Executive Director of Campus Ministry Kevin O’Brien, S.J., announced plans for the creation of new religious spaces in the Leavey Center to address to the needs of Muslim and Jewish students on campus.

As part of a larger reimagining and renovation of the Leavey Center, in an effort to make it more student-focused, there will be a phased in renovation of the area where the Center Grille currently exists in to permanent prayer space for students.

Current plans for the area include the creation of a Muslim prayer room, Jewish sacred space, an interfaith prayer room, and a kosher/halal kitchen. The interfaith prayer room would be available to any religious group on campus, especially those that do not have a permanent prayer space.

“To have Muslim and Jewish prayer spaces next to each other speaks of our commitment to interreligious understanding,” O’Brien said.

Due to this being a long-term project, O’Brien’s office has made plans for immediate changes as well.

Beginning in the next academic year, the Jewish prayer space will be transferred from the house on 36^th Street to a renovated area in the Leavey Center. The area will be near where the planned Jewish sacred space is planned to be.

For Muslim students, daily prayers will continue to be held in Copley Hall until the renovation of the Leavey Center is completed, but Campus Ministry and Student Affairs plan to refurbish Bulldog Alley this summer to make it more aesthetically pleasing for the students. Friday jum’ah prayers are currently held in Bulldog Alley due to the larger attendance at these services.

Campus Ministry met with student leaders of the Muslim and Jewish Student Associations earlier this week to present their plans and will be working with the students over the coming months to finalize the proposals.

Yesterday afternoon, Phil Boroughs, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, and Kevin O’Brien, S.J., executive director of campus ministry, announced that the University has hired Rabbi Rachel Gartner after an extensive yearlong search.

Gartner will replace Rabbi Bruce Aft who has served as the interim director following the retirement of longtime chaplaincy director Rabbi Harold White.

Gartner currently serves as director of the Hillel at Miami University in Ohio.

According to O’Brien, one of the deciding factors in the decision to hire her was her demonstrated commitment to interreligious dialogue.

“I want to fan the spark of Jewish life in students, faculty, and staff where it currently exists,” Gartner told Vox in an interview.

Gartner, who is trained in the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism, said that when she visited campus she was moved by the real commitment of students from different Jewish backgrounds to each other.

She said that she fully understands that some students may not be connect with her as well because she is a female rabbi, but she does not believe that will negatively affect the community on campus.

Gartner said that she plans to actively support students already participating in groups such as the Jewish Student Association, but she will also go on a listening tour of her own to seek out Jewish students who are not as active and find out their faith stories.

“The heart and soul of what I do is to be with students,” she said. “I’m really excited to get to meet the students.”

Image courtesy Georgetown University Office of Communications