Shenandoah University is pleased to announce that Assistant Professor of Religion Kevin Minister, Ph.D., has been selected from a nationwide pool of nominees to participate in a faculty seminar on the teaching of interfaith understanding. The seminar is offered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), with support from the Henry Luce Foundation.
Twenty-five faculty members will participate in the five-day Teaching Interfaith Understanding seminar that will take place August 2–6, 2015, at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The seminar will be led by two leading scholars: Eboo Patel, founder and president of IFYC, a Chicago-based organization building the interfaith movement on college campuses; and Laurie Patton, president-elect of Middlebury College and former dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Robert F. Durden Professor of Religion at Duke University. The program aims to broaden faculty members’ knowledge and strengthen their teaching of interfaith understanding, with the development of new courses and resources.
“Strengthening the teaching of interfaith understanding at colleges and universities is a high priority at a time when college enrollment—and American society—is becoming more diverse. Strengthening participation in American life with greater understanding of the distinctive contributions of different faiths is a key to America’s future success,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “The number of institutions that nominated faculty members to participate in the interfaith understanding seminar is most impressive.”
“Dr. Minister, with his background in comparative religion and through his teaching of our World Religions and other courses, contributes greatly to Shenandoah’s mission of educating ‘compassionate citizens who are committed to making responsible contributions within a community, a nation and the world,’” said Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Calvin Allen, Ph.D. “His integration of interfaith understanding into his classes provides our students with a valuable professional skill that is essential to global citizenship.”
For more information, visit cic.edu/TeachingInterfaith.
2015 SEMINAR ON TEACHING INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING (CHICAGO) PARTICIPANTS
Adrienne Ambrose, University of the Incarnate Word (TX)
Maeve Callan, Simpson College (IA)
Karen Chaney, Olivet College (MI)
Melissa Chastain, Spalding University (KY)
Amy Cottrill, Birmingham-Southern College (AL)
Joan Crist, Calumet College of St. Joseph (IN)
Giovanna Czander, Dominican College (NY)
Samina Hadi-Tabassum, Dominican University (IL)
Mark Hanshaw, Texas Wesleyan University
Andrew Hill, Wheaton College (IL)
Joshua Hollmann, Concordia College (NY)
Anita Houck, Saint Mary’s College (IN)
Melinda Krokus, Marywood University (PA)
Michael Latzer, Gannon University (PA)
Jason Mahn, Augustana College (IL)
Rebecca Meier-Rao, Edgewood College (WI)
Kevin Minister, Shenandoah University (VA)
Sara Patterson, Hanover College (IN)
Caryn Riswold, Illinois College (IL)
Ami Shah, Pacific Lutheran University (WA)
Judith Thorn, Knox College (IL)
Michael Utzinger, Hampden-Sydney College (VA)
David Vila, John Brown University (AR)
Maureen Walsh, Rockhurst University (MO)
Jane Webster, Barton College (NC)