Meier-Rao Selected for National Interfaith Seminar

Madison, Wis. (June 2, 2015) – Edgewood College is pleased to announce that Rebecca Meier-Rao, Lecturer in the Religious Studies Department, 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-six 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. 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. 

“At a time when the world’s level of interfaith conflict seems only to be expanding, providing our students with a strong foundation in interfaith understanding is for us not just a duty, but a practical necessity,” said Dr. John Fields, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Edgewood College. “I applaud Dr. Meier-Rao for her selection and look forward to what she will be able to bring back to our campus.”

“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.” 

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