Sanctae Crucis Awards presented
The 11th annual presentation of the Sanctae Crucis Awards took place at a campus dinner on May 2. The awards are the highest nondegree recognition bestowed by the College on an alumnus or alumna; awards are given in the categories: distinguished professional achievement; outstanding community service; and outstanding young alumnus/alumna. This year’s recipients are:
Frank T. Kartheiser ’72
Arriving as a student at Holy Cross during the turbulent late 1960s, Chicago native Frank Kartheiser became involved in the anti-war movement and with the Catholic Workers. Determined to make a difference, he dropped out of Holy Cross in 1971, and formed the Mustard Seed in Worcester with fellow classmate Shawn Donovan ’70. The Mustard Seed began as a storefront agency dispensing help to the elderly, poor and homeless and eventually grew to a full-time soup kitchen and homeless shelter. He returned to Holy Cross in 1987 to finish his degree in religious studies, graduating in 1988. In 1992, Kartheiser became the director and organizer of Worcester Interfaith, an alliance of Worcester religious congregations and organizations that work together to empower the underprivileged through action, specifically with city youth, enforcing public safety, and providing equal job access and affordable housing. Before that, he helped create many community organizations in Worcester; served as a field representative for Clergy and Laity Concerned; and worked for the Diocese of Worcester as director of the Urban Ministry Commission, associate director of religious education, and consultant for social justice and peace. He is a founding member of the Holy Cross Community Leadership Workshop, a new training program for students interested in careers in the nonprofit sector.
Kristen M. O’Hara ’92
Since 2004, O’Hara has been the senior vice president/managing director of the Time Warner Global Media Group. She was a key architect in reinventing the integrated marketing model by shifting the group’s emphasis from transactional sales to insight- and idea-driven solutions that build brands and businesses. A catalyst for creativity and collaboration across the Time Warner enterprise, O’Hara has helped key Time Warner advertisers bring innovative solutions to market. She received the Time Inc. President’s Award in 2002 for forging a partnership with American Express Publishing on a groundbreaking database marketing tool. Prior to joining Time Inc., O’Hara spent nearly 10 years at Young & Rubicam, where she led integrated teams for a wide array of clients and helped the agency secure nearly half a billion dollars in new business. Actively involved in the Holy Cross Women in Business program, she served as a keynote speaker at the program’s inaugural conference.
Richard J. O’Reilly, M.D., ’64
Richard O’Reilly, M.D., chair of the department of pediatrics at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, was the first to conduct a successful bone marrow transplant involving an unrelated, compatible donor—an approach now used successfully on well over 2,500 cancer patients annually. In addition, he co-developed an approach now used throughout the world to treat effectively children born without an immune system. In the ’70s and ’80s, such children were known as “bubble babies”—and died within a year unless they were maintained for years in a sterile environment. The transplant method O’Reilly developed has allowed all these children to receive a curative transplant from a half-matched parent or sibling. A graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, he is the recipient of many professional honors and the author or co-author of more than 300 articles, papers or research studies. O’Reilly also serves as professor of immunology and of pediatrics at the Cornell University School of Medical Science.
Bernard E. Trainor ’51, retired lieutenant general, USMC
Following his graduation from Holy Cross (where he was a history major and member of the NROTC program), Bernard Trainor commanded in combat as a young U.S. Marine officer in Korea. Returning to the United States, he obtained his master’s degree in history at the University of Colorado—and was working toward his Ph.D. when he was assigned to two tours of duty in Vietnam. Appointed a lieutenant general in the early 1980s, Trainor completed his final active duty assignment at the Pentagon where he held the post of deputy chief of staff for Plans, Policies and Operations and served as Marine Corps deputy to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Upon his retirement in 1985, Trainor began working for The New York Times as its military correspondent; in 1990, he joined the Kennedy School of Government as director of the National Security Program and became a military analyst for ABC News. He is co-author of the definitive text on the Gulf War, The Generals’ War (Little, Brown, 1995). Senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he continues to do military analysis for both NBC News and The New York Times.
