The World House Global Network presents Gerald and Marita Grudzen

On Friday, October 29th, 2021 at 10am PT, The World House Global Network is honored to have Gerald and Marita Grudzen, founders of Global Ministries University who will discuss: "A Case Study in the Value of Interfaith Education for building Global Partnerships."
 

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About Gerald Grudzen:

Gerald Grudzen, Ph.D. was one of the founders of Global Ministries University in 2001 shortly after the tragedy of 9/11. Grudzen has served as President of Global Ministries University since 2001 and has developed graduate interfaith education programs in collaboration with universities and research institutes in the United States, Africa, Turkey, India, and Thailand. Grudzen earned his Ph.D. in the history of Christianity and Islam from Columbia University.  He received a John Templeton award in 2003 for the development of the first scientific curriculum by Christian and Muslim scholars for the first major universities in Europe. He did this research in collaboration with the Ian Ramsey Center at Oxford University. In 2010 Grudzen co-led the largest American academic delegation ever sponsored by the US State Department for interfaith and intercultural dialogue with faculty members 'at several Egyptian Universities throughout Egypt including Al Azhar University in Cairo, the leading Sunni Muslim education center in the world.  

Beginning in 2012, Grudzen and Global Ministries Universities undertook a major effort to combat religious extremism in the coastal areas of Kenya where there had been frequent terrorist incidents.  The project brought together religious leaders and educators from both the coastal region and throughout Kenya to train these leaders in interfaith dialogue and methods of conflict resolution.  The success of this program led to its integration  with the Tangaza University Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies in 2019. In 2021 Grudzen and his wife, Marita Grudzen,  co-chaired the US Hub for a three-day interfaith conference on Pope Francis' encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, co-sponsored with Tangaza Univesity and other Christian and Muslim universities in Kenya and Indonesia in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican.  Over 3000 participants took part in this conference from 15 different countries. A second international, interfaith conference is scheduled for February of 2023. Grudzen has authored or co-authored several books on the role of interfaith dialogue and collaboration in promoting peace and reconciliation across the world.

About Marita Grudzen:

Marita Grudzen, MHS, is Associate Director Emerita and a founding member of the Stanford Geriatric Education Center, a national center in ethnogeriatrics within Stanford University School of Medicine. Ms. Grudzen was co-recipient with Chaplain Bruce Feldstein, MD, of the Templeton Award(2001-06) for the medical school required curriculum they developed, Spirituality and Meaning in Medicine. Ms. Grudzen chaired a qualitative study of diverse healing practices in six ethnic minority populations in the Bay Area which was translated into health professional educational programming. She also developed a relationship of trust with the Afghan leadership in Fremont, CA during a series of three focus groups she co-led with the Afghan elder women’s community. Most recently, Marita co-developed the curriculum for the Fremont Community Ambassador Program for Seniors, and 25 hour Hospital to Home Transition training for volunteers from the Ethnic Minority Senior Services Consortium of San Jose, CA. Marita has received an international award from the Prime Minister of Turkey for her contribution to the First International Care Congress in Istanbul from May 2-8, 2005.

Since August of 2011, every year Ms. Grudzen with her husband have co-developed, implemented, evaluated and revised a 40 hour Interfaith Leadership Program in partnership with Christian, Muslim and African Indigenous Religious leaders in Kenya. Recruiting local expert and community leaders as co-presenters they returned every August until the current Covid era and maintain communication through the year with their interfaith partners through Skype and email.