally true in my case. Twenty years ago I was loaned from my Oregon Province to the Maryland Province when I went to work for Georgetown University. And when I came to Holy Cross, I was then loaned from the Oregon Province to the New England Province. We have now amalgamated provinces with new names, but the sense of being on loan on many levels has been a part of my identity for years, and I have been wonderfully graced in each new work and community.
I hope to take a sabbatical after I leave Holy Cross and will then be reassigned to another Jesuit work. While the job of being a college president isn’t getting any easier, as all my colleagues attest, nonetheless, the College has been a graced place for me as a Jesuit to give myself in service of others. And I know it is for all our faculty and staff, as well.
Having been a student, then a staff member and later a faculty member at institutions when a major leadership transition took place, I know well the uncertainty that it occasions. I believe that this is a good time for us to make this transition as we begin a new season of our institutional life following a most successful campaign, continue our strategic planning process, and prepare for new opportunities and realities in the near future. As I observe the College’s ever growing reputation, strong enrollment and outstanding students, its remarkably dedicated and caring faculty and staff, our truly selfless and committed executive team, cabinet, and their associates, the most active and loyal alumni in the country, and a Board of Trustees that is the most extraordinarily supportive, generous, and cohesive Board that I have experienced, I am confident that in the next eight months, we will attract an excellent and skilled president who will generate exciting opportunities and resources and take the College to new heights.
Sincerely,
Philip L. Boroughs, S.J.
President
