Mission & DEI Statement

Hartford International University for Religion & Peace is an educational institution where a consciousness of God is cultivated and shared. We believe strong religious institutions and healthy communities of faith are necessary to the well being of individuals and society. We affirm the goodness of religious differences that exist in the world and we support faithful living in a pluralistic and multi-faith environment. We are committed to the pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence, to the understanding of religion and spirituality as they are lived out in daily life, to the exploration of issues of gender, race and class, and to education that integrates the many dimensions of human experience.

Hartford International is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

After the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others, President Joel N. Lohr encouraged the Hartford International community in June 2020 to work with him and senior leaders to address how we as an organization—systemically—will deliver on our commitment to support racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.

President Lohr tasked the Hartford International’s Senior Leadership team with making recommendations to address systemic and historic racial inequities both internally and externally. The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees adopted several of these recommendations, including:

  • Hiring a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
    Lorraine Ryan, who has worked at Hartford International in various positions since 2007, was promoted to that position on July 30, 2020.
  • Establishing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council
    The council had its first meeting on Sept. 17, 2020.  Members include:
    • Lorraine Ryan, Chair – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
    • Naseem Shaikh, Trustee
    • Jean Amos Lys, Trustee
    • Lucinda Mosher, Faculty Associate in Interfaith Studies

In its first meeting on Sept. 17, 2020, the council established an annual meeting schedule and began a review of the recommendations put forward by the Hartford International’s Senior Leadership Team. The council also agreed that the Hartford International’s website should include a section on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to serve as a clearinghouse for internal initiatives, news, resources, and upcoming events. The council is beginning to examine opportunities for structured dialogue on race and social justice, implement a process to respond to racial incidents at the Hartford International, as well as partner with and support other groups in Hartford working to further social justice. As the council begins to compile and analyze various data, diversity targets will be established and shared.

 

  • Hartford International serves God

    • By preparing leaders, students, scholars and religious institutions to understand and live faithfully in today’s multi-faith and pluralistic world;
    • By teaching, research, informing the public and engaging persons in dialogue;
    • By affirming the particularities of faith and social context while openly exploring differences and commonalities

    HARTFORD INTERNATIONAL VALUES

    These are the values expressed in our programs and within our common life as Trustees, Faculty and Staff of Hartford International:

    We seek as people of faith to serve God humbly;

    We are committed to the love of God and love of stranger;

    We celebrate our Christian foundation;

    As part of our fidelity to that foundation, we affirm our historic and continuing commitment to Christian-Muslim dialogue and commit to further dialogue with Judaism and other religious traditions;

    We acknowledge the importance of spirituality in living out our mission and the value of ritual and symbol within the spiritual life;

    We affirm the common humanity of all people;

    We are a community that seeks to be a safe place for disparate voices;

    We welcome both those who affirm the traditional voices in faith communities and those who carry doubts regarding those traditions. We seek fresh ways of relating faith, practice, and reason to modern life;

    We commit to a justice that moves us beyond toleration to critical engagement in an environment of trust;

    We cultivate a community committed to the scholarly pursuit of truth and its practical embodiment;

    We strive for excellent and creative teaching and learning experiences throughout the curriculum;

    We affirm high quality research, especially that which bridges the theoretical and applied;

    We seek practices that embody integrity in our professional and institutional life;

    We commit to diversity in our University community;

    And we believe in education that is transformative, creative and empowering, enabling people to contribute more fully to their faith-based and civic communities.

    STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND VALUES

    The statement of purpose and values that has set our direction for the past decade is the result of a planning process initiated prior to our 2003 self-study. It has been revisited in two subsequent planning processes, both of which retained it as the official, board-approved statement. The purpose and values statement sets forth a set of broad themes that continue to frame the nature and character of our work. These include:

    • The embrace of a set of ongoing educational commitments -e.g., preparing leaders, students, scholars and religious institutions by teaching, research, public education and dialogue across a diversity of faith traditions;
    • A fundamental commitment to multi-faith work with a core commitment to historical strengths in Christianity and Islam, and Judaism;
    • A fundamental commitment to faith-based education and to balancing scholarly understanding, spiritual development and their lived, practical embodiment;
    • The presumption that faith and its practice are contextual;
    • An approach to multi-faith and other forms of social diversity that seeks to deepen one’s understanding and practice of his or her particularities and then connects with the “other” dialogically.

  • Mission Statement

    Hartford International is committed to building and fostering an educational environment that promotes a culture of inclusivity, diversity, and equity. Our shared responsibility is to embrace, cultivate, and respect differences in all forms. We aim for inclusive excellence by creating effective systematic policies and practices that advocate and champion equality for everyone.

    Resources

    Resources listed here are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Hartford International.

     

  • Hartford International University for Religion and Peace is committed to maintaining an environment that is diverse, inclusive, and safe for all students, faculty, staff, trustees and constituents. The University is committed to reducing bias and microaggressions, as well as ending discrimination, prejudice, and harassment. We will review and, if appropriate, address any discrimination, prejudice, or harassing behavior that is brought to our attention.

    Report an incident of discrimination, prejudice or harassing behavior here:

    Discrimination, Prejudice or Harassing Behavior Incident Report

HIU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Suggestions

Please use the form below if you have an idea/suggestion for the Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The form will be received and responded to by the DEI Officer.

Thank you for your commitment to DEI at HIU!

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