As part of the College’s Courage to Act Campaign, anonymous donors have provided Holy Cross College with $2.25 million to build a new residence hall chapel and the Center for Campus Ministry in the Student Union, as announced on Tuesday.
The chapel, located within the new residence hall to be opened in 2026, has been provided with $750,000 from the gift in order for students to deepen their faith within a sacred place. The new residence hall accompanies two others to be completed in the future that will include a residential quad.
The Center for Campus Ministry, which will be situated within the Student Union, is designated $1.5 million from the gift that will allow students to be connected and explore faith-based opportunities, service experiences, and programs within the College.
Holy Cross College President Marco Clark reflected that these donations allow the College to further grow and achieve the goals set within their five-year strategic plan. He believes that these donations demonstrate the trust and commitment that benefactors have in the College.
“It’s the support that we’ve received from our local community [that] should be a sign of confidence for the future. And you don’t receive a gift of that nature, of that size, unless they believe in the vision, they support the mission and they’re confident in the leadership,” he said. “So that really spoke volumes to us when we received that, and it’s the next step really for us in building out our residential life.”
Clark believes the funds reflect the contributions of staff and leadership at the College and their commitment to developing the College’s objectives.
“I think that the more that people have gained that level of confidence in those areas, not only our mission, but also our vision and the leadership, I’ve been fortunate that we’re continuing to build a really strong leadership team here,” he said. “And so it’s not just about President Clark, right? It really is about an amazing faculty and staff and leadership team that people have confidence in.”
The Office of Student Success was established in 2021 and has grown from having one to two staff members to approximately 12, who work in a variety of areas, including career development, success coaching and learning accommodations. The office has also recently hired a full-time counselor and is in the process of employing another soon.
The Student Union will house the office, with one suite given to the success coaches and another for mental health and wellness. They hope to find a community partner to expand mental health services beyond the student population.
“We’re also looking at a local partnership, which we’ll announce at the appropriate time, but we hope to be able to have mental health and wellness be a Center for Mental Health and Wellness even here in the city of South Bend, right? How can we serve a broader population, not just the Holy Cross population, but a broader population in this area of need?” he said.
Initial drawings of the Student Union have been released. Students have been involved in the design process of it, including those outside of student organizations and the student government.
“So, for example, when we did the Student Union, we had people who were really interested and engaged in campus ministry,” he shared. “We had some that were really engaged in student activities and others that were really engaged in student life, Residence Life and their voices contributed every step of the way to the design features and the final outcome for that structure … This is a living learning community and we want to be able to create it in such a way that they thrive and flourish.”
Clark hopes to expand the College further in its enhancements and expansions. This includes upgrading their athletic facilities, along with adding a new academic building, potentially by the end of this decade, to be dedicated to the sciences and innovation.
