Two-College Collaboration Within Five Colleges:
HAMPSHIRE ESTABLISHES RELIGIOUS LIFE PROGRAM THROUGH AGREEMENT TO SHARE MOUNT HOLYOKE CHAPLAINS AND RESOURCES

AMHERST, MASS. — Hampshire College is establishing a Center for Spiritual Life and has entered into a three-year agreement with Mount Holyoke College to share chaplains’ services.

In announcing the new spiritual life program, the first in Hampshire’s 33-year history, President Gregory S. Prince Jr. said, “Students and prospective students have long requested that such resources be available, and our agreement with Mount Holyoke is an answer to that call. Mount Holyoke has developed one of the richest programs and set of services devoted to spiritual life of any small college in the United States.

“I have long believed that the Five Colleges should act in concert to strengthen the quality of student life on our campuses, and I am very pleased that Mount Holyoke generously presented Hampshire with an important opportunity to extend the resources of both our campuses,” said Prince.

Mount Holyoke has nine active faith groups, said Andrea Ayvazian, the college’s dean of religious life, including four paid chaplains and five groups with dedicated volunteer advisors, mostly faculty.

The Mount Holyoke chaplains and spiritual advisors will be on the Hampshire campus each week throughout the academic year on a rotating basis, beginning Monday, September 22 and using the following schedule.

Monday: Sister Shamshad Sheikh,
Chaplain to the Muslim Community

Tuesday: Rabbi Lisa Freitag-Keshet,
Chaplain to the Jewish Community

Wednesday: Rotating Religious Advisors and Student Chaplains

Thursday: Anita Magovern,
Chaplain to the Catholic Community

Friday: Rev. Andrea Ayvazian,
Dean of Religious Life Chaplain to the Protestant Community

The chaplains will provide pastoral care and counseling as well as programming, including panels and gatherings, at Hampshire. Services in each faith community are already held at Mount Holyoke each week, and Hampshire students who would like to participate in a formal service can take advantage of the free Five College bus system to attend. In addition, Hampshire’s Dean of the College Mike Ford said ride boards would be posted that list individuals with whom students can catch rides to services at Mount Holyoke.

Hampshire is also discussing what resources should be designed on campus to complement those at Mount Holyoke, Ford said. For example, space is already available at Hampshire for groups of students to meet informally for faith-based activities such as Shabbat dinners, and a spiritual life office has been created in Merrill House.

Joint planning groups are being established at the two colleges to assist in the growth of their partnership in spiritual life, so that the resources of both campuses can be extended.

“This term, at Hampshire, we will do a lot of listening to what students are already doing and what they’d like us to offer,” said Rev. Ayvazian. “There are some commonalities to the two campuses, but there are also some big differences. There are different cultures. At Hampshire, we will be present to talk, do pastoral care, organize programs and listen to students’ needs.”