Interfaith and Spirituality Initiatives

ESU Interfaith and Spirituality aims to:

1. To ensure the development & sustainability of a campus community that is conducive to the holistic development of our students.
2. To ensure ESU's campus community acknowledges, respects, and enables the exploration and diverse expression of our students' religious, spiritual, and secular beliefs.
3. To vet and offer a network of community partners and organizations for access by our students as they pursue their unique paths of spiritual development.
4. To support the development and sustainability of our interfaith, spirituality, and secular student organizations.
5. To create spaces and dialogue for community development and the education of our campus community regarding religious, spiritual, and secular diversity.
6. To create avenues of support and enrichment for faith and spirituality exploration.
7. To serve the holistic wellness needs of our student body and campus community.

Through ESU's interfaith and spirituality initiatives and supports, students will:

1. Have the opportunity to explore, question, understand, and affiliate with various religions/belief systems, spiritual beliefs, contemplative and secular practices.
2. Be able to independently nurture and cultivate their own identity, personal philosophy, and interactions through the spheres of religion, spirituality, and/or secularism.
3. Learn about different elements of world religions/belief systems as well as spiritual and secular ideologies.
4. Develop in the areas of (but not limited to) benevolence, skepticism, purpose, intellectual inquiry, and civic/social responsibility.

The ISI Steering Committee is a representative committee of staff and faculty aiding in the strategic development of this work and functional areas.

ISI Committee Members:

1. Fernando Alcantar, Director of Student Engagement
2. Lurine Allotey, MBA, Assistant Director of Center for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusive Education
3. Marcy L. Cetnar, Executive Associate to the President & Christian Fellowship Faculty/Staff Advisor
4. Robert Cohen, Professor & Department Chair of Physics & Jewish Student Organization Faculty/Staff Advisor
5. Marianne Culter, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Sociology, Social Work & Criminal Justice
6. L. Jamila Fleming, Director of Center for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusive Education (Chair)
7. T. Storm Heter, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Modern Languages, Philosophy and Religion
8. Doreen Tobin, D.Ed, Community Liaison
9. Jennie Smith, Dean of Student Life
10. Claudia Demaris, CMAIE