$10 million gift from Stephen P. Skinner aims to expand academic opportunity and strengthen college’s ability to attract and retain exceptional faculty

Stephen P. Skinner, a 1977 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and a longtime supporter of his alma mater, has committed $10 million to expand academic opportunity and strengthen the Worcester college’s ability to attract and retain exceptional faculty.

Announced Sept. 14, the gift is structured around two pillars central to the Holy Cross experience: distinguished teaching and affordability.

The largest share—$9 million—will establish three endowed professorships, each funded at $3 million.

The remaining $1 million will support the Skinner Family Scholarships, providing aid intended to help make a Holy Cross education accessible to more students.

For Skinner, the gift represents an investment in the people who shape a liberal-arts education day to day: the faculty members whose scholarship, mentorship, and classroom teaching influence students long after graduation.

Named professorships are among the college’s most durable forms of faculty recognition, providing permanent resources that can help recruit and retain leading scholars and support their academic work over time.

The three new positions will be the Skinner Family Professorship; the Elizabeth Ann and John C. Savage Professorship; and the Dorothea A. and Irwin J. Skinner Professorship.

One appointment has already been announced: economics professor Victor Matheson will become the Dorothea A. and Irwin J. Skinner Professor of Economics.

Matheson, whose work has examined the economics of sports, public policy, and major events, is a particularly fitting early recipient of the commitment.

His appointment signals the practical effect of Skinner’s philanthropy: not simply a new title, but sustained institutional support for a faculty member whose teaching and research contribute to the college’s intellectual life.

Skinner’s gift also underscores a broader truth about higher-education philanthropy. A donor’s most consequential impact often extends beyond a building or a one-time initiative.

Endowed faculty positions can support academic excellence across generations, while scholarship resources directly affect whether qualified students can enroll, remain at the institution, and take full advantage of available opportunities.

That affordability component arrives as financial access remains a defining issue for private colleges nationwide.

Holy Cross says it meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, and students from families with typical assets and household incomes of $100,000 or less receive a full-tuition grant.

The Skinner Family Scholarships add another source of long-term support to that commitment, helping the college extend its reach to students for whom the cost of attendance might otherwise be prohibitive.

Skinner has been a longstanding Holy Cross benefactor, and the new gift builds on a legacy of engagement that connects philanthropy to the college’s academic mission.

His family name is already associated with support for experiential and integrative learning in the creative, performing, and liberal arts, a fund established in memory of Nancy Savage Skinner.

That earlier commitment has supported internships, research opportunities, summer residencies, and professional-development experiences designed to give students practical exposure to the business and practice of the arts.

The $10 million commitment now expands that legacy in a different but complementary direction: strengthening the faculty at the heart of the college’s academic program and widening the path for students to benefit. In that sense, Skinner’s philanthropy is both immediate and intergenerational—supporting today’s professors and scholars while creating resources that will remain available to future Holy Cross students for years to come.