SUNY Chancellor Announces Interfaith Allocation Grant

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. has announced a plan to allocate $125,000 in grants to establish and refurbish interfaith spaces on 22 SUNY campuses, including SUNY New  Paltz. Each school will receive up to $6,000 in grants to provide welcoming spaces for students of all faiths to practice their religious customs. 

Interfaith America is a non-profit organization that works with colleges nationwide to create programs, classes and on-campus environments that celebrate religious diversity. Their mission statement is to inspire, equip and connect leaders and institutions to unlock the potential of America’s religious diversity.

The group has been known to use its budget of over $15 million to provide grants to college campuses and community leaders in the past. “At Interfaith America, we believe interfaith leaders are well-positioned to identify opportunities and needs in their communities and plan sustainable ways to address them,” according to their website.

“It takes financial resources and support for institutions and sectors to adapt to our ever-changing nation. Through grants and leadership awards, we provide financial support, a network of peers, training, development and a platform for telling the story of this movement more broadly.”

“In a time of deep national division, the SUNY system is investing in powerful learning opportunities to equip graduates with the skills to bring religiously diverse students together,” said Rebecca Russo, Interfaith America’s vice president of higher education strategy. 

“Interfaith America commends Chancellor King and the participating SUNY system schools for their commitment to engaging our foundational American strength of religious diversity,” she added. 

According to Russo, many SUNY students are committed to promoting religious unity; they just have not spent enough time learning about it. “70% of incoming college students say that they are committed to bridging religious divides,” she said.

“Yet while over 60% of college students say that they spend time learning about political, racial and gender diversity, less than 50% of those students report learning about religious diversity.”

“At SUNY, we value and celebrate our diversity, including religious diversity, as one of our system’s greatest strengths, which is why we are ardently committed to ensuring students from all faith backgrounds have appropriate spaces for prayer and meditation,” said King.

“SUNY is committed to helping students from all backgrounds feel respected and seen. Last week I had the privilege of joining Binghamton University students for an interfaith Shabbat dinner, and it was a reminder of how public higher education has the unique power to bring students together while celebrating and learning about their different experiences, backgrounds, and beliefs,” he said. 

“We’re excited and grateful for SUNY’s ongoing support of religious diversity on our campus and across the system,” said the school’s Executive Director for Communication Andrew Bruso. 

“While we are still in the early planning phases, the campus looks forward to working with student leadership to allocate this interfaith mini-grant in a way that enhances nondenominational, inclusive and comfortable spaces where students, faculty and staff can contemplate, reflect, observe, share and learn about their own rituals and practices as well as those of other faiths,” Bruso continued.

According to the official proposal fact sheet from SUNY, 15 campuses are set to use the allocated funds to improve their preexisting spaces for interfaith worship, while seven schools seek to use the funds to create brand new interfaith spaces altogether. The content of these spaces will differ slightly from campus to campus, with some receiving educational materials and tools used to practice worship while others will simply receive prayer rugs and a comfortable space for meditation and prayer. Many of these rooms are to be put together with brand new furniture, ensuring that all students are free to practice their faith without sacrificing comfort to do so.

The fact sheet states that SUNY New Paltz will receive enhancements to the space’s comfort and necessities, prioritizing the creation of a comfortable, inclusive and inviting reflection space for students and staff alike. The room is to be furnished with prayer rugs and cushions for spiritual and religious practices, in addition to key religious items meant to encourage students to share stories with one another about their own traditions. 

Among the seven campuses to receive brand new spaces for worship is Jefferson Community College (JCC), showing that the grant is for all branches of the SUNY system, not just the four year schools. JCC will be receiving a brand new space, complete with comfortable seating, flexible design elements and even soundproofing, ensuring an experience that is both private and all-welcoming.

Some of the largest schools in the SUNY system will be affected by the grant as well. The University at Albany is set to debut its interfaith space in January 2025. UAlbany will use the funds to purchase prayer rugs, room dividers and other furnishings to ensure the comfort of those who choose to use the room.

“It is crucial to create dedicated and meaningful prayer and reflection spaces on our campuses to provide appropriate religious and spiritual spaces for all faiths and practices,” said the SUNY Board of Trustees.

“A truly fertile learning environment allows for moments of spiritual comfort, provides spaces for immersion in faith and fosters opportunities to grow in religious understanding. As such, we applaud SUNY’s efforts to provide prayer and reflection spaces, as well as forming interfaith councils to ensure that SUNY is truly living out its promise to provide an inclusive, affordable education to all New Yorkers regardless of race, gender or creed.”