USF Receives Grant from Arthur Vining Davis Foundation

The University of St. Francis received a $102,363 grant to promote interfaith engagement, fostering religious literacy, dialogue, and inclusion through courses, workshops, and student-led faith initiatives.

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis is the recipient of an Interfaith and Religious Literacy Program Area grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. The grant is titled "Creating Opportunities for University Interfaith Engagement," and the award amount is $102,363.00. This funding will allow us to create space for courageous multi-faith conversations and collaborations on our campus, helping our students feel welcomed, supported and prepared to enter a world of religious diversity. It will also enable us to offer a toolkit for interfaith engagement on our campus and in our wider spiritual community.

Our goals include increased religious literacy and conversation among faculty and students about faith as well as increasing confidence in students’ ability to thoughtfully and intentionally engage people with diverse values and perspectives in respectful dialogue. The Private Investigator, Dr. Abigail Gomulkiewicz, is joined by a steering committee that includes faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences and administration from Academic Affairs and Campus Ministry. The team plans to meet the objectives of the grant with the following activities:

· Research in the form of surveys and listening sessions to gather information about the needs of people from various faith communities on campus

· Support for the formation of student-led faith clubs with faculty mentorship

· A new course to engage students in courageous multi-faith conversations

· Professional development workshops for faculty, staff, and administration

· Interfaith Dinner Conversations with religious leaders from the local community

“The University of St. Francis is committed to its mission of being a welcoming community of learners that seeks to equip its students for lives of service and leadership throughout the world. Our recent grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations supports the continuation of this mission through creating a space for learning techniques of listening and tools of engagement with people with different beliefs. This is incredibly important for all students but particularly for those at the University of St. Francis where a large part of our student body goes on to careers in nursing, education, and business where they will need to navigate our multi-faith world.” – Dr. Abigal Gomulkiewicz

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 3,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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