Awards Ceremony
The 2026 ceremony is scheduled for June 6 at 12 p.m. It will be held in the Luth Concert Hall at the Prior Performing Arts Center.
Sanctae Crucis Award Winners 2026
The Sanctae Crucis Award is the highest non-degree accolade that the College awards alumni.
Those who earn the distinction have distinguished themselves professionally and in the service of justice, embodying the Jesuit ideals outlined in the College’s mission.
This Year's Winners
Thomas O’Brien '86 and Sheila Cavanaugh '81 have earned the award for Outstanding Community Service. Maryclaire Dale ‘84 and John Klofas ‘77 have earned the award for Distinguished Professional Achievement.
As a legal affairs writer, Maryclaire Dale has covered the country’s largest sports league, the trial of a one-time American icon and many, many subjects in between. Through her work, she’s appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show," “PBS NewsHour,” NPR’s “The Takeaway,” the BBC and other news programs. Get to know Dale more below.
Maryclaire Dale Promotes Justice Through Journalism
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West Virginia to the Caribbean
Maryclaire Dale is a longtime legal affairs writer and a 2018 Nieman Fellow and adjunct at Harvard. Her career has taken her from the West Virginia coalfields to a Caribbean murder trial to the sexual assault trials of Catholic priests and actor Bill Cosby.
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The Cosby Trial
Her work unsealing Cosby’s testimony in a confidential deposition led to his 2015 arrest and two criminal trials.
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NFL Concussion Settlement
Dale has also closely covered the $1B NFL concussion settlement, publishing a 2021 investigation of race bias in dementia testing that led to more than $100M in new awards and benefits for Black players.
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From Seoul to Tehran
Dale's 2021 story on the lax prosecution of campus rapes aired in print and TV markets around the world, from Seoul to Tehran, and helped one woman seek justice.
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Pulitzer Finalist
She contributed to the AP's coverage of the Trump assassination attempt, reporting from Butler, Pa., which was a Pulitzer finalist for Breaking News in 2024.
"Maryclaire is a journalist who follows the rules of journalism, protecting her sources and verifying the facts before publication. I believe it is obvious that Maryclaire is dedicated to the promotion of justice in her legal reporting."
