Holy Cross College is honored to announce a $1 million gift from Dr. Gregory and Mrs. Susanne Hoffman. Their transformational contribution will support the construction and naming of an adoration chapel, which will be located within the future student union— a cornerstone project marking a new era of growth for the College.
The student union will serve as a central hub for student life, and the construction of the adoration chapel will provide a daily spiritual anchor for students, faculty, staff, and community members. In addition, there are plans for centers for career development, mental health, wellness and campus ministry. The concept design of this new facility will begin this fall. The College will invite students, faculty, staff, and community partners to identify the greatest needs and interior design for the union.
“Susanne and I have always had a special place in our hearts for Holy Cross College. Two of our sons attended Holy Cross College in the past, and I have served on the Board of Directors for more than 26 years,” Dr. Hoffman said. “We firmly believe in the mission of forming young men and women to be scholars, citizens, leaders, and disciples. We feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to support Holy Cross College in a very real way by pledging our time, treasure, and talent to make the student union chapel a reality in the very near future. Our hope is that it will provide a place for students and faculty and administrators to pray and to reflect on all the wonderful things that God has bestowed on Holy Cross College and the Holy Cross College Family! Ave Crux, Spes Unica.”
The student union will be the second new building constructed on campus in a decade, following the recently announced residence hall — the first since 2015. The College also broke ground on an expanded athletic complex May 1 that will feature lights, a new scoreboard, sound system, soccer goals, and a wrap-around fence. These projects reflect a campus with major momentum, energized by record enrollment and renewed investment in the College’s mission.
Dr. Hoffman is a long-standing member of the College’s Board of Trustees and retired as an orthopedic surgeon for Orthopedic Northeast after a successful 35-year career. Both Dr. Hoffman and Mrs. Hoffman served as volunteers at the Matthew 25 Health and Care Center in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Dr. Hoffman is a member of the University of Notre Dame College of Science Advisory Council. They are blessed with five adult children and 13 grandchildren.
The Hoffmans’ gift is the third $1 million commitment received this spring:
“As we look ahead to the future of Holy Cross College, we are deeply grateful and moved by the trust our supporters like the Hoffmans are placing in us,” said Dr. Lynn Hubert, Holy Cross College Senior Vice President for Mission Advancement. “Their belief in our mission is helping us provide a sacred space that will serve as a beacon of faith, prayer, and reflection for our community.”
Together, these gifts fuel the College’s mission to form students as scholars, citizens, leaders, and disciples — a mission deeply rooted in the Catholic intellectual and social teachings and animated by the Holy Cross charism.
“An adoration chapel in our new student union will provide a place for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors to contemplate the living God, offer ourselves to be drawn into His love, and learn to take that same love to heart in our own lives,” said Dr. Marco J. Clark, president of Holy Cross College. “Greg and Sue’s extraordinary generosity ensures that prayer, reflection, and sacramental life will remain central to our students’ daily experience for decades to come.”
Construction on the student union is scheduled in the first phase of the College’s campus master plan. Further details and a projected timeline will be shared in the coming months. For more information about supporting Holy Cross College of the student union project, please reach out to Dr. Lynn Hubert at [email protected].