Funding Faculty Positions to Advance Academic Excellence

As Holy Cross prioritizes initiatives designed to promote academic excellence, the College is pleased to announce two generous gifts to support faculty positions: the Carol and Park B. Smith '54 Endowed Chair in Music and the Patrick Moriarty, MD '57 Visiting Scholars Fund.

These endowed funds will enable the College to further invest in faculty and their work and foster an exceptional learning experience for students. 

"These extraordinary gifts from Park B. Smith '54 and Dr. Patrick Moriarty '57 are a testament to the profound commitment of our alumni to advancing academic excellence at Holy Cross,” said President Vincent D. Rougeau. “The Carol and Park B. Smith '54 Endowed Chair in Music and the Patrick Moriarty, MD '57 Visiting Scholars Fund will significantly enhance our ability to provide an exceptional liberal arts education. By investing in our faculty and bringing diverse voices to our campus, we're honoring the legacies of these remarkable alumni and preparing our students to be thoughtful, engaged citizens in an ever-changing world."

The Carol and Park B. Smith '54 Endowed Chair in Music underscores the importance of the arts within the greater liberal arts curriculum at Holy Cross. Though the arts were historically slow to be included in Catholic education in the United States, they are an integral component of Holy Cross – not only for the value and meaning they offer on their own, but also for the connections they create between disciplines.

Thanks to Park B. Smith’s estate gift to fund this endowed position, the College will be able to continue supporting the faculty who advance the arts, both on campus and in the industry. As one of the College’s foremost philanthropists, Smith made this endowment commitment via his estate in 2000 in honor of former president Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., who was instrumental in expanding arts and music offerings at Holy Cross. Fr. Brooks founded the College’s first art gallery - the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery - in 1983, and in 1985 commissioned the College’s award-winning Taylor and Boody Organ in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. Music and theatre became majors during his tenure. Since that time, the arts have continued to flourish at Holy Cross, achieving a momentous milestone with the opening of state-of-the-art The Prior Performing Arts Center in 2022.

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The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross.

Though Smith’s estate gift was established over 20 years prior to the current Aspire strategic plan, it aligns seamlessly with the plan’s pillar of academic excellence. This endowed chair will not only help support and grow the music department for faculty and music majors, but also engage students who have a musical interest or background regardless of whether or not they choose to major in music. 

"The study of music is vital to a truly excellent liberal arts education, and the Carol and Park B. Smith '54 Endowed Chair in Music will catalyze a world of possibility for our faculty and students,” said Provost Elliott Visconsi. “This spring, we were thrilled to announce Professor Jessica Waldoff as our inaugural Carol and Park B. Smith Professor of Music. This chair recognizes Professor Waldoff’s reputation as an internationally renowned scholar and emphasizes the central role of academic excellence to the mission of our College.”

To enhance the College’s rich network of faculty with additional experts and leaders across various professions, the Patrick Moriarty, MD '57 Visiting Scholars Fund will provide support for scholars, writers and artists to visit campus. A component of Moriarty’s significant estate bequest that also established an endowed financial aid scholarship fund, this $1 million endowed visiting scholars fund will provide opportunities for students to interact with these visiting scholars through public lectures, in the classroom and informal social settings. Beginning in academic year 2025-26, the Department of Music will serve as the initial host for visiting scholars and artists in residence with the Moriarty, MD '57 Visiting Scholars Fund.

The son of Irish immigrants, Moriarty credited Holy Cross for opening up a world of opportunities to him. After graduation, he earned his medical degree at Vermont College of Medicine; served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps at Camp Casey, Korea; conquered the Ivy League as Yale’s Chief Resident in Radiology, an instructor at Yale Medical School, and a special NIH Fellow at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital’s Neurological Institute; and enjoyed a 30-year career as a radiologist at Overlook Hospital and partner at Summit Radiological Associates in New Jersey. But that initial seed to become a physician was first planted when Moriarty attended a guest lecture by a doctor at Holy Cross.

“I'm nearly certain he didn't arrive at Holy Cross with the plan of being a doctor,” explained Moriarty’s nephew Dan Johnson. “But something about this lecture caught his imagination, and then he decided to become a doctor. With this visiting scholar program, he wanted to give students the same opportunity that he had to realize that maybe they could turn out to be a physician – or follow any career path – as a result of a lecture. We hope that hearing from an engaging speaker flips the switch for students the way it did for my uncle.”

"The Patrick Moriarty, MD '57 Visiting Scholars Fund will significantly enhance the intellectual vibrancy of our campus. By bringing accomplished scholars, writers, and artists to Holy Cross for focused, short-term visits, we're opening new worlds of academic possibility, ” said Visconsi. “Dr. Moriarty's own journey, inspired by a guest lecture during his time at Holy Cross, illustrates the power of these interactions. It's a fitting tribute to Dr. Moriarty's legacy and an investment in the future of Holy Cross education."