Cate Sherron
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
THOMAS MORE COLLEGE’S SHERRON SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN SEMINAR OF TEACHING INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING
CRESTVIEW HILLS, KENTUCKY – Thomas More College is pleased to announce that Catherine Sherron, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the College’s Philosophy Department, has been selected from a competitive, national 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-five faculty members will participate in the five-day Teaching Interfaith Understanding seminar that will take place June 18–22, 2017, at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. 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 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.
"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 as a democracy," said CIC President Richard Ekman. "The number of institutions that nominated faculty members to participate in the interfaith understanding seminar is most impressive."
"Dr. Sherron, a global citizen and charismatic professor, wants to bring the topic of Interfaith Understanding to greater prominence on the Thomas More College campus, and she feels this seminar will help us develop strategies to facilitate that understanding," said Dr. Kathleen Jagger, Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Thomas More College. "In the coming academic year, we hope to imbed conversations about different faith traditions within our campus culture and establish an even more inclusive program for our students of all faiths, consistent with our institutional mission."
For more information, visit www.cic.edu/TeachingInterfaith.
Participants in the 2017 Seminar on Teaching Interfaith Understanding
Martha Beck, Professor of Philosophy, Lyon College (AR)
James Bowley, Professor and Chair, Religious Studies, Millsaps College (MS)
Christopher Ciocchetti, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Centenary College of Louisiana (LA)
Melissa Conroy, Associate Professor of Religion, Muskingum University (OH)
Katherine Dugan, Assistant Professor of Humanities, Springfield College (MA)
Ann Duncan, Associate Professor of Religion, Goucher College (MD)
Valerie Edwards Robeson, Associate Professor of Social Science, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (MN)
Tamara Gieselman, Faculty in Residence, Philosophy and Religion and Law, Politics, and Society, University of Evansville (IN)
Lynn Japinga, Professor of Religion, Hope College (MI)
Timothy Knepper, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Drake University (IA)
Lillian Larsen, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Redlands (CA)
Samira Mehta, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Albright College (PA)
Bryan Rennie, Professor of Social Sciences and Humanities, Westminster College (PA)
Veronica Riha, Professor of Biology, Madonna University (MI)
Jason Ripley, Associate Professor of Religion, St. Olaf College (MN)
Robin Rosenthal, Professor of Psychology, Columbia College (SC)
Clare Rothschild, Professor of Theology, Lewis University (IL)
Demetrius Semien, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Spring Hill College (AL)
Catherine Sherron, Professor of Philosophy, Thomas More College (KY)
Tanja Stampfl, Associate Professor of English, University of the Incarnate Word (TX)
Nichole Torbitzky, Assistant Professor of Religion, Lindenwood University (MO)
Andrew Walsh, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Culver-Stockton College (MO)
Mark Waters, Professor of Religion and Servant Leadership, McMurry University (TX)
Jesse Weins, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Dakota Wesleyan University (SD)
Annette Wilson, Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Bennett College (NC)
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Thomas More College is a values-based liberal arts institution that is proud to be one of 9 Catholic Diocesan colleges in the nation. Located in Crestview Hills, KY, just 10 minutes from downtown Cincinnati, it was originally founded in 1921 by the Benedictine Sisters as Villa Madonna College. The college offers personalized attention and strong academic programs that allow students to have a distinctive and transformative experience. Thomas More College was recognized in 2015 & 2016 by PayScale.com as the number one college for return on investment in Greater Cincinnati and Kentucky.
The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 768 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities as well as conferences, seminars, and other programs that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conference of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers. CIC also provides support to state associations that organize programs and generate contributions for their member colleges and universities. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
A Chicago-based nonprofit organization, Interfaith Youth Core’s (IFYC) mission is to make interfaith cooperation a social norm. Since its incorporation in 2002, IFYC has worked on five continents and with over 200 college and university campuses, trained thousands in the principles of interfaith leadership, and reached millions through the media. IFYC has worked with partners including the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the White House, and the Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. Eboo Patel is the founder and president of IFYC