Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
Common Ground: An Interfaith Leadership Summit
Saturday, September 19, 2026 | Oberlin College
Oberlin College's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life is excited to host a one-day Interfaith Leadership Summit bringing together student leaders and supporting staff and faculty from colleges and universities across Ohio.
This summit is made possible through a generous grant from Interfaith America and is designed to strengthen connections among students engaged in religious, spiritual, and interfaith life on their campuses.
Registration is now open. Register by Tuesday, September 8th to secure your spot.
The Common Ground: An Interfaith Leadership Summit creates space for learning, collaboration, and relationship-building across religious, spiritual, and belief differences. Participants will explore how interfaith engagement can contribute to belonging, civic responsibility, and shared campus life.
Who Should Attend
Institutions are invited to bring:
- up to five students involved or interested in religious, spiritual, or interfaith life
- up to two supporting staff or faculty members
Students from diverse faith traditions, spiritual backgrounds, and those who are spiritually curious or questioning are encouraged to participate. If you would like to bring more than five students or two staff members, please email ORSL@oberlin.edu.
What to Expect
The summit will include:
- Student facilitated conversations
- Facilitated small-group sessions and workshops
- Continental breakfast and lunch
- Opportunities to connect with peers from across Ohio
The program is designed to balance reflection, skill-building, and learning that participants can bring back to their campuses.
Cost
We are planning to offer this event at no cost to participants. We ask that participants register only if they can confirm attendance so that we can order the correct amount of food.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Simran Jeet Singh
Writer, educator, and activist Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is a professor of history at Union Theological Seminary and author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life. In his work, he offers a fresh approach to ethical living—one in which love, caring, and service go hand-in-hand with personal happiness. He shares the skills and insights that kept him engaged in his commitment to activism, and how to use compassion as the antidote to anger, self-pity, or social justice burnout.
Recognized among TIME Magazine’s sixteen people fighting for a more equal America, Dr. Simran Jeet Singh’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Harvard Business Review, CNN, and Religion News Service, where he is a regular monthly columnist. He has been featured on Good Morning America, NBC News, ABC News, and the On Being podcast. A prolific speaker, he has brought his powerful approach to building a purposeful, rewarding, and happy life to organizations ranging from Google to the Harvard Divinity School to the White House.
Tentative Schedule (Subject to Change)
- 9:30 am- 10:00 am: Arrival and Check-In
- 10:00 am- 10:15 am: Welcome
- 10:15 pm- 11:15 am: Keynote Conversation
- 11:15 am- 11:30 am: Transition and Break
- 11:30 am- 12:30 pm: Workshop Breakout 1
- 12:30 pm- 12:45 pm: Transition and Break
- 12:45 pm- 2:00 pm: Lunch
- 2:00 pm- 2:15 pm: Transition and Break
- 2:15 pm- 3:30 pm: Workshop Breakout 2
- 3:30 pm- 3:45 pm: Transition and Break
- 3:45 pm- 5:00 pm Workshop Breakout 3
For questions, please contact the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at orsl@oberlin.edu.