Vice President for Mission Named at Holy Cross

Rev. William R. Campbell, S.J. ’87 has been named vice president for mission at the College of the Holy Cross.  The announcement was made today by Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., president of the College.

“We are delighted to welcome Fr. Campbell—a Holy Cross graduate and former chaplain—back to Holy Cross to assume this important leadership role,” said Fr. Boroughs.  “He is dedicated to Jesuit spirituality and educational principles, as well as the distinctive identity and mission of Holy Cross.  He will be a great asset in our work with the entire College Community, ranging from members of our Board of Trustees to students, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”

Fr. Campbell is currently president at Cheverus High School, a coeducational Jesuit secondary school in Portland, Maine, a position he has held since 2008.  He will succeed Rev. Paul F. Harman, S.J., in this leadership position.  Fr. Harman, who returned to Holy Cross in 2009 as special assistant to former president Michael C. McFarland, S.J., and was named vice president in 2011, will remain at Holy Cross, working in a variety of mission-related activities on campus.

This is a return to Holy Cross and Worcester for Fr. Campbell.  He previously served as assistant chaplain at Holy Cross from 2003-05 and 2007-08, as well as one year (2006-07) as interim principal at Nativity School of Worcester.

Commenting on his appointment, Fr. Campbell said:  “I am a proud alumnus of Holy Cross, and it is accurate to say that my vocation as a Jesuit priest was born on that campus. I am honored to be asked to return and assume day-to-day leadership for all facets of the College’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic liberal arts institution.”

A Massachusetts native, Fr. Campbell majored in English and music at Holy Cross.  He studied at the St. Michael’s Institute at Gonzaga University, and received both his Master of Divinity degree (1997) and Licentiate of Sacred Theology (1998) from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). He was ordained a priest in 1998 in St. Joseph Chapel on the College campus, and professed his final vows in the Society of Jesus in 2007.

From 1998 to 2003, he was executive director at Nativity Preparatory School in Boston.

His international experience and Jesuit pastoral ministry also included work at the Pedro Arrupe Spirituality Center in Goa, India (2005-06) and teaching in the Department of Education Studies at the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica (1993-94).

As vice president for mission at Holy Cross, Fr. Campbell will serve as a member of the president’s Executive Leadership Team and Cabinet, will chair the College’s campus-wide Mission and Identity Committee, and will oversee the work of the Chaplain’s Office and all mission-related initiatives.

Fr. Campbell will begin his new responsibilities at Holy Cross at the beginning of August.