University of Southern Maine

A Leap of Faith

Recognizing Religious Diversity in Public Academia

Take a glance at Andrea Thompson McCall's schedule on any given day and you will find a flurry of activity: appointments with students, committee work inside and beyond the University community and lots of meetings. These are all normal activities for an Assistant Dean of Students. What's unusual however, is McCall's most visible role-that of USM's first Interfaith Chaplain. While the position of part-time administrator and part-time chaplain seems perfectly suited for someone with 15-plus years of experience in student affairs and 25 years of experience as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, McCall says defining the uncommon role of Interfaith Chaplain within a public institution does not come without challenge.

McCall's charge as Interfaith Chaplain began roughly three years ago following her tenure as USM's Director of the Women's Center. She says that although student affairs had been providing programs to address the various dimensions of students' lives and promote an inclusive and diverse learning environment, one of the areas she felt was being overlooked was the support of students' spiritual lives. McCall says that resulting from efforts to point out the lack of support in this component of students' lives, USM took a “leap of faith” and established the Office of Interfaith Chaplain as part of the reorganization of Student Affairs into the Division of Student and University Life.

“This was a new commitment institutionally to say 'we are going to pay some attention in student affairs to students' spiritual lives,' ” says McCall.

While the move solidified USM's commitment to supporting all facets of diversity within our community, she says it also represents real open-mindedness on the part of the administration to create a model for chaplaincy at a public institution from the inside. It is a commitment to providing a co-curricular learning opportunity for our students that supports religious diversity in the same way racial and ethnic diversity are supported, she adds.

Today, the Division of Student and University Life, which houses the Office of the Interfaith Chaplain, seeks to support students in their growth and development in the various dimensions of who they are, including honoring and supporting beliefs, values and ethics of students from all religious and cultural backgrounds. Yet, McCall says there is something particularly challenging and interesting about honoring this aspect of diversity in a secular setting.

“There are those who still want to insist that we are a Christian nation,” says McCall. “The reality is that we are the most religiously diverse nation in the world. And so, two pieces come into the fore when we come to December. One is not forcing Christmas or assuming everybody does Christmas; the other is acknowledging the religious observances of people who are not Christian. This is a diversity emphasis. It's also a part of the co-curricular learning of our students to appreciate and understand the diversity that we have at USM, which increasingly represents the diversity in southern Maine.”

McCall says one of the ways her office seeks to support students in their spiritual lives is by helping them find others like them within the University community. So, if a student comes to USM with a particular religious identity or belief, the Office of Interfaith Chaplain will help that student connect with other students who are from the same religious background or with other faith-based programs beyond the USM community.

Through her work, McCall also seeks to raise awareness of various faiths and beliefs as another component of understanding diversity. She says having a greater understanding of a variety of faiths and beliefs is becoming increasingly important in today's world, particularly with the growth of various ethnic and religious communities in our region.

“I may be a Protestant or Catholic Christian from a small town in Maine. But come to University and one of the things I learn is there are people living in Maine who are Baha'i or Hindu or Jewish, and some people who don't even identify with any of those labels who are spiritual, and understand their spirituality is different from mine,” says McCall. “So, if students come to USM with a clear religious identity, we want to help them feel that they can bring that with them and they can continue to grow as Jewish students or as Christian students or as Baha'i students. If they don't have that identity, then we provide opportunities for them to think about what they believe most deeply and how that motivates them in terms of what they value. What's right and wrong? What's good and evil?”

Yet, in providing opportunities for students to explore their spirituality within a public institution, McCall says it is crucial that the University actively ensures her work does not advance or support one faith or religion over another.

“I am very careful to be sure that I am as even-handed as possible, supporting diverse religious perspectives and offering resources in need. While I myself am a Christian minister, my work at USM is to support students in a nonsectarian way,” says McCall. “I am about helping students.𔄢

In addition to supporting the spiritual lives of students, McCall is committed to supporting the faculty and staff communities as well. One example of her work in this area can be seen through her frequent holiday announcements posted on the University listserv, USM-L. She says her messages are intended to raise awareness within our community of various faiths and to give staff and faculty something to help support students.

“For example, if I am an [administrative assistant] in an academic department and I know that some of the students are Muslim, understanding a little more about what Ramadan means and what it means for them to be observing Ramadan will help me support them,” says McCall.

“I have been very gratified by responses to the information I have offered the community, particularly on the listserv,” adds McCall. “Every now and then a faculty member or staff member will say 'your note about this observance enabled me to greet a student whom I knew came from that tradition. My acknowledging that holiday felt really good to that person, and it broadened my horizons.'”

>back to currents