The College of the Holy Cross is bringing in a veteran student affairs administrator from Brown University to oversee student life and campus wellbeing, while also expanding the leadership role of a longtime Jesuit administrator already on campus.
Koren Bakkegard, most recently associate vice president for campus life and dean of students at Brown, becomes vice president for student development and dean of students effective July 1.
The college also said that Rev. Keith Maczkiewicz, S.J., currently associate vice president for mission and ministry, was promoted to vice president for mission and chief mission officer, joining Holy Cross’ senior leadership team in an expanded role.
The appointments come as Holy Cross continues to shape its student life and mission leadership structure under President Vincent D. Rougeau.
Bakkegard arrives in Worcester with more than two decades of experience in higher education and student affairs, including senior leadership roles at both Brown University and Stanford University.
According to the college announcement, Bakkegard will oversee the Division of Student Development and advise senior leadership on student life, campus climate, student wellbeing and community standards. She will report directly to Rougeau and serve on the President’s Leadership Team.
“Koren is a principled, student-centered leader whose commitment to student success, belonging and mission-driven education makes her an extraordinary addition to Holy Cross,” Rougeau said in the college announcement.
Before joining Brown in 2019, Bakkegard spent 15 years at Stanford University, where she served in several senior leadership positions connected to residential education and undergraduate student life.
In the announcement, Bakkegard said Holy Cross’ Jesuit mission drew her to the position.
“I am deeply honored to join the Holy Cross community and to work alongside students and colleagues to enhance a transformative student experience,” she said. “Holy Cross’ mission deeply resonates with me, and I am inspired by the opportunity to help cultivate the conditions that support student learning, formation and engagement.”
Bakkegard earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina Asheville and a master’s degree from Wake Forest University. She also completed doctoral coursework at the University of Rochester.
The college also announced an expanded role for Maczkiewicz, a Jesuit priest ordained in 2018 who has served in campus ministry and mission leadership positions at several Jesuit institutions, including Georgetown University, Fairfield University, the University of Scranton and Holy Cross.
Beginning July 1, Maczkiewicz will lead the Division of Mission and Ministry as vice president for mission and chief mission officer while also serving on the President’s Leadership Team.
Maczkiewicz previously served as director of campus ministry and university chaplain at Fairfield University. He holds degrees from Fairfield University, Providence College, Loyola University Chicago, the Jesuit School of Theology and Boston College, where he earned a doctorate in education focused on Catholic higher education.
Founded in 1843, Holy Cross enrolls about 3,200 undergraduate students and is one of the nation’s oldest Jesuit liberal arts colleges.
