SUNY Oswego leaders selected as Interfaith America Pluralism Fellows
Lillian Evans, Emily Estrada and Scott Furlong have been selected as Interfaith America Pluralism Fellows and for representing SUNY Oswego in this inaugural cohort dedicated to advancing pluralism in higher education.
The trio’s work began in summer 2025, when Furlong submitted a successful proposal to Interfaith America for a $25,000 grant to strengthen and sustain pluralism -- the idea that people of different races, religions, beliefs and cultures can thrive living together peacefully — at SUNY Oswego. Estrada and Evans joined as co-principal investigators, and together they developed opportunities to engage students, faculty, staff, and student organizations in building a more pluralistic campus community.
During the 2025–2026 academic year, the team awarded 15 $500 Pluralism Mini-Grants to faculty, staff and student organizations to support initiatives that advance pluralism across campus. They also established the SUNY Oswego Pluralism Fellowship, bringing together two students, two faculty members, and two staff members to explore and strengthen pluralism both curricularly and co-curricularly.
As members of Interfaith America’s inaugural cohort for this grant initiative, Furlong, Estrada, and Evans are now expanding their impact beyond SUNY Oswego. They are serving as fellows and supporting 10 additional SUNY campuses as they develop and sustain their own approaches to pluralism.
During the week of Aug. 3, the trio traveled to Chicago to participate in an Interfaith America convening with representatives from participating campuses. The gathering focused on strategic planning, building institutional buy-in, sharing effective practices and learning from the work already under way on campuses. A key component of the experience was ensuring campuses are not “recreating the wheel,” but instead building on and enhancing the meaningful work already underway.
Over the next 18 months, Furlong, Estrada and Evans, alongside national partners from James Madison University and Coastal Carolina, will continue to provide guidance, collaboration, and support to the 10 SUNY campuses participating in this initiative along with Interfaith America.
Leaders see their selection as Pluralism Fellows representing an exciting opportunity for SUNY Oswego to contribute to a broader movement in higher education while continuing to strengthen a campus culture where people with different identities, perspectives, beliefs and experiences can learn from one another and thrive.
— Submitted by the James A. Triandiflou Institute for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Transformative Practice