People
University Class Honours Sikh Professor
KARIN GRENNAN, et al
Thousand Oaks, California, USA
The California Lutheran University (“CLU”) Class of 2013 has honored faculty member Rahuldeep Singh Gill as the Cultural Diversity Professor of the Year.
Rahuldeep Singh was honored as Cultural Diversity Professor of the Year for the second time.
He joined the faculty in 2009 and is an Assistant Professor of Religion and Associate Director of CLU’s Center for Equality and Justice. By sharing his background as a Sikh-American native of Boston and encouraging discussions in his classes, he broadens students' perspectives, deepens their appreciation of diversity and inspires them to be more understanding and compassionate.
“He is by far the most influential professor I’ve had,” one student said. “His teaching style is demanding and engaging, and he opened my eyes to a world way beyond Cal Lutheran.”
The Winnetka resident, who launched CLU’s Asian studies minor, is an expert on the evolution of Sikh institutions and the interaction of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. He is currently working on translations of seminal 17th-century Sikh texts and plans to research the Sikh congregations of Southern California.
His classes include Introduction to Christianity, Religion in South Asia and Introduction to the Study of Global Religions.
Rahuldeep Singh has a Bachelor's degree from University of Rochester and a Master's and Doctorate in Religious Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara.
RAHULDEEP SINGH’S RESPONSE
To the Graduating Class of 2013:
First of all: gratitude.
Thank you for selecting me for the award of Cultural Diversity Professor of the Year. Your class has a special place in my heart, as we both came into Cal Lutheran together: you were my first students in Religion 100, and you bore with me as I got my bearings as a green-from-graduate-school professor.
I’ve followed your paths on this campus with keen fondness, and congratulate you with my whole heart on all of your accomplishments.
Second: an apology.
I’m sorry we couldn’t graduate you into a better world. Glance at the newspaper and you find too many stories of men and women committing evil acts out of their own parochial perspectives, and in deep self-centeredness. Our economy still struggles to provide opportunity for our neighbors, particularly those who are already the least privileged among us. From time to time Nature seems to show her indifference at our sufferings and blends salt-water into our wounded world.
But we’re in this together, we so-called leaders for a global society.
What we’ve done here at Cal Lutheran is equip you with knowledge and skills to engage this world. Engage it, not save it, is all we ask you to do in return.
Sometime in the future, maybe even really soon, you’ll stumble across an opportunity to engage. It may be in the boardroom -- when a million dollar deal is on the line -- or in the lunchroom where off-the-cuff conversations take place.
Don’t let yourself and those around you settle for surface-level analysis. Take questions deeper. Find the need in the community where you live, and rally your neighbors to help out in some small way. Stand up for someone who’s being stigmatized. Volunteer. Start a movement. Vote. Care.
Just take that one opportunity to engage the world. And maybe the next one. And the next one after that.
What I’m asking you to do is to take the mantle of global leadership by doing nothing more than being your self, your best self, your deepest self, your most prepared self.
The world will call. Clear your throat and answer confidently.
Finally: congratulations!
I salute you and your networks of friends, family, and partners who provide a web of care so you can fall gently and rise valorously. Your accomplishments at CLU will reverberate for decades, even as our campus continues to improve and grow.
On it, we all look forward to following your unfolding careers. Visit us from time to time and clue us in on what’s going on out there.
Keep in touch!
Sincerely,
Your fan and ally,
Rahuldeep Singh Gill, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor,
Department of Religion Director-Elect,
Center for Equality and Justice
[Courtesy: Cal Lutheran University & The Echo. Edited for sikhchic.com]
August 6, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Himadri Banerjee (Kolkata, India), August 06, 2013, 9:07 PM.
I share your wonderful journey as a teacher who loves his students and they in return give their best to you. The journey introduces them to the world of cultural diversity and religious pluralism which we need to respect and remember in a distant country in South Asia where one often misses these pathways of life. I send my warm regards to one who would continue his journey when I would no longer be: but you would carry your students to the goal they have been looking forward in their life.
2: Kirpal Singh (Daytona Beach, Florida, USA ), August 06, 2013, 10:18 PM.
Congratulations to you for this honor. I want you to know your articles about Sikhism are on "Patheos" and are highly commendable. I certainly enjoyed reading them.
3: Bhai Harbans Lal (Dallas, Texas, USA), August 07, 2013, 12:43 PM.
Rahuldeep Singh is dear to my heart as he pioneered academic work on Bhai Gurdas and his writings in the West. I am looking forward to his academic publications on Bhai Gurdas. We are pleased on the recognition he is receiving. Congratulation, Rahuldeep ji.