12/04/2024

Dear Members of the Campus Community:

Over the last year the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has cited a significant increase in complaints of religious and spiritual discrimination on college campuses, including incidents of Islamophobia, antisemitism, or other hostile acts aimed at minoritized religions. In response to this increase in complaints, the Department of Education is setting an expectation that colleges and universities provide better mechanisms to keep students safe from discriminatory behavior.

At the University of Puget Sound, members of our campus community identify with a broad range of religious and spiritual traditions, including finding meaning outside of the structures of formal religion or faith practices. Though these practices and structures can provide consistency and support, college campuses can also be challenging environments for students who identify as part of a religious community, especially minoritized religions and faiths that are not well understood. Student organizations focused around spirituality or religion have struggled to maintain a presence on our campus, and individual students can struggle to connect fully with others who share their religious identities. In response to these issues, I am appointing a Presidential Advisory Committee on Spiritual and Religious Practices and Identities.

The advisory committee will consist of students, faculty, and staff, and will be chaired by our University Chaplain, the Rev. David Wright ‘96. In addition to committee members who will be appointed due to the nature of their campus role, we are soliciting nominations for additional students, faculty, and staff to serve on the committee. If you would like to nominate yourself or another member of the campus community, please complete the nomination form available at https://bit.ly/PACNomination by December 13.

Once composed, I will charge the committee to:

  • Identify and address barriers facing community members who identify with spiritual or religious practices and communities.
  • Develop campus programming that supports deeper campus understanding of, and respect for, religious and spiritual diversity.
  • Partner with the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity to develop educational outreach after incidents and acts of bias, hate, and/or discrimination related to spirituality or religion.
  • Work with the Title IX Coordinator and Equal Opportunity Officer to identify and further define support mechanisms that may be available to community members.
  • Foster deeper relationships with local religious and spiritual faith communities to strengthen local connections for members of the Puget Sound community.

A full description of the purpose, charges, and membership of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Spiritual and Religious Practices and Identities will be posted at www.pugetsound.edu/spirituality, as will updates about the committee’s work.

Sincerely,

Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President