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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Anthony Cruz Pantojas hired as new Tufts Humanist chaplain

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Anthony Cruz Pantojas is Tufts’ new Humanist Chaplain. Anthony has been involved in Humanist and interfaith work in the Boston area.

Anthony Cruz Pantojas was recently hired as Tufts University’s new Humanist chaplain, one of the many faiths represented as part of the Tufts University Chaplaincy. A graduate of the Andover Newton Theological School, their hiring followed an exhaustive nationwide search process taking into account the needs of Humanist students and other members of the Tufts Humanist community.

According to The Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger, university chaplain, the hiring process consisted of several stages, including advising by a steering committee made up of two members of the Chaplaincy and two members of the Humanist community at Tufts.

“The chaplains all get selected through a similar search process,” Audrey McGlothlen, one of the students on the search committee, said in an email to the Daily. “The University Chaplain selects candidates from the initial resume submission process and meets with them and a set is invited for a first round ofinterviews.”

McGlothlen said the first interview round is with only the steering committee, after which the top two candidates are invited to campus to meet with groups of students and faculty. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these visits were conducted virtually this year. Following these meetings, the committee meets again to discuss the outcome of these visits.

We really try to weigh what we see as strengths and determine areas of growth that we are confident they could develop in their time here to try to find the best person to fit with the culture and the goals here,” McGlothlen, a senior, said.

When asked about the role of a Humanist chaplain, McGlothlen responded that their role is to "support identity development and human flourishing in many forms." According to McGlothlen, Tufts is unique in its representation of Humanism in interfaith spaces.

It is pretty remarkable that Tufts has a Humanist chaplaincy,” McGlothlen said. “So, the role of the Humanist chaplain is to really hold that space, to make heard perspectives and philosophies that do not fit neatly into specific traditions or religions.”

In addition to their work with the larger community, McGlothlen also describes the role of a Humanist chaplain on campus as being "a confidant for any student seeking guidance or pastoral care."

According to their biography, Cruz Pantojas' exposure to multiple faiths growing up prepared them for their work in interfaith spaces.

"[Cruz Pantojas spent most of their] life traversing between Puerto Rico and the mainland, [which gave them the] opportunity to grow in an environment where Afro based religions and spiritual traditions, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, other faiths and non-theist traditions seek to coexist and support a democratic and progressive ethos for all,” their biography on the Tufts University Chaplaincy website says.

Cruz Pantojas is an endorsed Humanist celebrant and associate chaplain as recognized by the Humanist Society, and also draws “engagement with ethics and relationality” from their “queer Afro-Boricua identity,” according to the biography.

Social justice work is a critical part of Humanism, and something Cruz Pantojas has ample experience with from their work before Tufts. Prior to joining the Tufts Chaplaincy, Cruz Pantojas spent this summer spreading awareness of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines in marginalized communities through the “Faith in the Vaccine” program run by the Interfaith Youth Core organization, a social justice background that they are certain to bring to Tufts.

According to McGlothlen, Cruz Pantojas has already “uplifted aims of intersectional advocacy and liberatory social justice work in their role here through outreach both across Tufts and the broader community.”

According to their biography, Cruz Pantojas is also a Dignity Project Mentor at the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College and at the Boston University School of Theology. They are also the co-chair of the Latinx Humanist Alliance and a Youth Fellow for “We Got Us,” which is “a grassroots collective supporting Black community members and allies.”

Nelson Winger expressed confidence in Anthony’s ability to further develop the Humanist chaplaincy here at Tufts.

[Cruz Pantojas'] educational background and his rich engagement with humanist thought, practice and communities, as well as his experiences working with young people in interfaith contexts, were among [Cruz Pantojas'] many strong qualities,Nelson Winger wrote in an email to the Daily. “I am delighted that Anthony has joined our Multifaith Chaplaincy team and am excited to see how the opportunities for humanist-rooted reflection and action deepen on our campus!

McGlothlen echoed Nelson Winger's confidence in the selection of Cruz Pantojas as the new Humanist chaplain.

“[Cruz Pantojas] has expressed a lot of interest in building relationships in this new role,” McGlothlen said. “Relationality is a very vital part of their understanding of humanism and a foundation for all the other goals they have mentioned.”

Cruz Pantojas formally joined Tufts in August. The Humanist community at Tufts has weekly gatherings at 5 p.m. on Fridays at the Interfaith Center, with Cruz Pantojas leading these services.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Anthony Cruz Pantojas graduated from Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School. However, Cruz Pantojas graduated from Andover Newton Theological School. The Daily regrets this error.