Workshop Session A

An Apologist Forever: A Case Study in Translating & Re-Translating Spiritual Life in Higher Education 

This session presents a Northwestern University case study and assessment framework that equips chaplains to translate and expand their work across the full spectrum of student identity, shifting from traditional religious accommodation to an integrative model of spiritual well-being.

Eric Budzynski, Associate Director of Holistic Wellness & Contemplative Practice, Northwestern University 

Unlikely Partnerships: Leveraging Relationships to Create “Disruptive” Programming

To address declining engagement amid a challenging political climate, this workshop showcases how UMBC’s Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Pluralism leveraged community assets and unlikely partnerships to create innovative spaces for connection, while helping participants identify potential stakeholders for similar disruptions on their own campuses.

Matt Hoffman, Director for the Center of Religion, Spirituality, Pluralism (UMBC)

Joseph Vann-Jones, Program Coordinator for The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being (UMBC)

Interfaith Photovoice

This workshop combines smartphone photography, photovoice, and structured dialogue around personal stories of gratitude to quickly build empathy, improve communication skills, and equip participants with tools to cultivate stronger, more resilient teams.

Roman Williams, Interfaith Photovoice

WORKSHOP SESSION B

Writing for Publication

Did you know ACSLHE has a journal? Want to write for it? Join the editors of Unfolding: University Chaplaincy in Practice for a workshop designed to develop your reflections on the work of chaplaincy into published, peer-reviewed articles.  Liz & Preeta will provide detailed information on the submission process and next issue’s theme. Participants will play with a writing prompt and begin the process of outlining potential submissions. 

Elizabeth Hakken Candido, College Chaplain and Director of Religious Life, Kalamazoo College

Dr. Preeta M. Banerjee, Meaning Making Facilitator, Harvard Divinity School

Nones Don't Exist: The Perils of Labeling & the Realities of Non-religious Diversity

What are the distinctions among atheism, agnosticism, humanism, spiritual-but-not-religious, and other identities, and how can chaplains best account for this diversity and serve those who live within these frameworks?

Dr. Vanessa Gomez Brake, M.Div, Senior Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California

Disruption as Pastoral Care 

Designed for college and campus ministers, this workshop reframes disruption as a faithful pastoral practice that interrupts harmful patterns and creates space for healing, equipping leaders to ethical and relationally guide students when care demands change rather than comfort.

Rev. Dr. Patricia Murphy

Death: Conversations about Presence, Care, and Advocacy Surrounding Loss

This session provides a collaborative space for campus professionals to process recent losses and discuss the vital role of chaplaincy in response to death, focusing on peer connection, advocating for culturally equitable grief policies, and visioning future rituals and campus partnerships.

Hannah Adams Ingram

Workshop Session C

Interfaith Living-Learning Community: Lessons Learned

The why, what, and how of starting an interfaith/multifaith living-learning community on your campus.

JillAnn Knonenborg, Assistant Dean for Interfaith Leadership, Virginia Tech

Honoring Our LGBTQIA+ Elders

“Honoring Our LGBTQIA+ Elders” is a community engaged learning project that provides a platform for undergraduate students and LGBTQIA+ religious elders to reflect together on the intersections of age, gender, sexuality, and religion through shared oral history. Make this work for your campus and community. Archiving is activism!

Rabbi Camille Shira Angel, Faculty, University of San Francisco, Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice and

Campus Rabbi, Jewish life and multi-faith LGBTQIA+ spiritual life

Beyond the Visible, Hijab as Misrecognition: Supporting Hijabi Muslim Women Through Disruption, Care, and Connection in Higher Education

This interactive workshop explores how the hijab is often misrecognized in higher education through racialized, gendered, and appearance-based assumptions, equipping chaplains with research-informed strategies to disrupt these institutional practices and foster authentic belonging for visibly Muslim women.

Hind Haddad, Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University and

Lecturer, Denison University, Arab culture and Arabic language 

Workshop Session D 

Interfaith Queerness

This session uses a multi-faith, restorative communication approach to share personal narratives around queer identity while inviting others to share their own experiences with spirituality and queerness.

Sean Watson, Director, Religious & Spiritual Life, University of Rochester

Sam Kinsman, Protestant Chaplain, University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology

Marc Goldman, Jewish Life Coordinator, Rochester Institute of Technology

How Exodus Story Helps Chaplains with Disruption, Trauma, and Personal Renewal

This workshop explores how chaplains can utilize the interfaith, redemptive themes of the Exodus story to support trauma survivors, encourage dialogue amid disruption, and foster their own personal renewal.

Starr Tomczak, lawyer, speaker, and author of Living Well: Inspired by the Story behind the Bible (Cascade Books, 2024)

Belonging as Practice: Invitation, Visitation, and Sacred Belonging

This workshop reframes belonging as an ongoing, three-dimensional practice—encompassing connection to self, others, and God—that utilizes disruption as a pathway to authentic spiritual care and personal thriving for both chaplains and those they serve.

Denicia Ratley, Babson College