Looking Forward with Hope

Following last year's 75th anniversary celebration, a milestone marked by moments to reminisce and reflect on our storied past, the Stonehill College community is embracing opportunities to evolve the institution amid an ever-shifting educational landscape. Over the past several months, we have made significant progress on renewing our commitment to ensuring a bright future for all who call this campus home.

This academic year, Stonehill launched several new impactful undergraduate degree programs and added to our growing roster of graduate programs with a Master of Business Administration degree, as well as the Skyhawk Accelerated Dual Degree, which allows students to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the College in as little as four years.

These new ventures affirm Stonehill’s mission by enabling students to consider life’s most critical questions, while also offering them the practical skills needed to thrive professionally.
 
Building on the strength of our academic programs, the College has forged meaningful ties with various external organizations. For instance, Stonehill and Bristol Community College have announced an agreement that provides a pathway to a Stonehill education for Bristol students.

Other partnerships offer impressive experiential learning opportunities for our students, from conducting scientific research in Costa Rica to working on-site at Super Bowl LIX.

Thanks to our community’s willingness to pursue these opportunities, Stonehill is positioned for continued success as we finalize the institution’s next strategic plan. Guiding the College through 2030, this plan will serve as a blueprint to advance our academic, extracurricular and spiritual offerings in ways that best serve the 21st century student. We look forward to sharing more about this major initiative in the coming months.

Until then, I'm excited to share this issue of Stonehill Alumni Magazine. 

The stories within these pages illustrate Stonehill's enduring impact. In the cover story, Patrick McKay ’03, showrunner for Amazon's Rings of Power, notes that the College’s theatre program was foundational to his student experience and bolstered his confidence as a screenwriter [p. 18].

Similarly, Madison Shorey ’25 shares how she felt empowered to further develop her nonprofit organization, which offers accessible youth sports in her hometown, because of the mentorship of Marie (Kehoe) Kelly ’00 [p. 8]. And in "Lasting Impression," alumni from across various class years recall professors who inspired them to pursue their interests and passions [p. 14].

Looking to the days ahead, I am confident in Stonehill's future and grateful to our community. Since 1948, you have shared your unique talents and vision in the interest of helping the College prosper. As we move forward together, anchored by the sense of compassion that is intrinsic to Stonehill’s traditions, may God grant us wisdom in all our endeavors.