¶Ù°ù.ÌýHomayraÌýZiad is a spiritual seeker, scholar-activist and nationally recognized interfaith practitioner, and she has served in spiritual care and leadership roles in both Muslim and interreligious settings. Earning her doctorate in Religious Studies from Yale, with a special interest in Islamic spirituality, philosophical Sufism, and Indo-Persian textual traditions, Dr. Ziad has served universities, seminaries, and faith-based nonprofits with her community-engaged teaching and scholarship grounded in equitable, compassionate relationship-building. She was Senior Lecturer and Director of the Program in Islamic Studies at Johns Hopkins University where she received the undergraduate teachingÌý, and was recognized for her innovativeÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌý. Before this, she was Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Trinity College and then Scholar of Islam at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, where she spearheaded public engagement on Islam.
For two decades, Dr. Ziad has created educational and spiritual care programs that connect religion with the arts, public health, and mental health, and she has supported educators, activists, artists, and religious leaders in navigating pluralism and fostering networks of social change. While at Hopkins, she led a national facultyÌýÌýon community-engaged learning in Islamic Studies, partnered with American Muslim Health Professionals to mobilize students to address vaccine hesitancy and access in Muslim communities, and co-createdÌýÌýwith colleagues at Morgan State University and the Walters Art Museum. She also served on the founding teams ofÌý, an arts and social justice project by and for Muslim women, andÌý, a music and healing residency for young artists in Pakistan. Dr. Ziad was on the Board of the ACLU of Maryland and served for two years as Board President.
Dr. Ziad was founding co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s (AAR) Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Group. She writes for academic and popular venues, consults on programs for film and media, and is co-editor ofÌýWords to Live By: Sacred Sources for Interreligious EngagementÌý(Orbis Press, 2018). Most recently, she served as Director of Campus Partnerships at Interfaith America.Ìý
“We are so thrilled to have ¶Ù°ù.ÌýHomayraÌýlead our Divinity Program and take our Hassan Institute to new levels of transformative engagement and impact.ÌýHerÌýwisdom and pastoral spirit will bring so much guidance and support to our M.Div. students, and her rich interfaith experience and international network will elevate and expand the work of the Hassan Institute, in sha’ Allah. Welcome ¶Ù°ù.ÌýHomayra!”
Dr. Timothy J Gianotti, President