Tufts University Chaplaincy announced the establishment of a new part-time Humanist in Residence position this July as a resource for Tufts students who identify as nonreligious. Walker Bristol (A '14) will be the first to take on the role beginning this year.
University Chaplain Greg McGonigle said that this position, which will be a two-year pilot program, is the first fully funded Humanist in Residence position in the country. The new position was added due to an observed lack of support for both students who identify with humanism, a set of beliefs that focuses on the role of human beings, and also students who identify as atheist, agnostic, nonreligious or spiritual but not religious, according to McGonigle.
"Over the past few years, students and alumni had been inquiring about the possibility of humanist chaplaincy support here," McGonigle told the Daily in an email. "Some have been active in the off-campus Humanist Community at Harvard, and they have desired to have similar support here at Tufts."
The most prominent of these groups has been Tufts Freethought Society, which represents similarly nonreligious-identified students, according to Freethought President Kumar Ramanathan. Freethought first began petitioning the administration and meeting with University President Anthony Monaco to establish a humanist position in the chaplaincy in 2011, according to Ramanathan, a senior.
"At the time, almost a third of the undergrad population identified as nonreligious in one way or another, and it's only gone up since then," Bristol, who will also be a master's student at the Harvard Divinity School this year, said. "Students wanted access to the interfaith and service opportunities made available by other chaplains, as well as time for individual existential conversation and counseling."
Freethought drew inspiration from Harvard University and Rutgers University, where similar, full-time positions have existed for the past few years, according to Ramanathan. McGonigle said these schools' offices, however, are located off-campus and are required to raise their own funds. Since the chaplaincy at Tufts is a relatively large organization, the idea was to add a comparable, university-funded resource that could grow over time.
"It is a 12-hour-per-week position and is called a residency because it is an opportunity for a humanist leader to research, reflect on and practice chaplaincy in this community for a specified time on an exploratory basis," McGonigle said. "What is exciting here is that this position can be fully integrated into the university [and] this resident is a colleague with other Tufts faculty and staff in service to students."
The chaplaincy also made a number of other new hires who will begin this semester after the departures of fo rmer Protestant Chaplain Rachael Pettengill-Rasure and former Muslim Chaplain Naila Baloch, both of whom left Tufts last spring. Their roles will now be filled by Chanta Bhan and Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio, respectively.
The organization also hired Zachary Cole for the new position of program and outreach specialist this spring. Cole will be working to increase outreach and serve a larger constituency at the university, according to McGonigle.
Each new chaplaincy member was hired through an extensive open search and interview process over the summer that included Tufts students, faculty and staff, according to Ramanathan, who participated in several student interview dinners.
Bristol said that his connection to the university and Freethought helped him understand the needs for the position during the pilot program.
"Given that Tufts is a community I know and love, I feel like it's a perfect space for me to learn what humanists, particularly humanist students, might want out of a chaplain as well as for me to bring what I'm learning at Harvard Divinity School into the field," he said.
His goal as the Humanist in Residence is to expand the number of students who look towards the chaplaincy for support, regardless of traditional religious affiliation.
"I think this new position is a terrific step forward toward welcoming new and interesting voices into the chaplaincy community," Bristol said. "My hope is that Humanist in Residence isn't just for humanists, but is a resource for anyone facing the challenges of life at this age and looking for the strength within themselves to overcome."
