Interfaith Programs on College Campuses: Lessons Learned

The five-campus project, known as Campus Dialogues—Changing Attitudes across Religious Communities: Developing Models for College Campuses, was supported by START as part of its efforts related to improving understanding of how different communities in the United States respond to and perceive terrorist threats and to fostering community resilience. The project was directed by Dr. Jeffrey Summit (Tufts University) and Dr. Jonathan Wilkenfeld (University of Maryland) and involved a leadership team at each campus. Program evaluation, involving the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data collected through surveys and interviews, was conducted by Dr. Ifat Maoz, an expert in intergroup relations (at University of Pennsylvania during the project; now at Hebrew University of Jerusalem). The leaders of the 5 campuses met regularly during this period to discuss progress and challenges with programs, and students and leaders from the five campuses conducted a day-long conference in Boston on Religious Pluralism at a Time of Extremism, attracting more than 100 attendees.