President Michael C. McFarland, S.J., to Deliver Rodino Lecture at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Richard Rodino Lecture on the Aims of the Liberal Arts will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College, will give this year's lecture, entitled "Studia humanitatis, pietas, and christianitas: The Jesuit Tradition in the Liberal Arts." A reception will follow the lecture.

Prior to becoming president, Fr. McFarland was a professor of computer science and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. Fr. McFarland taught at Boston College for 10 years as associate professor of computer science.

Fr. McFarland completed his bachelor's degree in physics at Cornell University. He earned a master's degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering (computer engineering) at Carnegie Mellon University. Soon after, he worked as a consultant at the AT&T Bell Laboratories, doing research in computer-aided design of digital systems.

Fr. McFarland joined the Jesuits in 1975. He studied at the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and earned a master's in divinity and Th.M. in social ethics. He was ordained in the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at Holy Cross in 1984.

The annual Rodino Lecture series is devoted to the memory of Richard Rodino, formerly of the English department at Holy Cross. He played a central role in launching the College’s First Year Program. It is sponsored by the Office of the Dean and the First Year Program.