Division News & Statements
Heartwell receives interfaith leadership award
April 06, 2016
(This story originally appeared on GVNext)
George Heartwell, former mayor of Grand Rapids, received the 2016 Sylvia Kaufman Interfaith Leadership Award during a special ceremony March 30.
Heartwell currently serves as the community sustainability coordinator for the Office of Sustainability Practices in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies. He was recognized for his early work in establishing one of the first Habitat for Humanity chapters outside of Georgia, as well as for his 14 years of ministry in the Heartside community prior to being elected mayor of Grand Rapids.
In 2012, Heartwell's mayoral declaration of the Year of Interfaith Understanding initiated a campus-wide focus on interfaith that led to more than 300 events, as well as national recognition. On September 11, 2014, Heartwell proclaimed that 2015 would be the Year of Interfaith Service. The initiative is a unique partnership combining community organizations, student groups and congregations to promote interfaith service in West Michigan that continues today.
"We were so pleased to highlight Mayor Heartwell's long-term commitment to interfaith understanding and the ways in which his leadership has helped our community be welcoming to an increasing religiously diverse population," said Douglas Kindschi, Kaufman Interfaith Institute director.
The Interfaith Leadership Award was created in 2014 and named for Sylvia Kaufman, founder of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley. For more than 25 years, Kaufman was active in promoting interfaith understanding and acceptance in the West Michigan community and beyond. The award was presented to Heartwell by Kaufman's son, Greg.
For more information about the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, visit gvsu.edu/interfaith.
For More Information Contact: Matthew Makowski in University Communications - (616) 331-2228