Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J.

   On July 1, 2000, Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., became the 31st president of the College of the Holy Cross.
   Prior to becoming president, Rev. McFarland was Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He was at Gonzaga for four years, where he was also a professor of computer science.
   Born in Boston in 1948, he lived for a time in California, later graduating from Xavier High School (now closed) in Concord, Mass. He completed his bachelor’s degree in physics at Cornell University in 1969, earning a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering (computer engineering) at Carnegie-Mellon University. He worked as a consultant from 1985-86 at the AT&T Bell Laboratories and, in 1990, was a postdoctoral fellow there.
   Rev. McFarland taught at Boston College from 1986 to 1996. As associate professor of computer science he created new courses in ethics and computers, computer architecture and digital systems. He created a laboratory for digital electronics and developed tutorial materials for a course on computers in management. He served as department chair for three years during his tenure at Boston College. 
   Rev. 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 by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington ’41 in 1984. 
   During his term as Holy Cross president, Rev. McFarland, S.J. enjoyed running six days each week in his free time.  He now serves as the Treasurer for the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits.