This collaborative initiative at Campbell University that was awarded a Faith and Health Campus Grant from Interfaith America to integrate interfaith competency training into the university’s curricular and community engagement efforts while building sustainable community partnerships to address health issues. The $60,000 grant, which runs through November 2026, supports an interdisciplinary proposal titled “Integrating Interfaith Competency Training at Campbell University while Building Sustainable Community Partnerships to Address Health Issues.”
The team’s proposal emphasizes the development of new courses across undergraduate and graduate levels, engagement of community partners with lived experience, and scholarship aimed at integrating faith and health within interfaith education and service.
Central to the project is preparing future health and religious leaders to work attentively with the spiritual and moral priorities of patients and communities. The grant will support sustainable curricular innovations intended to create leaders in health who can collaborate with faith leaders and community partners to address behavioral health challenges, including overdose prevention and substance use disorders. The initiative builds on years of partnerships and leverages established relationships both within the university and with local communities to expand efforts that have already shown promise. The team plans to develop three new courses and implement several community outreach initiatives that provide practical, application-based educational opportunities for students while responding to pressing local health needs.
Planned outreach includes the Recovering Hope Conference, designed to support overdose prevention and recovery advocacy by empowering and engaging faith leaders and promoting a sustained interfaith network for dialogue, collaboration, and mutual support. The project also aims to expand collaborations with the Alnoor Islamic Center and the N.C. Council of Churches to address wellness, behavioral health, and overdose prevention among Muslim communities through community education events.
By integrating faith dimensions with public health and clinical education, the project aspires to equip students with the competencies needed to provide holistic care and culturally attuned services in a spiritually diverse society. Through sustained partnership with faith, tribal, and community leaders, the initiative seeks to create lasting networks that enhance community health outcomes and provide meaningful experiential learning for Campbell University students while modeling collaborative approaches that other institutions may emulate.
