religious literacy leadership in he leaflet
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Religious LiteracyLeadership inHigher Education
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Religious Literacy Leadershipin Higher Education
Working with Vice Chancellor
champions and their seniordelegates, this programme aimsto develop strategic leadershipon matters relating to faith inHigher Education.
It aims to help HEIs shape a thrivingenvironment for working and livingtogether in society across differences and similarities of faith.
Recognising the range of circumstances,
settings and responses by universityleaders to faith on their campuses, theprogramme provides opportunities, byway of events and materials, for VCs andother senior participants to exchange anddevelop their understandings critically asa basis for religious literacy strategies.
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Questions of Faith in HEIsand Wider Society
In supporting approaches toleadership for religious literacy,the programme aims to balancethe policy demands to whichVCs are asked to respond withcultural and intellectual questionswhich underpin the very place ofuniversities in society.
The programme identies the places
where these questions bite in theeveryday reality of running HEIs, includingin registries, admissions departments,student services and in teachingand learning.
A central question is the extent towhich universities should reect or
challenge a public role for faith in
what is assumed to be a largely secularsociety. How universities lead on thestatus, role and shape of faith in publicspaces will be highly inuential to how
it unfolds in wider society and how itdevelops under the future leadership oftodays graduates and staff.
Faith is no more nor less importantan identity than any other, but there
are factors which make faith hard toexplore: it is often viewed with suspicionor distaste; there is a widespread publicawareness of religion yet with a limitedpublic vocabulary; and it has becomemore prominent as a line of debate andanxiety in recent years. This programmedraws on primary research, literature,policy expertise, and practical resources todevelop strategic leadership in response.
The programme explores these
issues in four key HEI contexts:
responding to the complexities of the
new equalities and diversity provisions(including those about religion andbelief) as they impact on staff andstudent bodies
widening participation strategies to
make campuses inclusive for studentsof any faith tradition, and none
providing an excellent student
experience for people of faith,including provision of student servicesand facilities which are sensitive toreligious difference and needs
actively promoting good campus
relations
Practical Arenasof Faith in HEIs
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Why Universities?
A multi-faith society presents
important challenges forunderstanding differences withinand between faith traditions andfor working (beyond religioustraditions) with wider society tomaximum effect.Universitiesare ideally placed to meet thesechallenges.
This requires us all to be more literateabout the faiths we encounter andhow we encounter them.
Universities are places where people of
all faiths and none gather to research,think and learn. In many cases this involvesyoung people in particular, many of whomgo on to become the leaders of the future.Universities have a special role in shapingthe environment in which that learningand development unfolds, and thiswill often inuence the attitudes and
understandings informing wider societyfor decades to come.
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The programme is supported by ten Vice Chancellor Champions,
drawing on their varying experiences and responses to faith.It is rooted in a process of new research and consultation witha development group made up of leaders and experts in faithand HE settings.
Participating in theProgramme
Strategic Leadership for Faith in HE
a one day event for Vice Chancellors
This is a one day event at Sunningdalefor VCs or their delegates at PVC andDVC level. It is an opportunity forexchanging and considering the thinkingthat underpins strategic decision-makingin relation to religion and deliberatingthe issues that it raises. It draws on casestudies, resources and materials, and abroad critical literature to help shape a
starting point for strategy. This sessionis preceded by a residential dinnerfor those who can nd the time, and
supported by input from senior expertsand leaders.
Developing Strategies for Faith
in HE two one day events for
senior HE staff
This is a two-part programme for senioroperational staff, delegated by their VCsor DVCs. It is intended for people leadingoperations in Registry, Admissions,
Examinations and Timetabling, StudentExperience and Support, Chaplaincy,and other key departments. A rst one
day session helps to esh out strategy in
a range of areas including: chaplaincy;counselling and student support; food,services and accommodation; examsand timetabling; faith spaces; wideningparticipation; community engagement;resilience and emergency planning;curriculum; and ethos and values. Thisis followed by a second one day session
where participants share, reect onand sharpen their approaches in thelight of experience in practice sincethe rst session.
Both parts of the programme aresupported by brieng papers and
resource materials sharply focusedon responding to the concrete realitiesand challenges as they are experienced
in everyday roles. These are availablein print form and via the website atwww.religiousliteracyHE.org
The programme is in two parts:
Faith has come back to public attention for all sorts of
reasons. Universities can help shape societys responsewith intelligence and rigour, and this programme is
designed to help its leaders to do so.
Dr Adam Dinham, Programme Director
Reader & Director, Faiths and Civil Society UnitGoldsmiths, University of London
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Universities have aspecial responsibilityto help shape ademocratic, civilisedand inclusive societyDearing Report, 1997
Religious Literacy Leadership Programme
c/o York St John University
Lord Mayors Walk
York YO31 7EX
T: 01904 876272
www.religiousliteracyHE.org
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