Projects / University of Michigan,
Religious Diversity in the Public Research University
PI: Matthew L. Kaplan, Associate Director, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT).
Location: Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), and the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The University of Michigan’s successful defense of its affirmative action policies in the U.S. Supreme Court was based on the premise that racial and ethnic diversity contributes significantly to student learning and preparation for life in a diverse democracy. While the focus of the cases was race, religious diversity is equally important for student learning. The university has just completed a campus-wide "theme semester" with curricular and co-curricular focus on the Cultural Treasures of the Middle East, which explored the Arab Middle East with richness and context across many disciplines.
The project is lead by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, the first such teaching center in the country and a national model for the growing field of faculty development. It involves the following activities, scheduled to coincide with the upcoming theme semesters on Exploring Evolution and Citizenship: From the Local to the Global: roundtables on religion for students, faculty, staff and community groups; development of curricular modules on the place of religious faith in a public university; new courses on religious diversity, conflict and community; a campus-wide provost's seminar for faculty on issues of religion and faith in teaching and learning; and a Presidential Faculty Associates Program focused on religious pluralism.
See the project's site here.