Spider Spotlight
A Q&A with Matthew White
Interreligious and Justice Coordinator, University Chaplaincy

BY LINDA EVANS
Editor, RichmondNow

Matthew White enjoys helping students find answers to questions about the world, themselves and the meaning of life.

Tell me about your job.
I’m responsible for organizing programming and activities that relate to religious diversity and interreligious dialogue. We attempt to bring people from different religious backgrounds together to experience other religious traditions. We also have programs that prepare students, faculty and staff for a world that is diverse religiously and culturally.

The other half of my job is to work up programs that relate to social justice, such as poverty, the environment, and war and peace. For example, this fall we will be holding a poverty simulation in a partnership with The Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, where we will ask people to take part in a simulation that teaches them about some of the struggles that single parent, working class families face. Our emphasis is on getting students, faculty and staff to ask “why” questions as opposed to “what” questions. So CCE is teaching people how to be engaged with the community. We’re asking people to think about why it’s a good thing to be engaged with the community.

How long have you been at the University?
Since January 2008.

Tell me about your educational and professional background.
I went to high school in Powhatan County. I came to the University of Richmond and started my studies in 1996 and graduated in 1999. I majored in criminal justice and thought I wanted to go to law school. I took some classes that involved interacting with the justice system and decided that wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, so I ended up taking a whole lot of religion classes my last two years and got a religion minor. I came back for another year to get my master in liberal arts degree. I did an American studies concentration—classes about American culture, history and religion—and became interested in focusing on religion in America. I started at William and Mary in 2001 in the American studies Ph.D. program. I’m now finishing my dissertation.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Two things. I love working with students. That’s really a passion of mine. I have been teaching as an adjunct at several colleges and universities, and I knew that I wanted to keep working with students. I love the interaction with students, especially seeing them begin asking questions about the world, about themselves or about the meaning of human life. That’s incredibly rewarding.

The other thing I value highly is the opportunity to create connections between people, so they come to realize that despite all their differences in belief or religious practice, that there’s something that unites us in the human struggle for meaning.

Tell me about your family.
My mom is a cancer survivor. She worked here for about 20 years as an administrator in the music department. I’m not married, and I’m an only child. I was born in Tennessee but my family was originally from Kentucky.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to read. I enjoy music and play the piano. I love animals and have two pets—a Sheltie and a long-haired Chihuahua. I’ve been lucky to have gone to a lot of places in Europe. I stay at inexpensive places so I have been able to go more times to visit all parts of Europe. I love history, especially the classical Greek and Roman culture. I also spend a lot of time working on computers.