The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, was founded in 1843. It’s the oldest Jesuit and Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in the whole country. Despite 178 years of educating students, Holy Cross’ current president, Vincent D. Rougeau, represents two huge firsts in the history of the college: He is the first lay president and the first Black president of the school.

President Rougeau and host Mike Jordan Laskey talked recently, just a few weeks after the end of his first academic year as president. President Rougeau is a legal scholar and came to Holy Cross after serving as Dean of Boston College’s Law School, and he talked about how his experience in the law has affected his views on social justice and how a Jesuit college can be a force for good in the world especially as higher ed institutions face an increasingly competitive landscape.

Read President Rougeau’s work in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/vincent-d-rougeau

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.