OC Director of International Programs John Osborne receives a grant from the CCCU for OC’s Vienna Studies program

Osborne will pilot the new “Christian Leadership in a Multi-Faith World” curriculum at the 2021 Winter Session program in Austria.

When the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities created a grant for faculty to pilot test a new curriculum for teaching inter-faith dialogue, Oklahoma Christian University’s John Osborne quickly applied. His application was accepted this summer, and the director of International Programs and assistant professor of communication will use the new curriculum in Vienna, Austria. After a year and a half break due to COVID-19 restrictions, the first group of students will arrive in late 2021 for the Winter Session. 

When Osborne learned about the grant, he took a chance and applied. The grant was created from a partnership between the CCCU, an association of 185 Christian colleges around the world, and Interfaith Youth Core, a national nonprofit that seeks to bring together people of different faiths.  

 “What caught my eye was the purpose of the grant to cultivate Christian leadership in a multifaith world,” Osborne said. “Since I teach leadership and help students explore the world through study abroad, I was intrigued by this effort. Learning more about it, I liked the idea that we could use the recently developed curriculum in our study abroad program and see ways to strengthen and develop our offerings and opportunities for students.”

IFYC believes that theological and cultural differences between faith identities are expected and celebrated, not diminished. As a result of that belief, they partnered with CCCU to develop an online curriculum titled, "Christian Leadership in a Multifaith World," which dives into the Christian foundation for interfaith engagement, builds students’ religious literacy and prepares students to lead bridge-building activities in their communities. The curriculum was developed in partnership by Bethel University faculty Marion Larson, Amy Popping and Sara Shady. The course offers a series of online activities designed to be incorporated into existing courses or co-curricular leadership programs on CCCU campuses.

Osborne is hopeful that the implementation of this course will introduce students to many different cultures and religions. 

“My hope with this course is to develop some activities in Vienna that allow our students to work with other students in Vienna,” Osborne said. “These other students could potentially be people from other faith traditions of Judaism and Muslim. I’m also investigating the possibility of connecting our students to refugees from other countries that are currently living in Vienna. This will give our students a really good learning experience about leading and serving in a multifaith world.”

Those thoughts were also echoed by OC President John deSteiguer, who praised Osborne for the grant. 

“Congrats John!,” he said. “I’m thrilled you received the grant, and I’m certain its fruits will impact OC students for good.”

To follow along with the study abroad program at OC, follow @ocstudyabroad for updates and highlights. To learn more about the CCCU’s new curriculum, view this video on the organization’s YouTube channel.