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• Strategic multifaith engagement shapes the 黑料不打烊 campus experience
• 黑料不打烊 welcomes ninth class of Multifaith Scholars

At 黑料不打烊, faculty say preparing students means helping them understand the people they will interact with throughout their lives, and that includes the influence of faith and religious identity.

That commitment to multifaith understanding is a primary goal of the university鈥檚 Multifaith Strategic Plan, which strives to 鈥渟upport opportunities for multifaith learning and engagement for all members of the academic community.鈥�

鈥満诹喜淮蜢肉�檚 Multifaith Strategic Plan is a promise to our students, faculty, staff and the wider community that we will take them seriously as whole, complex people,鈥� said Brian Pennington, director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society.

The multifaith experience

The Multifaith Scholars Program is a two-year program, founded in 2016, that emphasizes interdisciplinary learning as student scholars undertake original research projects and study in global contexts connected with religious diversity and multireligious societies.

鈥淥ur work is richer when we have students bringing questions from their own disciplines,鈥� said Amy Allocco, director of the program and professor of religious studies. 鈥淚t is a sign of a vibrant campus ecosystem when not only students but also their mentors can see their interests and expertise 聽intersect with questions of interreligious contact, religion and society.鈥�

Allocco says that the breadth of disciplines represented by students and mentors participating in the program has widened each year. The current cohort includes students with diverse majors such as psychology, theatrical design, history, economics consulting, political science, religious studies, and international and global Studies. Owen Hayes 鈥�26, a history major with minors in political science and religious studies, is a 2024-2026 Multifaith Scholar studying the historical and contemporary relationship between Christian missionaries and Indigenous Australians.

鈥淚’ve always been interested in understanding the interreligious encounters of the world, like global Christianity and understanding how different communities can come together and understand such an important religious concept in such different, varying ways, but still have that belief of Christianity,鈥� Hayes said.

The interreligious studies minor also allows students to analyze the historical and contemporary encounters between and interactions among religious communities and traditions.

鈥満诹喜淮蜢� has done incredible work in enfranchising multifaith as an academic as well as a student affairs initiative and aligning and even blending those areas in meaningful ways that enhance the student experience,鈥� Allocco said.

Multifaith in the classroom (and clinic)

In the Department of Nursing, faculty don鈥檛 just train future healthcare professionals on specific medical assessments but, as Assistant Professor of Nursing Lori Hubbard says, they 鈥減repare students for the diversity in the populations they will serve,鈥� including religion.

鈥淒iversity in people is understanding their religious background, because religious practices are often infused into health practices and health beliefs,鈥� said Hubbard, who teaches the Healthcare Relationships course, which focuses on understanding diverse backgrounds in healthcare.

The course is just one component of the Department of Nursing鈥檚 commitment to equitable healthcare teaching, which is incorporated throughout the curriculum.

鈥淔rom birth to death and everywhere in between, the people that are going to be important in a person鈥檚 wellness or their healing may come from their church body,鈥� said Hubbard, who says they also want students to understand the role of the chaplain in a hospital setting. 鈥淧eople may have members of a church congregation bring them meals, they may have pastors and friends visit to pray with them. A person’s support network is a social determinant of health.鈥�

In December 2025, a faculty team consisting of Pennington, Jeanmarie Koonts, assistant professor of nursing; Molly Green, assistant professor of public health, and Helen Orr, assistant professor of religious studies, was awarded a $60,000 Faith & Health Campus Grant from Interfaith America to promote awareness of how religious diversity impacts healthcare space and medical decision-making.

Engineering a multifaith course

Along with nursing, several 黑料不打烊 courses across disciplines integrate multifaith understanding. Orr is co-teaching a new course, Engineering A Better World, with Professor of Engineering Sirena Hargrove-Leak on ethical practices in engineering.

鈥淩eligion is an important category for a lot of people, and it informs not only beliefs, but also everyday practice and ritual, including when people fast, how they dress and how they interact in professional spaces,鈥� Orr said. 鈥淥ne of our sessions in the course focuses on the value of multi-faith spaces in professional working environments. Those spaces can be beneficial both for religious people and non-religious people, while also encouraging us to think about how environments themselves can be designed to be more inclusive.鈥�

Hargrove Leak says the engineering curriculum requires an ethics course and, historically, faculty advised students to choose an ethics course through the Core Curriculum. The downside, she says, is they may not connect what they’re learning to engineering practice. This new course, she says, connects the dots directly.

鈥淭he work of engineering professionals has the potential to impact people directly; therefore, ethical practice is critically important,鈥� said Hargrove-Leak.

Communicating religion

While Orr and Hargrove-Leak鈥檚 course is new this semester, Professor of Journalism Anthony Hatcher has been studying and teaching the intersection of religion and media for more than 20 years. His course Religion and Media analyzes how the two interact through media coverage of religious issues and themes, religion’s use of television and the Internet and media portrayals of religious people and traditions.

Hatcher began teaching the course in 2003, coming from a longtime interest in the intersection of the two subjects.

鈥淚t has always sparked my interest how religion intersects not only with a news item, but how it intersects with popular culture,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 tell my students, 鈥業f there is a secular entity of some sort, there is a religious corollary to it.鈥欌��

Finding religious connections in culture is endless for Hatcher, who says he never runs out of material for the course. For one assignment, students must attend a house of worship outside of their own faith and do a research project on the experience. The projects range from more well-known religious practices to lesser-known, like a student who visited a coven of witches in Hillsborough, North Carolina

鈥淚 make it clear: this is not a religion class. I’m not here to teach you about the scripture,鈥� Hatcher said. 鈥淲hen they go (to these houses of worship), it’s not just a religious thing. I say, 鈥榃hat kind of media did they use? Do they have cameras? Do they have a single microphone? Do they use screens and slides? Is it a majestic organ? What are you seeing there? Did they give you a paper program? Everything that’s media.鈥� It gets them thinking about all the mediated ways that they experience religion.鈥�

The course is open to all majors, and Hatcher says it can be relevant for all professions.

鈥淭he subject matter is so important,鈥� Hatcher said. 鈥淚t’s like how study abroad is mind-broadening. I think understanding where somebody else comes from, especially if faith is a big part of who they are, is a big deal.鈥�

And for Pennington, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 approach to multifaith learning is an example for others to follow.

鈥淲e live in a moment where we can clearly see that the faith commitments and religious practices interact with our global politics, our legal systems, our media environments, and our healthcare systems,鈥� said Pennington. 鈥淏y attending to multifaith education across academic departments and programs, 黑料不打烊 is leading the way in preparing its students for a rapidly evolving world.鈥�

This story is part of a series of stories focusing on 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Multifaith Strategic Plan.聽

Vasudha Narayanan, distinguished professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Religion, introduced Allocco鈥檚 keynote. Allocco focused her lecture on pampaikk膩rar, musicians who play the twin-headed set of drums known as pampai and sing to invoke the deities in diverse Hindu devotional contexts. Drawing on material from her recently completed sabbatical fieldwork project in Tamil-speaking South India, she highlighted the role of pampaikk膩rar as both musicians and ritual specialists who invoke deities through sound. She argued that these practitioners innovatively adapt their performances in response to changing aesthetic preferences, devotional needs and social contexts while both maintaining credibility and inspiring the 鈥済od-feeling鈥� referenced in the title of her presentation. Allocco also reflected on her own research methods, emphasizing how fieldwork relationships as well as lived traditions shape scholarly questions and, by extension, outcomes.

Following her address, Allocco met with graduate students for an hour-long seminar on methodologies for the study of religion, where emerging researchers had the opportunity to ask questions about ethnography and research ethics as well as their own projects. Participants read two of Allocco鈥檚 journal articles, which had been selected by conference organizers as the starting point for this seminar.

On Saturday morning, Allocco delivered welcome remarks to inaugurate the full day of paper sessions. The symposium was sponsored by the University of Florida鈥檚 Department of Religion with support from its Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere.

They stood poised with their hands raised, breathing steady, before their fists began to fly. Jab, cross, right hook, left upper cut.

They noticed the sensations in their body as childhood memories raced through their mind, allowing themself to feel every feeling that remained with them from a time when they didn鈥檛 have a voice. With every punch, they stepped closer to regaining their power, closer to a deeper understanding of their full self.

Danielle Martinelli-Taylor 鈥�12 says the physical movement often allows clients to recognize and begin healing younger parts of themselves that were never fully seen or supported. 鈥淭hrough the movement, through fighting back against that, they were able to trust themself more.鈥�

A licensed professional counselor, Martinelli-Taylor centers her Denver practice, Animo Counseling and Coaching, on healing the whole person. Among the approaches she uses is somatic boxing, a method that connects mind and body to help clients process trauma and strengthen their overall well-being.

鈥淲e鈥檙e interconnected beings,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ur bodies hold just as much of our story as our minds do, and healing happens when we learn how to listen to both.鈥�

A Non-Linear Path

Martinelli-Taylor鈥檚 journey toward counseling wasn鈥檛 straightforward, but every step helped develop the empathy, critical thinking and global perspective that shapes her work. The Massachusetts native wasn鈥檛 familiar with 黑料不打烊 before stumbling upon it while touring colleges along the East Coast. She was immediately drawn to its arts and sciences foundation, small class sizes and study abroad program.

She enrolled Early Decision, planning to study education, but soon found that teaching wasn鈥檛 her passion. She did, however, have a knack for fostering strong one-on-one connections, and she found other ways to build those skills through a strategic communications major and religious studies minor.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of psychology in strategic communications, learning what are people鈥檚 needs, what do they want, why do they do what they do. I loved that aspect,鈥� Martinell-Taylor says. 鈥淭hen my religious studies minor was just a window to the world of what other people believe, why they believe it and how that directs their decisions, hopes and dreams.鈥�

But it was her semester abroad in London that influenced her most, broadening her worldview and clarifying what she did and didn鈥檛 want to pursue post-graduation. She interned for a fashion supplier on Oxford Street but didn鈥檛 feel a strong connection to the work. She loved London, though, and wanted to use her communications skills in service of something she cared about deeply.

After graduating, she returned to London for two years, working with an international mission organization that supported churches and other spiritual communities. Martinelli-Taylor spent much of her time connecting with South Asian women, children and teens and found their conversations about life and struggle deeply meaningful. On weekends, she volunteered with a nonprofit fighting human trafficking, a cause that first sparked her interest through an 黑料不打烊 course examining slavery in the Bible, in American history and in modern times. Again and again, she found herself drawn to work that offered support to people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

鈥淚 was hearing people鈥檚 trauma, hearing really difficult life journeys and feeling this pull,鈥� Martinelli-Taylor says. 鈥淚f people have gone through these really awful things, forced into things they had no control over, how do I step into that world?鈥�

That realization ignited Martinelli-Taylor鈥檚 calling to be a counselor. She moved back to the U.S. and earned her master鈥檚 degree in clinical mental health counseling from Denver Seminary in 2019. Her communications, religious studies and study abroad experience from her time at 黑料不打烊 remained foundational as she forged this new path.

L.D. Russell, senior lecturer emeritus of religious studies at 黑料不打烊, remembers Martinelli-Taylor as open-minded, eager to learn and deeply committed to helping others. Her unique counseling approach feels like a natural extension of that spirit. 鈥淥ne of the truest values of an 黑料不打烊 education,鈥� he says, 鈥渋s gaining a clearer sense of how others live and move through the world, and how our own gifts can be used to foster the public good.鈥�

The Mind-Body Connection

After obtaining her master鈥檚 degree, Martinelli-Taylor again used her skills to support human trafficking victims, providing counseling to survivors with complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She later moved to a group practice, helping clients with a broader range of issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma and grief.

In graduate school, she began to learn how physical movement, education and preventative work can help set clients up for a healthier life and resiliency amid difficult challenges. That idea coupled with her own personal experience with boxing prompted her to try bilateral boxing as a technique with some clients at the group practice. 鈥淚t was starting to help people break out of dissociation and get into their body,鈥� Martinelli-Taylor says. 鈥淲e used it as a tool when they felt stuck or overwhelmed with talk therapy.鈥�

As she saw the approach resonate with more clients, Martinelli-Taylor set out to develop it further and open her own practice. Drawing on her strategic communications background, she built the foundation for her business while consulting with counselors who use somatic therapies that link breath, body and mental health. In 2024 she founded Animo Counseling and Coaching, where she offers treatments such as Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and her own style of somatic boxing therapy.

Animo means 鈥渕ind鈥� in Latin, 鈥渟oul鈥� and 鈥渃ourage鈥� in Italian and 鈥渆ncouragement鈥� in Spanish. 鈥淭he practice reflects that intentionality, that purposefulness,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t represents the embodiment of the brain and body鈥檚 role in learning about yourself.鈥�

Our bodies hold just as much of our story as our minds do, and healing happens when we learn how to listen to both.聽鈥� Danielle Martinelli-Taylor ’12

Martinelli-Taylor first teaches her clients the basics of non-contact boxing, using the bilateral movements of boxing but no sparring, just hitting boxing gloves to mitts as the whole body engages. She focuses on proper form and breathwork, guiding clients to concentrate on each motion. The practice becomes a type of moving meditation, stimulating both sides of the body and both hemispheres of the brain.

For many clients, the approach offers another avenue for healing, especially for those who may not feel ready to talk through difficult experiences right away. By focusing on the rhythm of movement and breath, clients begin to notice what their bodies and minds are holding, and shift it out.

Once clients feel comfortable with the technique, she introduces strategies for building courage, managing stress and emotions, and processing difficult memories. The approach encourages people to tune in to the physical sensations that often accompany mental health struggles, opening the door to more holistic healing. Movement and breathwork, Martinelli-Taylor says, can help move through distress, regulate mood and ground the body to allow clients to face and work through deeper challenges.

In addition to continuing to grow her practice, Martinelli-Taylor hopes to conduct larger studies on the impact of somatic boxing on mental health. And while she is there to support her clients in the 鈥渞ing鈥� when they need it, she doesn鈥檛 expect them to rely on a coach forever. Her goal is to help people build the awareness and tools to continue the work on their own 鈥� to trust their bodies, their instincts and their capacity to heal.

鈥淚 want them to feel like they鈥檙e equipped to learn and grow,鈥� Martinelli-Taylor says. 鈥淭hey can take this work, try it out in the world and know that they鈥檙e resilient.鈥�

During the panel, moderated by Jason Kirk, professor of political science and policy studies, each professor used their academic research to explain the 鈥渉ows, whys and whats鈥� of the war.

鈥淲e are in a very different media and political economy compared to a generation ago,” said Kirk, “and that will be the deciding factor of how we view and remember this conflict.”

Baris Kesgin, associate professor of political science and public policy, explained the Iranian political system in which religious authority and democratic practices play a part in governing society. Using graphs that outlined the political hierarchy, Kesgin emphasized the seriousness of the death of Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and how Iran selected their new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

鈥淚ran is not completely a theocracy and not essentially a democracy,鈥� Kesgin said.

Thomas Kerr, assistant teaching professor of political science and public policy, discussed the U.S. military, noting that, although the United States has the largest military in the world, it does not have unlimited resources. Regardless, Kerr explained, even with fewer available resources to defend other bases, the United States has proven in previous conflicts to beat Chinese war technology that is being used by Iran currently.

鈥淭he more we [the United States] dedicate our resources in Iran, means that less resources that we can guarantee towards our other bases in, for example, Ukraine and Taiwan,鈥� Kerr said.

Chelsea Bediako, a political science & international and global studies major,聽 attended the panel to learn more about the conflict outside of what she was seeing in the news media.

鈥淚 am the type of person who information comforts me, for example, having a grasp on what鈥檚 going on and having less uncertainty makes me more comfortable, so I wanted to separate fact from speculation,鈥� Bediako said.

Geoffrey Claussen, professor of religious studies and the Lori and Eric Sklut professor in Jewish studies, spoke to the religious context of the war. He explained that although it is difficult to justify any war due to the human consequences, some ethicists use the criteria of the Just War Theory. This theory argues that for a war to be considered 鈥渏ust,鈥� it must be a last resort (following unsuccessful non-violent solutions), have a 鈥渏ust鈥� cause, must be produced from a valid authority, have a probable success, use only necessary force and must be fought fairly with minimal harm to non-combatants.

Claussen explained that the vast majority of the Israeli community supports this war, as they see Iran as an existential threat. In the U.S., Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Jason Husser noted that the American people are opposed, with recent polling showing 56% being against the war. Husser explained that these numbers can and will fluctuate as the conflict progresses, with the majority of Americans in the polls being against boots on the ground.

Ariela Marcus-Sells, associate professor of religious studies, covered the political and religious motives behind this conflict, including the unique societal view that Islam and, therefore, Iran is a threat to Western society. Marcus-Sells argued this is not a new concept, describing how in the 18th century, the idea of orientalism came from Western leaders of Europe seeing themselves as descendants of 鈥済reater society,鈥� in comparison to the East, including people who followed Islam. This belief only grew over the years with the creation of America, the misconception of terrorists being associated with Muslims and media coverage of Islamic religious conservatism as 鈥渟omething strange and oppressive.鈥�

Students were also able to ask questions of the panel. Mariama Jalloh, a public health major, came to the panel to listen to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 faculty members鈥� opinions about the conflict and hear an academic perspective that was new to her

鈥淚 really appreciated Dr. Marcus-Sells and Dr. Kesgin explaining the landscape of the situation, both religiously and politically,鈥� Jalloh said. 鈥淭his panel gave students a platform to ask deeper questions that you wouldn鈥檛 hear on social media or the internet.鈥�

Participating faculty will be聽Ariela Marcus-Sells,聽Baris Kesgin, Geoffrey Claussen, Jason Husser, and Tom Kerr, with Jason Kirk moderating.

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend.

This year鈥檚 conference centered around the theme of 鈥淪hifting Identities and Fractured Communities.鈥� Student paper topics ranged from the theocratic turn in US anti-abortion politics to a sentiment analysis of religious texts. Their international research took them to the south of Spain; their rigorous methods included ethnographic interviews and visual analysis of the Billy Graham Library; and their conclusions contributed to important conversations about Judeo-Christian nationalism in US higher education and the ramifications of abortion abolitionist legislation.

The American Academy of Religion is the largest scholarly organization in the world dedicated to the professional study of religion. Roughly three hundred scholars working at colleges and universities in this region regularly participate in the annual meeting. The regional meeting also offers limited spots for undergraduate students to present their academic research and engage with professional scholars from across the region.

Four sessions were held to showcase undergraduate research, and 黑料不打烊 students garnered five of the 16 highly competitive undergraduate slots. One of the five students was also an 黑料不打烊 College Fellow and a member of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Multifaith Scholars program, led by Director Amy Allocco. Two students were presenting research for the Honors and Lumen programs, and two students took the initiative to craft their own credit-bearing undergraduate research project for ELR. All five students were closely mentored in their discipline by an 黑料不打烊 faculty member who helped to guide their research and prepare their presentations over the course of their junior and senior years. The papers will also be delivered before 黑料不打烊 audiences at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum, Tuesday, April 28, 2026.

Support for travel was provided by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the Department of Religious Studies and the Office of Undergraduate Research. The funding also supported a small student group of conference observers as well as group co-organizer Amy Allocco, professor and distinguished scholar of religious studies.

Undergraduate Research Presentations

Alyssa Carney (MFS, ECF), 鈥淓choes of Al-Andalus: Islamophobia and Migration in Spain鈥� (Sandy Marshall, mentor)

Mallory Fahrlender, 鈥淎bortion Abolition Extremism: The Theocratic Turn in US Anti-Abortion Politics (Toddie Peters, mentor)

Kelsey Golden, 鈥淣ew Crusaders, Old Problems: Crusade as Cognitive Domain in the Billy Graham Library鈥� (Lynn Huber and Evan Gatti, mentors)

Bunny Ingram, 鈥淔aith and Feeling: A Sentiment Analysis of Religious Texts鈥� (Heather Barker, mentor)

Ben Kaplan, 鈥淛udeo-Christian Nationalism and Jewish Ethics in American Political Myth鈥� (Andrew Monteith, mentor)

黑料不打烊 Faculty Presentations

Andrew Monteith, 鈥溾�楬atred Is the Right Response to Evil鈥�: Judeo-Christian Nationalism, The Heritage Foundation, and Donald Trump鈥檚 War Against Higher Education鈥�

Amy L. Allocco, professor of religious studies and director of the Multifaith Scholars program at 黑料不打烊, has published a new article in the聽International Journal of Hindu Studies聽examining how ritual practices in Tamil-speaking South India engage with alcohol abuse and suicide and serve as a site for a gendered ethic of refusal. The article,聽鈥溌燼ppeared in a recent special issue focused on Hindu narratives and practices in the contemporary world, guest edited by Tracy Pintchman (Loyola University Chicago).

Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Tamil Nadu, Allocco analyzes聽Hindu rituals that invite deceased women to return as protective family聽deities called p奴v膩峁璦ikk膩ris. Although these rituals were traditionally reserved for auspicious wives who died 鈥済ood鈥� deaths, in recent years, women who died via suicide have also featured in these rites, particularly in response to their husbands鈥� alcohol abuse. Through close attention to ritual dialogue and performance, the article shows how these ceremonies create space for confronting gendered suffering and social injustice, particularly the effects聽of male alcoholism on women鈥檚 lives.聽Allocco argues that these ritual encounters allow both living and deceased women to voice grievances, demand accountability, and articulate forms of ethical protest. In doing so, the rituals illuminate broader social realities in contemporary India, where suicide rates have risen sharply and debates over alcohol policy remain politically charged.

Since his 2023 arrival at 黑料不打烊, Kelly has hosted a 鈥榣istening tour鈥� and spent time with each department to hear directly from faculty and staff about what they value. Kelly said that common themes soon emerged from those conversations and the new statement reflects dozens of discussions.

黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences new vision statement reads: 鈥淭he Heart of an 黑料不打烊 Education: Ignite Curiosity, Engage Challenges, Transform Worlds.鈥�

The mission statement then declares:

鈥淯pholding the centrality of the liberal arts, we explore and apply disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge for inquiry, creativity, discovery and problem solving in a complex and changing world.鈥�

The statement lists core values that include accessibility, belonging, critical thinking, diversity, equity and inclusion, integrity, intellectual curiosity, problem-posing and respect for human dignity.

Community Reflections

• 鈥淭here were several opportunities for different groups, departments, branches, interdisciplinary programs, to discuss versions on the table. It was in those conversations where we might learn how a word or phrase was heard within and across disciplines; where we found convergence, deeper awareness, and respect. The both-and of this process modeled what we value and genuinely captures our shared identity as 黑料不打烊 College.鈥� – Caroline Ketcham, associate dean of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of exercise science
• 鈥淚t was always important to us that this wasn鈥檛 a process where faculty were just asked to weigh in at the end, after the real decisions had already been made. From start to finish, it was grounded in listening to what faculty across the college say we do well and what values they believe guide our shared work. Our task wasn鈥檛 to invent a mission, vision and values, but to clearly articulate what faculty are already living and leading with. I think that鈥檚 why faculty can so readily see themselves and their departments represented in the final statements.鈥� – David Buck, associate dean of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences and an associate professor of psychology
• 鈥淗aving shared goals and articulated values helps everyone in the college feel connected as a community, value each other鈥檚 work and prioritize our energies on initiatives that matter to us.鈥� – Shannon Duvall, interim associate dean of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of computer science
• 鈥淚 appreciated the collaborative nature of it all, not just between the dean鈥檚 office and department chairs, but also extending to faculty members across 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences. It really did involve all of us. What particularly stood out to me were the conversations in our chairs鈥� meetings with the dean where we came to agreements on core values. It鈥檚 inspiring to see that distinctly different types of disciplines uphold the same core values.鈥� – Joel Karty, chair of the Department of Chemistry and 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Sydney F. & Kathleen E. Jackson Professor of chemistry
• 鈥淚 appreciated being part of a process that felt genuinely collaborative. Our participation was not merely symbolic. It felt meaningful, and I experienced the dean鈥檚 office as truly listening. The process itself was also inspirational, and I feel bolstered in leading my own department through similar work. It was powerful to see such a broad, collective effort take shape into something tangible.鈥� – Samantha DiRosa, chair of the Department of Art and a professor of art and environmental studies
• 鈥淭he process of creating a new vision statement, mission statement and core values for 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences was both thoughtful and deeply collaborative. Over many months, department chairs worked together to reflect on what makes us distinctive and how best to express those qualities in guiding statements. The process intentionally sought input from across departments, ensuring that everyone in the college had the opportunity to contribute their perspectives. Personally, the time spent reflecting with fellow chairs on what makes each of our departments special fostered a deeper sense of shared purpose and collective commitment.鈥� – Carrie Eaves, chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Policy and associate professor of political science and public policy

Kelly said he was pleased the final language resonated with the faculty in the college.

鈥淭he true measure of a successful attempt to lead a group or an organization towards a renewed vision, mission and core values is whether the words and sentiments 鈥榮ound like us鈥�,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I heard that some faculty believed my presentation of our vision, mission and core values at our spring faculty meeting 鈥榮ound like us,鈥� I knew that our work together in small and large group settings was a huge success. It means that stakeholders were heard and that the words resonate so much so that the tune or melody is familiar. The vision, mission and core values reflect truly who we are and where we are going with much intention.鈥�

Geoffrey Claussen, professor of religious studies, Lori and Eric Sklut Professor in Jewish Studies and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at 黑料不打烊, edited a special issue of the Journal of Jewish Ethics honoring his long-time mentor, Louis Newman.

Newman, the John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus, at Carleton College and former dean of academic advising and associate vice provost for undergraduate education at Stanford University, is one of the world鈥檚 leading scholars of Jewish ethics and one of the founders of Jewish ethics as an academic field. He was the founding president of the Society of Jewish Ethics and founding coeditor of this journal.

In his editor鈥檚 introduction to the special issue, Claussen recounts how studying with Newman at Carleton College first kindled his interest in Religious Studies and Jewish Studies and eventually inspired him to also become a scholar of Jewish ethics.

In the issue, thirteen scholars engage, respond to and build on Newman鈥檚 work. Claussen鈥檚 article in the journal is titled 鈥淟essons in Intellectual Honesty and Humility: Studying Jewish Ethics with the Guidance of Louis Newman.鈥�

According to National Geographic,聽Maha Shivaratri, also known as the聽Great Night of Shiva, “commemorates the deity鈥檚 life marriage to Goddess Parvati, his brave acts that saved our planet, and the lord鈥檚 cosmic dance which evokes the life cycle.”

鈥淗indu festivals are marked and celebrated in diverse ways in India鈥檚 different linguistic and cultural regions, as well as in diasporic contexts,鈥� said Allocco. 鈥淭hese variations are observable in many dimensions of festival performances, including narrative, ritual, and culinary practices.鈥�

Read the full article in .