After beginning her tenure in March, Tiffany Steinwert will be officially installed as the sixth dean of Hendricks Chapel when she is presented her responsibilities Monday.

The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. All members of Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse area are welcome to attend.

The service will last for an hour with many officials from SU, the Syracuse community and Onondaga Nation present. Chancellor Nancy Cantor will give Steinwert her official charge as dean of Hendricks Chapel, and Steinwert will give a response to accept her charge, Steinwert said.

Steinwert was chosen last December out of a pool of 70 applicants to fill the position, replacing the interim dean Kelly Sprinkle, according to a Dec. 4 article in The Daily Orange. Steinwert officially began her work as dean of Hendricks Chapel in March, and this installation process is a formal recognition by the university.

The installation process, which occurs for many university officials, is ceremonial and can take place any time after the person has taken his or her position, Steinwert said. The installation celebrates the university’s commitment to being an inclusive community, Steinwert said.

Glorianne Picini, a member of Campus Crusade for Christ and Baptist Campus Ministries, said she hopes the charge Cantor gives Steinwert will create a more inviting and educational atmosphere for students at SU to learn about all faiths without the fear of being pressured.

‘I hope she can help the tolerance and help open learning so people can talk and decide what they believe and not what they think they should believe,’ said Picini, a sophomore photojournalism and history major.

Steinwert has previously worked as an interfaith consultant and a teaching fellow at both Boston University and Harvard University. Her previous work was mostly with graduate level students, and she said this opportunity allows her more access to the entire SU community.

‘Someone who has worked with college students before will be much more wildly successful than someone who is just as educated and qualified but doesn’t have experience with students,’ Picini said. ‘We’re such a difficult generation, you have to be able to get the message across and be able to hold our attention.’

Rev. Linus DeSantis, Catholic chaplain at SU, said the formal installation of Steinwert as dean will help cement her position and influence the SU community.

He said Steinwert’s council will be sought to establish policy, and she will be expected to know the community, DeSantis said.

‘Tiffany Steinwert will be viewed as a pivotal influence in the life of the university. She will be asked to comment on challenging elements confronting the university,’ DeSantis said.

SU appealed to Steinwert for the high prioritization of the interfaith, she said.

‘Hendricks Chapel’s motto, ‘A home for all faiths, a place for all people,’ is taken very seriously here,’ Steinwert said.

Steinwert’s most recent position before transitioning to SU was as senior pastor of Cambridge Welcoming Ministries, an organization Steinwert founded. The organization advocated for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities to be included in the United Methodist Church.

Steinwert also said she was attracted to the job because the position as the dean of Hendricks Chapel at SU is unlike similar positions in other universities.

‘At other universities, the dean of the chapel is normally also the Protestant chaplain, but here the dean serves the entire university community,’ said Steinwert.

Steinwert said she has hopes to continue the success of Hendricks Chapel in engaging the university and the surrounding community.

‘I see this not as an installation of a particular person, but the formal entry of the sixth dean of Hendricks Chapel into an 80-year-old institution,’ Steinwert said. ‘The tradition is ongoing. Now it’s my turn to walk that path for a while. I hope that on Monday we’ll celebrate a moment in the life of the chapel, rather than in an individual.’

medelane@syr.edu

Published on October 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani