Purpose
The International Jesuit Scholars Program is designed to bring Jesuit faculty from colleges and universities around the world to Holy Cross as visiting fellows.   The Program is a joint initiative of the College's Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture and the Holy Cross Jesuit Community.

The program is designed to give Jesuits from many different countries the time and resources to pursue scholarship, to collaborate with American scholars, and to build a better sense of the Jesuit global community.  We at Holy Cross believe that we will benefit a great deal from the presence of Jesuits from around the globe, and that our many resources can be of help to the Society in its mission.  This initiative promotes the spirit of internationalization endorsed by the recent New England Province congregation and supported by Father General Kolvenbach as an expression of the magis in our times.

The Visiting Scholar appointment will be for one semester or one year, with the understanding that the fellows will return to their home provinces thereafter.  This is not an effort to recruit Jesuits for permanent positions.  The Jesuit Scholars will be provided with office space in the Center, access to the Holy Cross libraries and other research libraries, and will receive financial support for designated research activities and/or to attend professional conferences. 

International Visiting Jesuit Scholars will offer one course per semester in their disciplinary area or provide other service to the College.  We hope in particular that such courses will capitalize on the international perspective the fellows bring.  Where appropriate and possible, the courses taught by Visiting Scholars will supplement the curricular offerings of our International Studies Concentration (which offers programs of study focusing on Latin America, Asia and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East).  Fellows may also be asked to present a public lecture and/or faculty seminar, to be agreed upon in advance. 

The Center will provide Fellows with secretarial and logistical support.  Our International Scholar and Student Advisor will assist in matters pertaining to visas and related issues.  Housing will be provided in Ciampi Hall, the Jesuit residence at Holy Cross.  Holy Cross will also cover the costs of transportation to and from the United States.

Founded in 1843, The College of the Holy Cross is the most highly ranked exclusively liberal arts Catholic college in the United States.  It is also ranked among the top 4% of 925 private four-year colleges in the number of its students subsequently earning doctorates. Holy Cross is highly respected for its superior undergraduate academic programs, excellent faculty, the intelligence and achievements of its students, and the quality of its intellectual resources, especially its library.  The College offers majors in eighteen fields: biology, chemistry, classics, economics, economics-accounting, English, history, mathematics, modern languages and literatures, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, sociology/anthropology, theatre and visual arts.  We are located in Worcester, Massachusetts, 40 miles west of Boston.  Approximately 2,700 students from 14 countries and 46 states - all undergraduates - attend the College. Our library contains more than 565,000 volumes and 1725 periodical titles. A consortium arrangement provides off-campus access to more than 3,800,000 volumes and more than 23,000 serial subscriptions. The nearby American Antiquarian Society also houses one of the most important and complete collections of materials on the American colonial era.  Because of our proximity to Boston, many faculty also make use of collections there.  Thus, Holy Cross offers an attractive teaching and research setting.

The program will also complement Holy Cross' other efforts to develop collaborative programs with Jesuit colleges and universities outside the U.S.   These collaborative possibilities include potential study abroad sites for our students.  Approximately twenty percent of our third year students now study outside of the United States.  Among our many active collaborations, three are with Jesuit Instituitions: Université Catholique D'Afrique Centrale in Yaoundé, Camaroon; the Catholica, in Lima, Peru; and Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. We are also exploring various collaborative opportunities with the Universitas Sanata Dharma in Indonesia, and would like to develop additional programs that are affiliated with Jesuit and Catholic institutions.