Venture Capitalist B.J. Cassin ‘55 to Deliver Thomas More Lecture on Faith, Work and Civic Life

WORCESTER, Mass. – B.J. Cassin, venture capitalist and chairman and president of the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation, will give the Thomas More Lecture at the College of the Holy Cross on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rehm Library. The lecture, sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, is free and open to the public.

The Thomas More Lecture on Faith, Work and Civic Life honors a graduate of Holy Cross who exemplifies the College’s dedication to the integration of faith and learning. The alumnus or alumna is invited to speak about his or her own profession, vocation, and the ethical opportunities and challenges faced there.

Cassin, who graduated from Holy Cross in 1955, has been a venture capital investor for 30 years and was a financial founder of a number of technology companies including Cadence Design Systems, Cerus Corporation, Equatorial Communications, Laserscope, PDF Solutions, Quantum Corporation, Scientific Microsystems and Stratacom. Previously, he co-founded the Fortune 500 company Xidex Corporation. He serves as chairman of Cerus Corporation and is on the board of four other private companies.

In 2000, he founded the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation, which makes grants to private, faith-based schools that serve low-income, high-risk students. Since its founding, CEIF has committed more than $22 million to establish and grow 80 middle and high schools that follow the NativityMiguel and Cristo Rey models of Catholic education in urban, economically challenged areas across the U.S. In Massachusetts, CEIF has made grants to: North Cambridge Catholic High School in Cambridge; Notre Dame High School, Blessed Stephen Bellesini Academy and Esperanza Academy in Lawrence; Nativity Prep School in New Bedford; and Nativity School of Worcester.

Cassin has also helped Holy Cross with a $1 million grant in 2002 to further minority recruitment and retention on campus. In 2003, he was a recipient of the College’s Sanctae Crucis Award, which recognizes the distinguished achievements of alumni.

He and his wife, Bebe, live in Los Altos Hills, Calif. and have five children and six grandchildren.

To learn more about this program and other Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture events, visit holycross.edu/crec.

About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College's commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.