Dr. Melissa Conroy, professor of religion, says, “I grew up with a Christian father and a Buddhist mother. I've been fascinated by religion for as long as I can remember.”
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Classics from the University of Toronto. She also completed her Masters in Religion at the University of Toronto. She completed her doctoral work at Syracuse University.
As an undergrad, Dr. Conroy says, “I chose my courses based on what books I wanted to read. It's important to follow your interests and play to your strengths, but to also be open to seeing what else there is out there. I think we offer a good environment at Muskingum for that chance to explore your interests and broaden them as well. You can learn to think in any major, and that's the most important skill we offer.”
In the summer of 2017, Dr. Conroy attended a workshop at DePaul University in Chicago. The workshop, “Teaching Interfaith Understanding,” focused on how to integrate interfaith experiences into the classroom. Conroy worked on an interfaith course she is developing with faculty from other institutions; the course is entitled “Death and Dying in the World Religions.”
Faculty in attendance explored how to teach interfaith issues in an experiential way, and part of their experience included a visit to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), “which works with other religious groups to solve issues that affect people of all faiths, such as access to housing, employment opportunities and healthcare,” Conroy explained.
Since her summer workshop, Conroy has created interfaith opportunities for students in her World Religions class. Last fall, they visited a Tibetan temple and a mosque.