| August 1, 2017

In July of this year, at the suggestion of Dr. John Merkle and upon the recommendation of UST president Dr. Julie Sullivan and Saint John’s University(SJU) president Dr. Michael Hemesath, the Jay Phillips Center, which was a joint enterprise of UST and SJU through June of this year, was formally divided into two partner centers, one at each university. Dr. Merkle, who directed the center at both campuses for the past eight years, was appointed the director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University. Dr. Hans Gustafson, who served as the associate director of the center at both campuses for past six years, was appointed the director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at the University of St. Thomas. The two centers will maintain a strong collaborative relationship and share the common mission to foster understanding, cooperation, and friendship among people of diverse religious identities through academic study and civic engagement. Click here to read a brief history of the Jay Phillips Center.