Upcoming Holy Days: Requesting religious accommodations for academic and work responsibilities

March 8, 2023

Dear Vanderbilt Students, 

In the coming weeks, many religious and spiritual traditions represented on our campus will be observing significant holy days.

We are writing to remind you of your right to observe holy days in accordance with your beliefs and to encourage you to be proactive when planning academic or work responsibilities around them. Faculty are also being notified by the Provost, and an informal conversation with a professor, chair, dean or other supervisor should be sufficient to accommodate you. If it is not, formal accommodations for religious observances may be requested through the Equal Opportunity and Access Office. Please be aware the formal process may take two weeks or more. If you have concerns, staff from the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life (religiouslife@vanderbilt.edu) or the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (edi@vanderbilt.edu) are available to respond to questions about religious observance and practice. However, it may also be helpful for you to revisit the policy of your college, school or other administrative unit that addresses religious observance.

Many faith traditions, including Bahá’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Jainism, Bahá’i and Earth-based spiritualities, observe important holy days through the end of the academic year. The Vanderbilt Holy Days Calendar is available here.

Our Muslim community members will be fasting for the holy month of Ramadan beginning on Wednesday evening, March 22, through the evening of Friday, April 21. The evening of Friday, April 21, through the evening of Saturday, April 22, is Eid al-Fitr, a community celebration of the end of Ramadan.

The beginning of Eid al-Fitr may shift, depending on sighting the moon, and cultural practice may extend the observance to three days. This period includes the end of classes and may include important academic deadlines at many of Vanderbilt’s colleges and schools. Muslim students and employees will be fasting (abstaining from food and water) for an extended time during daylight hours, which may result in less stamina and a need for evening accommodations.

In addition, our Jewish community members will be observing Pesach, or Passover, from the evening of Wednesday, April 5, through sundown on Thursday, April 13. There are important observances on the evenings of Wednesday, April 5 and Tuesday, April 11, as well as all day on Thursday, April 6, Friday, April 7, Wednesday, April 12, and Thursday, April 13.

Accommodations for dietary restrictions during Ramadan and Passover are available through Campus Dining.

While faculty are being notified by the Provost about these holy days, students should alert faculty about their own plans to observe holy days. If you did not communicate with your professor about accommodations at the beginning of the semester, please do so now so you and your professor have enough time to make necessary adjustments, if needed.

We are proud of the diverse religious and spiritual traditions observed by members of the Vanderbilt community, and we will you all the best in the weeks to come. 

G.L. Black
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

Christopher Ross Donald
University Chaplain and Director of the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life

C. André Christie-Mizell
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School

Tiffiny A. Tung
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

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November 30, 2022

Dear Vanderbilt students, 

In the coming weeks and months, many religious and spiritual traditions represented on our campus will be observing significant holy days. 

We are writing to remind you of your right to observe holy days in accordance with your beliefs and encourage you to be proactive when planning academic or work responsibilities around them. Faculty are also being notified by the Provost, and an informal conversation with a professor, chair, dean or other supervisor should be sufficient to accommodate you. If it is not, formal accommodations for religious observances may be requested through the Equal Opportunity and Access Office Be aware that the formal process may take two weeks or more.  

If you’d prefer to discuss your concerns or have questions, staff from the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life (religiouslife@vanderbilt.edu) or the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (edi@vanderbilt.edu) are also available to respond to questions about religious observance and practice. However, it may be helpful for you to revisit the policy of your college, school or other administrative unit that addresses religious observance.

Many faith traditions, including Bahá’I, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Jainism, Bahá’i and Earth-based spiritualities, observe important holy days through the end of 2022 and in the winter months of 2023. The Vanderbilt Holy Days Calendar is available here. 

Looking forward to the spring, our Muslim community members will be fasting for the holy month of Ramadan beginning on Wednesday evening, March 22, through the evening of Friday, April 21. The evening of Friday, April 21 through the evening of Saturday, April 22, is Eid al-Fitr, a community celebration of the end of Ramadan. 

The beginning of Eid al-Fitr may shift, depending on sighting the moon, and cultural practice may extend the observance to three days. This period includes the end of classes and may include important academic deadlines at many of Vanderbilt’s colleges and schools. Muslim students and employees will be fasting (abstaining from food and water) for an extended time during daylight hours, which may result in less stamina and a need for evening accommodations.

In the spring semester, our Jewish community members will be observing Pesach, or Passover, from the evening of Wednesday, April 5, through sundown on Thursday, April 13. There are important observances on the evening of Wednesday, April 5, and all-day Thursday, April 6, and Friday, April 7; the evening of Tuesday, April 11, and all-day Wednesday, April 12, and Thursday, April 13, are also non-work days. Accommodations for dietary restrictions are available.

While faculty are also being notified by the Provost about these holy days, students should alert faculty about their own plans to observe holy days.  Please plan to email your professor at the beginning of the semester so that they have enough time to make necessary adjustments to their instructional plan if needed.

We are proud of the diverse religious and spiritual traditions observed by members of the Vanderbilt community, and we will you all the best in the weeks and months to come.

G.L. Black
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

C. André Christie-Mizell
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School

Tiffiny A. Tung
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Christopher Ross Donald
University Chaplain and Director of the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life

September 12, 2022

Dear Vanderbilt community,

We are writing today with a reminder that our Jewish colleagues and friends will be observing the High Holy Days in the coming weeks.

We encourage students, faculty, and staff to be proactive in requesting religious accommodations for academic or work responsibilities. If an informal conversation with a professor, chair, dean, or other supervisor does not resolve the question satisfactorily, the relevant formal processes may take two weeks or more. Formal requests for religious accommodations may be submitted through the Equal Opportunity and Access Office, if needed. Staff from the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life (religiouslife@vanderbilt.edu) or the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (edi@vanderbilt.edu) are also available to respond to questions about religious observance and practice. However, it may be helpful for students, faculty and staff to revisit the policy of their college, school or other administrative unit that addresses religious observance.

Our Jewish community members will be observing the High Holy Days between sundown on Sunday, September 25 and sundown on Wednesday, October 5. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, begins at sundown on Sunday, September 25 and concludes at sundown on Tuesday, September 27. Yom Kippur, a day of penitence and prayer, begins at sundown, Tuesday, October 4 and concludes at sundown on Wednesday, October 5. Avoid scheduling important deadlines, events, and activities on these dates. Students and employees may be fasting on Yom Kippur. The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a period of penitence and renewal, also including particular days for fasting. Finally, Sukkot, recalling the Israelite people wandering in the desert after their delivery from enslavement, will be observed between sundown on Sunday, October 9 and sundown Sunday October 16. The first two days, sundown Sunday, October 9 through sundown Tuesday, October 11, are considered non-working days. Some Jewish community members may observe additional non-working days—Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah—at the conclusion of Sukkot, from sundown Sunday, October 16 through sundown on Tuesday, October 18.

Many faith traditions observe important holy days through the fall semester. Hindu communities will celebrate Navratri, a nine-day festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil, followed by Dussehra. Hindu, Sikh, and Jain community members will celebrate Diwali, a festival of lights, in late October. Earth-based spiritualities will observe Mabon, an autumn harvest festival, and Samhain, a memorial to ancestors and those who have died. Muslim, Sikh, and Bahá’í communities will celebrate holidays commemorating important leaders for those faiths. For a more comprehensive list of holidays celebrated by communities of faith represented on campus, the 2022–23 Vanderbilt Holy Days Calendar may be found here.

As this semester begins, and as our Jewish community members celebrate the start of the religious calendar, we wish you all a sweet and happy new year.

Dr. André L. Churchwell

Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer for Vanderbilt University

Christopher Ross Donald, MDiv, EdD

University Chaplain and Director, Center for Spiritual and Religious Life