The Board of Trustees and the Members of the Midwest Province of Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross have approved the continuation of Holy Cross College President Marco Clark’s presidency to 2030.
In an interview with The Observer, Clark shared that as the first layperson serving as president of the College, the extension helps to build further confidence in his leadership and the institution’s future. He described the process of renewal from the Board of Trustees.
“I go through a pretty rigorous evaluation process every year. And so as we concluded last year’s evaluation process … the conversation began to look towards the future, and so the board had their own level of meetings and convened to discuss a continuation of my contract,” he explained. “They sought some outside counsel as well, through consultants that help with these sorts of matters, and then they presented me with the option for a four year extension to the contract.”
He also described why he initially chose to become president of the College, which he owed to being taught by the Holy Cross brothers and lay teachers, who instilled in him an appreciation for education and mentoring in addition to Catholic values.
“I often will use the joke, I'll say that while I don't have the initial CSC after my name, I do have CSC in my DNA,” Clark said.
His education was what led him to also go back to Bishop McNamara High School to become the principal and later the president and CEO of the institution. Following this, he became the executive director of the Holy Cross Institute at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. While he was there, he received a phone call about a position opening at Holy Cross.
“When Holy Cross College called and said that the presidency was open and they invited me to apply for it, what immediately drew me was kind of going right back to those roots of that Holy Cross brothers’ high school. [It] is working in an environment where we get a chance to mentor and walk side by side with students … There really is the strong principle of accompaniment in a small college,” he said.
Clark also listed the strong faculty presence, the institution’s four core values and the South Bend and tri-campus community as drawing him to the College.
His extension is also in alignment with the 60th anniversary of the College’s founding, originally established as a community college.
The College’s five-year Strategic Plan, from 2023 to 2028, includes five core themes of zeal for mission, educating hearts and minds, transformational student experience, mission advancement and growth. He explained that the plan has not only helped the College look towards the next few years, but also the subsequent decades ahead.
“When I started four years ago, in the first year, we began the process of creating a new five-year strategic plan, and that five-year strategic plan really is a plan that now has been extended to take us through the end of this decade,” Clark said. “We knew that right in the middle of this, we’d be celebrating our 60th anniversary as a College. What this strategic plan does, and I think what an appointment like this does, is this has us looking forward to the next 60 years now.”
The strategic plan, developed in 2023, involves the development of three new dorms that will add a total of nine residential housing units for students to have in the following years. The dorm currently being constructed will open in August of this year where students will be able to choose housing assignments and view the dorm soon through family weekend.
The College has also implemented their Pathways Programs for business, health sciences, computer science and education that gives them a fast track towards graduate programs and combined undergraduate degrees.
“By us having these pathway programs and having students who possess not only a high intellect but also great work ethic, we’re also helping them to prepare and pave the way with all of the other things that you have to do to prepare to go to med school,” he explained. “We’re looking at an 85 percent acceptance rate to med school today, and that’s what we’ve been able to demonstrate the last couple of years.”
The College partnered with the University of Notre Dame and Lilly Endowment Inc.’s College and Community Collaboration initiative in 2025 to establish the Center for Leadership and Professional Excellence within the former South Bend Tribune building. They plan to offer further micro-credential programs and certifications, professional development skills and dual enrollment programs for high-schoolers, the first two of which will be open to students throughout the tri-campus.
“I’ve often said that Holy Cross College was founded as a community college, and today I see us as a college for the community,” Clark said. “And one way that we can be a college for the community is by providing these educational opportunities for adults and other non-traditional learners.”
He shared that these new developments and additions to the College allow for them to bring further innovation into the community and support future projects.
“I think the increase in enrollment, the new developments, the increase in philanthropy and fundraising are all indications of a strong, thriving future,” he said. “It’s a level of support and confidence in what it is that we’re doing, the unique niche or need that we’re fulfilling in society and then the confidence in the leadership that we have. And so I’m really humbled by that.”
He showed gratitude for the support given by Notre Dame President Fr. Robert Dowd and Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy.
“I’m not from Notre Dame, Indiana or from South Bend, so I’m really grateful for the friendship and partnership that my tri-campus colleagues have given me. They’ve become great friends and we’re great partners in this,” he shared.
He is also grateful for the trust given by the South Bend community and their dedication towards developing the common good. Clark hopes that Holy Cross continues to grow through South Bend and the tri-campus in the future.
“It’s nice to come to a small town that seems to care so much about the common good and does have a thriving future with new infrastructure investments and all the other amenities that go along with living in this area,” he explained. “Then there's just the sense of community and hospitality that we love, so I say thank you to the tri-campus, I say thank you to this local South Bend community. I look forward to ways that we can continue to contribute to make it better in the years ahead.”
