Higher Education
On the eve of this year’s Interfaith Leadership Summit, Interfaith America is hosting a special convening for senior administrators in higher education to address the relationship between pluralism and diversity work.
August 1-2, 2024
Chicago, IL
On the eve of this year’s Interfaith Leadership Summit, Interfaith America is hosting a special convening for senior administrators in higher education to address the relationship between pluralism and diversity work. In our increasingly polarized national environment, and amidst the rising tensions on college campuses, envisioning a collaborative and complementary relationship between these two paradigms is more important than ever. This convening will invite senior administrators to consider how to live out their institution’s existing diversity commitments while prioritizing a fresh focus on bridgebuilding across deep divides.
The convening with take place Thursday, August 1st from 1:00-6:00 pm and Friday, August 2nd from 9:00-11:00 am.
1:00 – 1:30pm
1:30 – 2:30pm
Facilitator:
Panel:
Some prominent authors and critics perceive an antagonistic relationship between pluralism and diversity work on college campuses. This panel discussion will address how university leaders can envision a complementary and collaborative relationship between pluralism and prevailing diversity paradigms, and why such a relationship matters as universities navigate ongoing internal and external challenges to diversity work in higher education.
3:00 – 4:00pm
Facilitators:
This session, grounded in storytelling, research, and on-the-ground experience, explores how a civic religious pluralism framework can help address both antisemitism and Islamophobia and enable universities to create inclusive spaces for bridging deep divides.
4:15 – 5:15pm
Facilitators:
In this session, we will address promising practices and strategies for promoting civic and religious pluralism, with a focus on how to develop strategies for transforming campuses into launching pads for graduates who can lead in a divided nation and world.
5:30 – 6:00pm
9:00am
9:00 – 11:00am
Facilitator:
The philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre describes the university as “a place of constrained disagreement, of imposed participation in conflict.” In this session, Eboo Patel will facilitate a discussion on how universities can reimagine their role in modeling for the nation how to “do conflict” and build civic pluralism following a year of polarizing protests and deep divisions on college campuses.
interfaith leadership Summit
Connect with fellow senior administrators in higher education to address the relationship between pluralism and diversity work.
Please contact us with any questions about the convening.
Jess Smoot
Program Assistant
Interfaith America
