Rougeau is blazing several trails at Holy Cross — he is both the first Black president and the first layperson to lead the college.
Although not a clergyman himself, Rogeau has written extensively on law and Catholicism, and kicked off his presidency with a lecture on U.S. politics and Catholic thought. He previously served as director of the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America. His merging of Holy Cross’s traditional Jesuit values with contemporary questions of race and politics makes for a unique perspective amid higher education’s rapidly evolving landscape. Given Holy Cross’s controversies surrounding its Crusaders mascot and early indirect ties to slavery, as well as a regional push for racial equity in higher education, Rougeau is likely to emerge as a leader among Central Massachusetts institutions in 2022.
