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As polarization and tensions roil college campuses across the country, Cornell University continues taking steps to foster understanding across lines of difference. The university has received three grants from Interfaith America, a Chicago-based nonprofit that promotes bridge-building across religious and ideological divides. The funding will build on existing programs and seed new ones, encouraging Cornell undergraduates to engage in dialogue, promote community and confront prejudice — part of a broader effort to strengthen civic pluralism.

The initial grant, Strengthening the Campus Community, grew out of conversations between Basil Safi, M.Eng. ’24, executive director of Cornell’s David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, and Carrie Goldin ’96, a former member of the center’s Alumni Advisory Council, on how to combat xenophobia on campus.

“Students are very passionate, which is inspiring,” Goldin said. “But often there is judgment and even hatred as groups are siloed and choose not to hear — let alone spend time with — one another. Having them work side-by-side is the best way for them to see that fundamentally they aren’t that different after all.”

Safi’s and Goldin’s conversations helped shape a proposal that ultimately received funding from Interfaith America. The grant supports a new collaboration between the Einhorn Center and the Center for Dialogue and Pluralism (CDP), expanding on projects like last year’s inaugural Interfaith Service Day that brought together students from different religious backgrounds to plant trees.

This year’s initiative asked undergraduate peer facilitators from CDP and the Einhorn Center to conduct a “landscape analysis” of opportunities and obstacles for more dialogue and community-engaged learning at Cornell.

“I feel dialogue and community-engaged learning would be appreciated among ILR-ies,” said Ivor Mills ’27, an Industrial and Labor Relations major. “On the other hand, some dorm layouts can make connecting with people challenging, and these tools could really help.”

A second grant from Interfaith America, Civic Pluralism in the Core Curriculum, is supporting the development of a new course, another joint effort by the Einhorn Center and CDP. Practicing Pluralism builds on CDP’s flagship course, EDUC 2610: Intergroup Dialogue, which has been strengthening undergraduates’ capacity for communication across differences for over a decade.

In the new course, students will take those skills beyond the classroom by interviewing community partners — such as local faith leaders — on key topics like sustainability, polarization and civic engagement.

“We’re excited for them to have more opportunities to build skills for nuanced conversations that involve perspectives from people who aren’t college students, maybe across generations or roles,” said Rachel Sumner, Ph.D. ’15, CDP’s associate director, who is developing the offering with other CDP instructors. “This can help our students end up with more clarity on what they believe and why.”

CDP will run two pilot sections of the course in the fall semester of 2026, each enrolling 25 students. Based on those pilots, the intention is to expand the number of sections available in future semesters.

Cornell was also recently selected by Interfaith America as one of eight institutions to join a national pilot initiative aimed at addressing antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious prejudice on college campuses. The year-long cohort experience is designed to equip senior administrators with tools to cultivate a campus climate rooted in respect, relationship-building and cooperation across differences.

During the 2025–26 academic year, three senior administrators from each participating institution will meet — virtually and in person — to share strategies and develop projects that counter religious bias in their campus communities.

Cornell’s cohort includes Sonia Rucker, associate vice president of inclusion and belonging and a presidential advisor for diversity and equity; Joel Harter, associate dean of students and director of the Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making and Cornell United Religious Work; and Adi Grabiner-Keinan, Ph.D. ’15, associate vice provost for undergraduate education and director of the Center for Dialogue and Pluralism.

“We believe your institution would make an outstanding contribution to this critical work and would be well positioned to contribute substantively to the cohort experience,” wrote Dr. Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith America, in the university’s invitation letter.

Safi is confident that these new initiatives will meaningfully improve the campus climate. “I don’t believe we’ll achieve much with ‘sage-on-the-stage’ type approaches,” he said. “We need to get people to work, play and creatively solve problems together so we better realize our common humanity. The momentum that these new grants have created across our campus will help us achieve that effectively in the future.”

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If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format, contact einhorncenter@cornell.edu for assistance.