Interfaith America (IA) and the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) are proud to announce the faculty participants selected for the 2025 Teaching Interfaith Understanding seminar. This prestigious seminar brings together faculty leaders from CIC member institutions who are committed to deepening interfaith learning and cooperation on their campuses.
Held June 15-18, in Chicago, the seminar provides a multidisciplinary space for participating faculty to explore the theoretical foundations and practical pedagogies of interfaith engagement in higher education. This seminar has been run every year since 2014, which makes this the 11th summer Interfaith America and CIC have come together to ensure that faculty are receiving the most up-to-date training on these subjects.
Each year, the seminar equips faculty to explore the complex dynamics of religious diversity, while also supporting them in developing new or enhanced curricular offerings on interfaith understanding and pluralism. Participants will engage deeply with questions around civic and religious pluralism, models of interfaith collaboration, and the role of higher education in bridging lines of difference.
Led by Laurie Patton, President of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith America, the seminar will feature interactive sessions that include discussions of scholarly frameworks, reviews of syllabi and case studies, and plenary sessions on current topics in higher education. Faculty will also have the opportunity to create new teaching resources that can be shared with colleagues nationwide.
The 2025 faculty cohort represents a diverse range of academic disciplines, institutional types, and regional contexts, united with a shared commitment to preparing students for leadership in a religiously and ideologically diverse democracy. This initiative is part of Interfaith America and CIC’s broader missions to embed pluralism as a foundational value in American higher education.
Here are the participants of the 2025 Teaching Interfaith Understanding Faculty Seminar:
- Amy Howe, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Champlain College
- Anne Harley, Professor of Music at Scripps College
- Bede Bidlack, Professor of Theology at Saint Anselm College
- Benjamin Wintress, Assistant Professor of Theology at Divine Word College
- Bin Qiu, Assistant Professor of Economics and Management at DePauw University
- Christian Krokus, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Scranton
- Elizabeth Goldstein, Rabbi and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University
- Elizabeth Coody, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Morningside University
- Jay Givens, Professor of Theological Studies at Wayland Baptist University
- Kevin Jones, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Alaska Pacific University
- Kimberly Gibson, Instructor of Nursing at the University of St. Francis
- Kris Pratt, Professor of Religion at Spartanburg Methodist College
- Kristyn Sessions, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Simpson College
- Lisa Festa, Associate Professor of Art History at Georgian Court University
- Marin Roper, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Brigham Young University
- Mohamed El-Bermawy, Professor of Chemistry at Culver-Stockton College
- Nancy Rourke, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at St. John Fisher University
- Patricia Koplas, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology and Chemistry at Queens University of Charlotte
- Peter Steiger, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Chaminade University of Honolulu
- Rajni Shankar-Brown, Professor and JBD Chair of Social Justice Education at Stetson University
- Rozina Johnson, Chair of the Division of Humanities and Communications at Miles College
- Shawn Bowers, Director of General Education and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte
- Shayna Sheinfeld, Assistant of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University
- Steven Kapica, Assistant Professor of Humanities and Fine Arts at Keuka College
- Travis Proctor, Associate Professor of Religion at Wittenberg University
- Zachary Selby, Assistant Professor of Theology at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
This grant is made possible through generous funding to the Council of Independent Colleges from the Lilly Endowment Inc.
