College of the Holy Cross

Our strategic vision for a
Hope-filled future

A student leans forward and smiles at the camera while seated during commencement exercises.

Six students holding colorful flags run in a circular pattern during a performance at the Prior Performing Arts Center

Our highest mission is to accompany the young in the creation of a hope-filled future. What gives us hope? We know that future generations of Holy Cross graduates will be at the forefront of inquiry and understanding, solving the world’s complex problems not as individual actors, but rather in community, for and with others.

Our Strategic Areas of Focus

Academic Powerhouse

A student watches as a professor concentrates on using a scanning device in a laboratory setting.

Offer a liberal arts education that is among the finest in the world and be recognized broadly for doing so

Our values and aims

Transformational Student Experience

Six female students smile for the camera while outside covered head to toe in colorful paint.

A female student smiles at the camera while leaning against a railing.

The cross atop St. Joseph Memorial Chapel illuminated by the sun.

Students smiling as they walk on campus with the steps to Dinand library in the background.

Provide and promote a transformational, residentially based student experience rooted in Jesuit, Catholic formation

For and with others

Inclusive Excellence

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Commit campus-wide to a framework that integrates diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in furtherance of our mission

Advancing our Community

In and of Worcester

A fountain in downtown Worcester, MA with City Hall in the background.

Embrace and promote the world of opportunity in our backyard and be an active partner in the City of Worcester’s continued success, growth and revitalization

A bright, interconnected future

World-Class Workforce

A group of six Holy Cross facilities workers smile and interact while standing around heavy equipment in a garage setting.

A close up image of a female student studying in a library environment.

A birds eye view of a pathway on the campus of Holy Cross.

A Holy Cross employee smiling at the camera while standing at her desk.

Attract, support and retain a best-in-class workforce who will develop and sustain best practices and policies that support the College’s overall excellence

Thriving together

Culture of Philanthropy

Smiling students in cap and gown as they walk down the aisle during commencement.

Reimagine our approach to philanthropy and engagement to support Holy Cross’ sustained vibrancy and strength today and tomorrow

Forever forward

Looking Ahead

As we strive toward the ambitious goals articulated in this strategic plan, we have in mind both near-term successes and the long-term future of Holy Cross.

Learn More

A portrait of Holy Cross President Vincent D. Rougeau leaning on a railing and smiling.

“Every member of our campus community–students, staff and faculty–should see themselves in this plan, and we hope all of you, as well as our partners in communities of alumni, families and friends, will be inspired to join us on the path toward our future.”

Vincent D. Rougeau, president

Let's Get Started

About Aspire

This strategic plan envisions a bold future for Holy Cross. Faculty, staff, alumni and friends, and students and their families have contributed to its vision and will be key to its success.

In early 2020, a committee of faculty and staff members was appointed to oversee the preparation of a new strategic plan for the College. That committee held a series of campus discussions before hosting numerous subcommittee discussions and visioning sessions about the future of Holy Cross. Soon after President Rougeau was appointed in the summer of 2021, he launched a second phase of strategic planning – Calls to Conversation. Using the major themes and questions generated in phase 1, the Calls to Conversation phase engaged community members in targeted discussions about the future of Holy Cross. Over the course of 17 focus group conversations with more than 150 students, faculty and staff members, and over 100 additional alumni and parents, Worcester community partners and admitted students, a clear set of strategic initiatives emerged.

The work of the initial strategic plan steering committee and the input from community members in the Calls to Conversation led to Aspire, the vision you see reflected here. Every person who contributed a comment, question or idea over the course of the past three years had a hand in Aspire’s creation. We express our gratitude to each one of you.

Now is the time to commit, invest and join in creating a bold future for Holy Cross that brings to bear all of the College’s distinctive gifts in service of a more just and humane world.

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