Holy Cross Recognizes Alumni for Outstanding Professional Achievements and Service

Four graduates of the College of the Holy Cross—including a Worcester resident who has devoted four decades to working for social justice through community service… a global marketing executive who is helping educate a new generation of women business leaders… a physician who pioneered cellular therapies to treat children with lethal immune diseases and cancers… and a retired U.S. Marine general whose celebrated career has extended to academia and journalism— will all receive a Sanctae Crucis Award, the highest non-degree recognition bestowed by the College on an alumnus or alumna.

The 11th annual presentation of the awards will take place on Friday, May 2 at the College.

This year’s recipients are:

Frank Kartheiser ’72 Arriving as a student at Holy Cross during the turbulent late 1960s, Chicago native Kartheiser became involved in the anti-war movement and with the Catholic Workers.  Determined to make a difference, he dropped out of Holy Cross in 1971, and formed the Mustard Seed in Worcester with fellow classmate Shawn Donovan '70. The Mustard Seed began as a storefront agency dispensing help to the elderly, poor and homeless and eventually grew to a full-time soup kitchen and homeless shelter.  He returned to Holy Cross in 1987 to finish his degree in religious studies, graduating in 1988. In 1992, Kartheiser became the director and organizer of Worcester Interfaith, an alliance of Worcester religious congregations and organizations that work together to empower the underprivileged through action, specifically with city youth, enforcing public safety, and providing equal job access and affordable housing.  Before that, he helped create many community organizations in Worcester; served as a field representative for Clergy and Laity Concerned; and worked for the Diocese of Worcester as director of the Urban Ministry Commission, associate director of religious education, and consultant for social justice and peace.  He is a founding member of the Holy Cross Community Leadership Workshop, a new training program for students interested in careers in the nonprofit sector.

He lives in Worcester. Kristen M. O’Hara ‘92 Since 2004, O’Hara has been the senior vice president/managing director of the Time Warner Global Media Group.  She was a key architect in reinventing the integrated marketing model by shifting the group’s emphasis from transactional sales to insight- and idea-driven solutions that build brands and businesses.  A catalyst for creativity and collaboration across the Time Warner enterprise, she has helped key Time Warner advertisers bring innovative solutions to market.  She received the Time Inc. President’s Award in 2002 for forging a partnership with American Express Publishing on a ground-breaking database marketing tool.  Prior to joining Time Inc., she spent nearly ten years at Young & Rubicam where she led integrated teams for a wide array of clients, and helped the agency secure nearly half a billion dollars in new business.  She is actively involved in the Holy Cross Women in Business program, serving as a keynote speaker at the program’s inaugural conference.

She lives in New York City. Richard J. O’Reilly, M.D. ‘64 O’Reilly, chair of the department of pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, was the first to conduct a successful bone marrow transplant for an unrelated, compatible donor—an approach now used successfully on well over 2,500 cancer patients annually.  In addition, he co-developed an approach now used throughout the world to effectively treat children born without an immune system.  In the 70s and 80s, such children were known as “bubble babies” and died within a year unless they were maintained for years in a sterile environment.  The transplant method O’Reilly developed has allowed all these children to receive a curative transplant from a half-matched parent or sibling.  He received his medical degree from the University of Rochester.  The recipient of many professional honors, he is the author or co-author of more than 300 articles, papers or research studies.  He also serves at professor of immunology and of pediatrics at Cornell University School of Medical Science.

He lives in New York City. Bernard E. Trainor ’51, Lt. Gen. USMC (Ret.) Following his graduation from Holy Cross (where he was a history major and member of the NROTC program), Trainor commanded in combat as a young U.S. Marine officer in Korea.  Returning to the United States, he obtained his master’s degree in history at the University of Colorado and was working toward his doctorate when he was assigned to two tours of duty in Vietnam.  He was appointed a lieutenant general in the early 1980s and his final active duty assignment was at the Pentagon where he was deputy chief of staff for Plans, Policies and Operations and served as Marine Corps Deputy to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Upon his retirement in 1985, he joined The New York Times as its military correspondent.  In 1990, he joined the Kennedy School of Government as director of the National Security Program and became military analyst for ABC News.  He is co-author of the definitive text on the Gulf War, The Generals’ War (Little, Brown, 1995).  He is senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and continues to do military analysis for both NBC News and the New York Times.

He lives in Potomac Falls, Virginia.

ABOUT THE SANCTAE CRUCIS AWARDS: The Sanctae Crucis Awards were established in 1998 to recognize the distinguished achievements of alumni. “The primary goals of the Sanctae Crucis Awards are to honor outstanding alumni and in so doing recognize and celebrate the distinctive mission of Holy Cross,” says Frank Vellaccio, senior vice president, who presents the awards to recipients. The Holy Cross Mission Statement is the foundation for the awards program, which honors alumni who are leaders in business, professional or civic life, who live by the highest intellectual and ethical standards, and who are committed to the service of faith and promotion of justice.  Past recipients have included:  John Higgins ’76, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Sun Times; Paul La Camera ’64, general manager WBUR Radio in Boston;  Peter J. O'Connor ’63, founder and executive director of the Fair Share Housing Development Corporation; and Joyce O'Shaughnessy ’78, a leading breast cancer researcher and practitioner.