E1.1 Relationship Between the Congregation of Holy Cross and the College

Effective Date: March 6, 2021
Last Reviewed: March 6, 2021


This policy clarifies the operative relationship between the College and the Congregation of Holy Cross U.S. Province of Priests and Brothers (hereinafter the "Congregation") especially as it applies to the employment of personnel both lay and religious.  It is understood that certain agreements referenced in this policy were executed by the Congregation of Holy Cross Eastern Province to which the U.S. Province is a successor.

Stonehill College is a private institution of higher learning, Christian in orientation, Catholic in tradition. Rooted in the Judeo-Christian heritage, the College seeks to provide an environment that encourages and facilitates the intellectual, spiritual, cultural, and social growth of its students. Within the College, there exist programs of religious study as well as voluntary programs of pastoral services.

The College intends to preserve its nature and to foster its distinctive characteristics through the employment of  personnel at all levels who desire to support and espouse its ideals and its philosophy of education. It requires that all  ho are associated with the College recognize and acknowledge the nature and special characteristics of the institution. Although members of the Trustees, Administration, Faculty, or other staff are not required to agree with the theological or pastoral presence and activities at the College, they are presumed to respect them and to find them compatible with their own functions within the College.

The Congregation possesses a special relationship with the College which stems from its founding of the institution in 1948, its 24 years of direct control of the institution, and agreements (executed in 1972, 1983, and 1989) that currently exist between the two parties.

The Board of Trustees desires to preserve and foster this special relationship through the continued presence of members of the Congregation within the College in responsible capacities and in sufficient numbers. Accordingly, special consideration is given to qualified members of the Congregation and the Board encourages the Congregation to present interested and qualified candidates not only for faculty positions, but also for staff positions, and most especially for the office of the President of the College.

By the terms of the Statement of Principles approved by the governing bodies of both parties and signed on June 1, 1989, the College and the Congregation, elaborated on their earlier agreements as follows:

To the extent that their resources permit, the Congregation, shall make available to the College members who are qualified to serve in faculty and staff positions. It shall, however, remain the exclusive right of the College to judge the qualifications of each member so assigned, and to decide whether to accept any such member for such position.

Accordingly, in the recruitment of faculty and staff, the President of the College will first ascertain if there are religious who are professionally able to fill the position and whose Provincial Superiors are willing to assign them to Stonehill.

Assignments of members of the Congregation to faculty and staff positions shall be by mutual agreement of the President of the College and the Provincial of the Congregation without prejudice to the needs which the academic departments may have for specialists in certain fields of study.

Before approving such assignments, the President will first consult with the appropriate College administrator(s), and the Provincial will consult with his Council. Subject to the provisions of this Statement, the College shall consider members of the Congregation so assigned in all respects as members of the faculty or staff, and shall accord to them all the privileges, including rank and tenure, granted to salaried personnel. Likewise, the College shall have the right to terminate the services of individual members of the Congregation so assigned when the best interests of the College warrant such action, provided, however, that such revocation shall take place according to the College’s policies established for all similarly situated personnel. The Congregation shall have the unilateral right to revoke the assignment of individual members to the College, provided, however, that such revocation shall take place according to the Congregation’s Constitutions and Statutes. The Congregation shall ordinarily give the College one year’s notice of its intention to revoke the assignment of any member of the Congregation to the College.

Members of the Congregation assigned to the College shall follow procedures identical to those established for similar employees of the College. Any permissions which individual priests or brothers must secure, or procedures which they must follow, as members of the Congregation, shall be in addition to those provided for in the Bylaws, Faculty Handbook, and other governing instruments of the College.

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