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Sylvia and Richard Kaufman Interfaith Institute

Interfaith at GVSU

A group of students in white clothes that have been covered in colored powder sitting on the GVSU letters on the Valley campus.

The Kaufman Interfaith Institute serves as a campus‑wide resource for fostering understanding and engagement across religious, secular, and spiritual cultures and identities.

 

Recognizing the rich diversity of belief and worldview at Grand Valley, the Institute creates opportunities for meaningful connection, deep listening, and shared learning across difference, strengthening the fabric of the university community.

Interfaith Leadership Cohort

Four students sitting at a table, one of whom is talking and gesturing while the others listen.

Know Your Neighbor Dinners

A close-up of a lotus-shaped candle holder surrounded by a circle of wooden beads.

Sacred Site Visits

A young male student taking a picture in a cathedral.

Learn interfaith leadership alongside peers from different religious, secular, and spiritual identities.

Regular interfaith dinner-and-dialogue spaces for Lakers from any, all, or no religious or spiritual tradition.

Guided monthly excursions to local houses of worship and sacred spaces around the Grand Rapids area.

Religious Inclusion & Accomodation

view from beneath a sculpture on campus looking up at the sky

Interfaith Resources

various interfaith texts

Other Campus Support

Students make their way to the Seidman Center on Grand Valley’s City Campus during the first day of classes August 25.

Resources for faculty, staff, and students regarding Grand Valley State University's Religious Inclusion Policy.

Info about interfaith spaces on campus, religious accommodation, dietary considerations, and general dialogue resources.

GVSU has many support resources to help with basic needs, general wellness, academic advising, disability support resources, and more. 

"My time with Kaufman taught me that listening is an act of love, and that understanding someone's worldview doesn't mean losing your own - it means expanding your view of what's possible."

- Chloe Duncan, Class of 2026

Campus trip to Grand Rapids Buddhist Temple
Temple Emanuel visit
Students visit Masjid at Tawheed
“The need for interfaith will not go away after students leave college, so we are helping [each other] achieve the skills, language and understanding [we] need to continue this interfaith work."

- Sydney Watson, Class of 2018

Page last modified July 31, 2026