The Rev. Kristen Leslie witnessed the importance of community when various groups at Yale University responded to the death of Annie Le, a graduate student who was found strangled last month.

Whether a tragedy like the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 or when several student deaths occur, community is necessary, she said, and can be achieved through the relationships of diverse religious groups.

‘Religion is, in fact, the place for people to come together,’ she said.

Leslie is the first of three finalists for the position of Hendricks Chapel dean that will visit SU during the next few weeks. They will each host a public forum with the theme ‘Interfaith Work in a Diverse Society,’ honoring the chapel’s motto and tradition of recognizing all faiths.

The Rev. Tiffany Steinwert is scheduled to visit SU Nov. 9 and 10, and the Rev. Mark Edington will arrive either Nov. 17 or 18.

Each candidate’s day-and-a-half-long visit also includes meeting with Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Thomas Wolfe, the dean search committee, Hendricks staff members and chaplains, and students.

Evaluations will be distributed to attendees at each session, which will help the committee make a final decision, said Barbara Fought, chair of the dean search committee and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech.

The three candidates were selected from a pool of 70 applicants that resulted from a nationwide search that began in June. A committee comprised of 13 members will make a suggestion to Wolfe, who will make the final decision. The search committee expects to make a decision by the start of the spring semester.

Leslie’s visit impressed the Rev. Gail Riina, Hendricks Chapel’s Lutheran chaplain.

‘I felt that the candidate’s strength is that she articulates theologically in a way that I think will inspire other members of the university community to become creatively engaged in interfaith dialogue and projects to create a better world,’ Riina said.

Riina said that she was impressed by the backgrounds of the three final candidates, but she thought Interim Dean Kelly Sprinkle’s resume and was equally impressive.

Sprinkle, who has held the position since June 2008, is not one of the dean search’s finalists.

‘I am disappointed that Dean Kelly was not included as a candidate to be interviewed as a fourth finalist, because of his outstanding service during the interim period,’ she said.

Speaking at SU, Leslie said she’d make sure resources are available to foster the relationships between groups of different faith traditions.

Leslie currently serves as an associate professor of pastoral care and counseling at Yale University Divinity School, where she has been a faculty member for 12 years. She previously led the Yale Divinity Faculty Diversity Committee and taught a course about religion and the LGBTQ community that came to be known as ‘Gaycare.’

As a consultant to the chaplains at the United States Air Force Academy, Leslie helped care for young adult survivors of sexual violence and publicized the growing problem of imposing Christianity in the military.

The committee was impressed by Leslie’s passion for working with young adults, her listening skills and her commitment to interfaith work, Fought said.

At her public forum Wednesday, Leslie outlined the significance of interfaith work, its goals and its requirements, addressing two specific categories: a theological exchange and gathering around a common passion such as social justice.

‘To be successful in an inter-religious world, it’s about community,’ she said.

Elane Granger, the associate director of the Lillian and Emanuel Slutzker Center for International Services, said she thinks SU needs someone like Leslie to unite SU’s diverse student body. ‘I think she’d be a strong leader,’ she said.

bmdavies@syr.edu

Published on October 28, 2009 at 12:00 pm