The Spire

Ashwin Prabaharan ’26 & Will McHale ’26

Co-Editors-in-Chief

On November 14th, The Spire spoke with President Vincent Rougeau for our second conversation of the academic year. The topics of our interview included growing concerns about the implications of AI among students and families, details of the Holy Cross Economic Impact Report, the recent Kimball & Dining Services initiative with WooFridges, Holy Cross’ plans for the Rotmans property, and President Rougeau’s thoughts as we approach the Thanksgiving break.

Our first question for President Rougeau was about the growing concerns among students and their families about artificial intelligence and the danger that it poses in the classroom as well as in the workforce. President Rougeau made clear that he certainly shares these worries about the rise of AI, and he described the need to prepare students to engage with AI in the workplace in a way that is productive. He then reminded us of the work of the Institutional Review of AI Task Force, which has been conducting a comprehensive review of the implications of AI and making recommendations on how the College should adapt. The Task Force has been exploring the various opportunities and risks associated with the technology, along with the work of Princeton’s Alondra Nelson on developing a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. He stressed that the College must engage in deep thought and questioning as it strives to identify a meaningful & mission-centered approach to interacting with artificial intelligence. Those who are interested in the work of the AI Task Force can keep up with their page on Ignite for more information.

The conversation then turned to the exciting new collaboration launched between Holy Cross’ Kimball & Dining Services and WooFridges, a mutual aid network that provides free, accessible food across the city of Worcester. President Rougeau explained that the College has been working closely with city offices and community organizations to support residents of Worcester who face food insecurity issues, especially as the government shutdown endangered those who depend on SNAP benefits. He explained that the new initiative with WooFridges also challenged the College to adapt to rules about the distribution and storage of cooked food, leading Holy Cross dining to develop ready-to-eat meals for the initiative. In addition, Holy Cross also recently contributed $10,000 to the Massachusetts United Response Fund, further supporting Massachusetts families facing heightened food insecurity due to changes in their SNAP benefits. President Rougeau described how the College aims to mobilize our community to engage with Worcester in a number of ways, including the Pernet Family Health Service, a food pantry in the city that the College has been assisting through an ongoing food drive. The Community Engagement Hub on Ignite is a very helpful resource for those hoping to learn and get involved in the Worcester community and beyond: https://ignite.holycross.edu/site/088122a9-dcc5-5e19-912a-18e1d85d1d8a/dashboard

Continuing on the topic of community engagement, we then turned to the recently released Holy Cross Economic Impact Report, an independent report from Econsult Solutions that was released in October. President Rougeau stated that he was impressed with the findings of the report, which found that Holy Cross generates $313 million in economic activity and supports over 1,500 jobs in Worcester alone. Across the state of Massachusetts, Holy Cross supports $866 million in economic activity and over 50,000 hours of volunteer hours with nonprofits and public agencies. President Rougeau also noted the $85 million, 33.7% of Holy Cross’ annual operating budget, that the College provides in institutional aid to students and families. The report highlights the various ways in which Holy Cross interacts with the city of Worcester, generating millions of dollars of economic activity. More details about the economic impact report can be found at https://info.holycross.edu/people-for-and-with-others. 

We then asked President Rougeau about the Rotmans property, acquired by Holy Cross in January 2025, and what the school has planned for the location in the future. The property, which President Rougeau is referring to as the Brussels St Property, was described as a “once in a generation investment” for the College. President Rougeau noted that Holy Cross does not have any immediate plans for what they will do with the property, though he described the various ways in which the College has been using it so far while exploring their options. This has included using the property as staging & storage space for the moving and updates that occurred on campus over the summer, training for Worcester Fire & Police, and allowing the space to be used for bomb sniffing dog training for the Massachusetts Executive Department of Public Safety. These temporary uses of the property will seek to utilize the space in ways that help the community while the College works on developing a master plan for the Brussels St Property with Dan Ricardi, the AVP for Institutional Resources.

We concluded our conversation with President Rougeau by asking for his thoughts as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. President Rougeau commented that this is an “important time for us to reflect on gratitude,” remembering not only the blessings that we have but also the things that we share with our community. He noted that Holy Cross has a special community with special things that we can do together, leading us into the break with gratitude and a sense of togetherness. 

We thank President Rougeau very much for taking the time to speak with us and look forward to many more conversations in the future to provide the Holy Cross community with important updates from the administration. We would also like to thank the President’s office for being immensely helpful in scheduling and hosting these interviews.

Featured image courtesy of America Magazine

Copy edited by Colette Potter ‘26