Richard E. Ring ’68
Between the time Richard Ring arrived on Mount St. James, in the fall of 1964, and the time he graduated, in the spring of 1968, much had changed at Holy Cross and in America. The era of the Great Society and the War on Poverty, it was a time of recommitting to the ideal of forging a better world through service and compassion. As a student-athlete English major, Dick Ring found time to play football, read the Classics and volunteer for the Big Brothers of America program.
After graduating and serving in the U.S. Navy, Dick took a job as a counselor at the Pine Street Inn, a Boston shelter for the homeless. Over the next 25 years, Dick would serve Pine Street in a number of capacities, eventually becoming the Inn’s executive director and one of the nation’s experts on assisting the homeless. During the years of his stewardship, The Pine Street Inn grew from a single emergency shelter to a multi-million dollar organization operating 23 different facilities and providing counseling, job training, and permanent housing for homeless people.
In 1995, Dick became the director of Caritas, an organization that provides housing for low-income, working individuals. In addition to his positions at the Pine Street Inn and Caritas, Dick has also worked on affordable housing issues in the public sector and served as commissioner for the city of Boston’s Emergency Shelter Commission.
Dick recently became the executive director of the Travelers Aid Society, where we anticipate he will continue to bring his lifelong dedication to caring for those in need. Dick’s energy, enthusiasm, idealism, and spirit have made him a model of Christian service. Richard Ring reminds us of our call to be men and women for others and for this the College of the Holy Cross presents to him the Sanctae Crucis Award.