Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. (born 1948) was the 31st president of the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He succeeded Acting President Frank Vellaccio on July 1, 2000, and was succeeded by Rev.

Philip Boroughs Philip L. Boroughs, Society of Jesus, S.J., is an American Jesuit, academic and university administrator. Boroughs was unanimously selected as the incoming 32nd President of the College of the Holy Cross on May 6, 2011. He took office on January 9, ...

, S.J.

Biography

Childhood

McFarland was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1948. He was raised in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

and for a short time in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Education

McFarland received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1969. He gained his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1979 and his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1981, both in

computer engineering Computer engineering (CoE or CpE) is a branch of electrical engineering and computer science that integrates several fields of computer science and electronic engineering required to develop computer hardware and software. Computer engineers ...

, from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. McFarland joined the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

order in 1975 and studied at the

Weston School of Theology The Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (STM) is a Society of Jesus, Jesuit school of graduate theology at Boston College. It is an Ecclesiastical university, ecclesiastical faculty of theology that trains men and women, both lay and re ...

and earned a Master's in

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

and Th. M. in social ethics. He was ordained at the

in 1984.

Career

McFarland previously worked for AT&T Bell Labs conducting research in computer-aided design of digital systems. Before going to Holy Cross, he was a

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University.

President of the College of the Holy Cross

McFarland succeeded Acting Holy Cross President Frank Vellaccio on July 1, 2000. In February 2011, he announced his intention to step down from office. McFarland was succeeded in office by Rev.

, S.J., who was unanimously elected as the 32nd President of Holy Cross by the board of trustees on May 6, 2011. McFarland left office on January 9, 2012.

IEEE

McFarland has articles published in the Proceedings of the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the IEEE Transactions on Computers, the IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, Formal Methods for System Design, the Journal of Systems and Software, Computer, and Technology and Society. For three years he was an associate editor for the IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems and has participated in numerous program committees for conferences.

Board Memberships

In addition to his responsibilities as Holy Cross' president, McFarland serves on the following: * The

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities * The Board of Trustees of The University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania * The Board of Trustees of

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

* The Board of Trustees of St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts * The Board of Trustees of Worcester Catholic Charities * The Board of Trustees of The Worcester Municipal Research Bureau * The Board of Directors of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

* The Advisory Council for

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

* Chairman of the Nativity School of Worcester, Massachusetts

References

External links

* * 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits 1948 births Living people Presidents of the College of the Holy Cross People from Boston Carnegie Mellon University alumni Gonzaga University faculty Cornell University alumni Catholics from Massachusetts {{US-academic-administrator-1940s-stub