Stonehill College will award two honorary degrees during this year’s ceremony.
Joe Castiglione P'96, who recently retired after 42 seasons as an announcer for the Boston Red Sox, will offer the keynote address at Stonehill College’s 74th Commencement on Sunday, May 18. The radio personality will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree alongside Elizabeth (Fox) Hayden '76, P'04, educational consultant and Stonehill trustee.
“I am grateful to welcome our honorees to campus for this year’s Commencement program. In pursuing their unique vocations, they have both demonstrated what it means to lead impactfully and compassionately. Their presence will certainly inspire our graduates as they consider how they will shape the world beyond the classroom,” said Rev. John Denning, C.S.C., president of Stonehill College.
Castiglione, who enjoyed the longest run of any broadcaster in Red Sox history, joined the team in 1983. A dependable and friendly voice beloved by baseball fans, he is famous for coining the catchphrase “Can you believe it?” after the Red Sox reversed the Curse of the Bambino and won the 2004 World Series, earning the team its first championship title since 1918.
Prior to joining the Red Sox, “Castig,” as he is known by many, spent the early part of his broadcast career at stations like WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio, and WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. He also called games for the Cleveland Indians (now known as the Cleveland Guardians), the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Over the years, the sportscaster has enjoyed many opportunities to mentor young people interested in media. He was previously a lecturer at Northeastern University and Franklin Pierce University. He authored two books, Broadcast Rites and Sites: I Saw It on the Radio with the Boston Red Sox (2004) and Can You Believe It? 30 Years of Insider Stories with the Boston Red Sox (2012).
In recognition of his record of service to his field, Castiglione was named to the Red Sox Hall of Fame, the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the New England Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. He was also honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award. He previously received honorary degrees from Colgate University (his alma mater), Quinnipiac University and Middlebury College. He is a recipient of the Luigi Pirandello Award, given to distinguished people of Italian descent.
Castiglione and his wife, Jan, have three children and six grandchildren. Their son, Stonehill alum Joseph “Duke” Castiglione Jr. '96, is currently the lead sports anchor for WCVB Channel 5, Boston’s ABC affiliate station.
As an educational consultant, Hayden’s scholarship focuses on family health and well-being. She most recently served as a coordinator of curriculum, staff mentor and school advisor at Nativity Preparatory School of Boston, a tuition-free Jesuit middle school for underserved boys, located in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Throughout her career, she worked in multiple education settings, including private, local and international schools for children from ages 3 to 14 years old. Hayden earned a B.A. in Child Development from Stonehill and was awarded an M.Ed. from Lesley University.
The Stonehill alumna married her classmate, James E. Hayden '76, in 1976. James, who served as vice president and chief financial officer of computer company Netegrity, Inc., died on September 11, 2001, in the crash of United Airlines Flight 175. In tribute to him, the College hosted The James Hayden Leadership Seminar in 2004. During the event, Elizabeth addressed more than 125 Stonehill student leaders about the importance of Christian leadership in her family.
In 2021, Hayden and her children, Elizabeth K. (Hayden) Klucznik '04 and John Hayden, made a transformative $2 million gift to establish an endowed academic chair at Stonehill in honor of James’s legacy. The Hayden Chair develops opportunities for research and public dialogue as they oversee the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Social Justice at Stonehill College.
In addition to serving as a member of Stonehill’s Board of Trustees, Hayden is part of the Century Club, the College’s largest giving society. She has served on the President’s Council, Stonehill's leadership giving program, since 2002. She has held numerous roles on the Alumni Council, including the group’s Academic Committee, and guided the formation of the Stonehill Alumni Travel Program.
Hayden has been instrumental in planning and donating start-up funding for Mass General Brigham’s Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds and the Congregation of Holy Cross Mission Center’s David E. Farrell Pavilion, which serves the poor of Lima, Peru.
