Holy Cross Recognizes Alumni for Outstanding Professional Achievements and Service

WORCESTER, Mass. — Six graduates of the College of the Holy Cross have received the Sanctae Crucis Award, the highest non-degree recognition bestowed by the College on an alumnus or alumna. The 15th annual presentation of the awards took place on Friday, May 4.

This year’s recipients are:

Francis M. Carroll ’60, legendary figure skating coach Three of Carroll’s skaters have won the World Figure Skating Championships: Linda Fratianne, Michelle Kwan, and Evan Lysacek (who also won the men’s Olympic gold medal in 2010 in Vancouver). Carroll, a former competitive skater himself, won the bronze medal on the junior level at the 1959 U.S. Championships, and the silver medal in 1960).  He was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame and was the 1997 Olympic Coach of the Year.

John F. Castellano ’71, legal advocate for poor and vulnerable An attorney who has dedicated his life to advocating for the poor, mentally ill, and homeless, Castellano has worked since the 1990s as the attorney and director of the Mercy Advocacy Program (MAP), a legal services program which provides free legal services to people living in poverty on Long Island.  In November of last year, he played an important role in Mercy Haven receiving a $2.5 million state grant to develop new housing for homeless families.

Marian F. Earls, MD ’76, pioneering pediatrician Earls is medical director at Guilford Child Health in Greensboro, N.C.  For the past 22 years, she has spearheaded efforts to recognize the complex developmental and emotional challenges faced by young children and their families, coordinating critical services, support, and advocacy. Her studies have documented, translated, and expanded knowledge about the best practices in the subspecialty of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics to a national audience and via the American Academy of Pediatrics.  A member of the first class of women at Holy Cross, she holds a master’s degree in theology from Harvard Divinity School and an M.D. from University of Massachusetts Medical School.

James E. Mulvihill, DMD ’62, advocate for improved health care and policy Trained in dentistry, Mulvihill has held teaching and administrative positions at Harvard, SUNY Stony Brook, and the University of Connecticut. He has served as chairman of the Travelers Health Company; senior fellow in health policy at the Association of Academic Health Centers; and president of the Forsyth Dental Center.  During his tenure as president of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, he doubled annual program revenues and expenditures to support research.  He continues to be involved in a host of nonprofit health care organizations, including The First Tee, a national youth development program.

Richard J. Santen, MD ’61, leading authority in breast and prostate cancers Recognized worldwide for his discoveries and research in the field of reproductive endocrinology, Santen has worked for 30 years to increase the understanding of hormone-dependent breast and prostate cancers.  As professor of medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, he has taught and mentored scores of young doctors and researchers. Widely published, he has been active on scientific review groups at the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.

Lisa M. Taylor ’96, federal civil rights attorney At the Department of Justice, Taylor enforces education rights. She successfully corrected the over-identification of black students in special education in Louisiana; and addressed the failure of an Alabama school district to hire black teachers and to offer advanced placement classes to black students.  A former Naval Officer, she developed the USS Tarawa’s first harassment program, and at the University of Georgia Law School, she led the Mothers in Jail Project.  She has been honored with the National Bar Association’s “Nation’s Best Advocate” recognition (2010) and Harvard Law School’s Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship (2011-12).

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: Erin Boyd ’99, a nutritionist and humanitarian relief worker with USAID and UNICEF; Jay A. Clarke ’88, a curator at the Chicago Institute of Art and the Clark Art Institute; John Higgins ’76, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times; Paul La Camera ’64, former general manager WBUR Radio in Boston; and John A. Zaia, M.D. ’64, a pioneering researcher and physician, City of Hope National Medical Center.