Strengthening Partnership and Support
Our university is strengthened by its many partnerships, which are grounded in a shared commitment to encouraging understanding and mutual respect. The university aims to grow and strengthen these relationships with students and their families, faculty, staff, alumni, external groups, and others.
New Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life, Enhanced Religious Programming
In summer 2024, the Division for Student Affairs (DSA) announced the launch of a new Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life. Working alongside many university offices and affiliate organizations, it will support and strengthen the university’s religious and philosophical diversity by providing opportunities to engage with spiritual life on campus through interfaith engagement, education, service, worship, and meditation.
This latest initiative builds on events and other offerings that have taken place over the past year, including Passover and Eid celebrations, Iftars and Shabbat dinners, an Interfaith Dinner, robust programming through Interfaith Week, and community dinners in the Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC) and residence halls.
Enhanced Counseling Support
Recognizing the burden an ongoing conflict can place on our affected community members, the university has enhanced its counseling and outreach services.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) continues to offer individual and group therapy options. It has also created a “Community Comfort Zone: Post-Crisis Support Space” to provide support and psychological first aid to GW students following impactful, traumatic, or tragic events that occur on campus or community events that have greatly impacted students’ well-being. Additionally, CAPS is collaborating with campus partners and students to create opportunities for new affinity spaces and support spaces for students, ensuring they are accessible and inclusive. Finally, the TimelyCare virtual counseling service offers students access to counselors with various identities and areas of expertise.
Enhanced Inclusion-Focused Resources and Support
Many students have shared the importance of having affinity spaces that support them based on a shared identity. The Office for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement (ODECE) has continued to offer such spaces for members of the university community who have been impacted by the Israel-Hamas war, especially those with Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian, and Israeli identities. Students, faculty, or staff may contact [email protected] for more information on the spaces or to offer suggestions for additional spaces.
GW’s Musallah, a Muslim prayer room established in partnership with the Muslim Student Association, is under renovation for the fall semester, creating a larger space with new furnishings. The university is also in the process of completing a Dharmic prayer space this fall, in partnership with the Hindu Student Association and the Sikh Student Association. Both spaces will be available at the University Student Center.
The MSSC has also enhanced its efforts in diversity and inclusion by adding new roles, including coordinators for race and ethnicity and gender and sexuality. This expansion aims to better serve students of diverse identities and experiences while meeting the increasing demand for multicultural programming.
Support for Individuals Experiencing Doxing
Acknowledging the impact that doxing has had on members of the university community, the university has made clear it finds such attempts to intimidate or threaten our students, faculty, and staff reprehensible. The university offers guidance and third-party resources that may assist those who have been targeted by doxing.