Profiles of Roothbert: Susan Purdy
Susan Purdy (Roothbert Fellow ’79-’84 and former Vice President for Fellowship) first learned of the Fund as a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Religion at Columbia. During her interview, she was asked that essential Roothbert question, “How do you define spirituality?” Susan replied spontaneously: “Spirituality is sacrifice, both small and writ large. Spirituality has informed my life through service to others.”
Born in Philadelphia, raised in San Francisco, and earning her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley, Susan, early on began to lead a life in pursuit of education, service, and intercultural connection. Her insatiable curiosity, devotion to service and sense of adventure have led her down many paths.
In 1959 she pulled up her California roots and decided to hitch-hike (for over a year) with a friend in Europe, during which time she met her husband, Peter, who was doing his military service in France. “Hitch-hiking made rendezvous easy, and we would go camping in Germany or Corsica. At the end of his tour, we traveled to Yugoslavia and Greece for two months and then both returned to our respective homes in the U.S.” Not long after that, they were married.
A photo of Susan and her husband Peter
“Peter and I agreed that we wanted to spend our professional lives performing some kind of service overseas,” recalled Susan. After celebrating their first anniversary in Laos, Susan and Peter lived and worked in a Tibetan refugee community in northern India for two years. They taught English and oversaw the medical supply distribution for the foundation’s medical van programs in the Himalayan foothills. In the village where they lived, Susan recalls, “I remember fondly watching the construction of a Tibetan Buddhist Temple from the ground up, writing a pamphlet about its construction and the significance of its art.”
Two years later, thanks to Peter’s employment with Church World Service, Susan moved with her family to Indonesia for five years, where she found ample opportunity to satisfy her passion for learning about other cultures and languages and to do what she could to lend a helping hand.
After returning to the states in 1973, Susan began to seriously reflect on her pathway, eventually deciding to pursue a doctorate in the Sociology of Religion at Columbia University. Having been raised Christian, having lived and worked in both a Tibetan Buddhist community and the largest Muslim community in the world, the study of religion and its impact on the social, economic and political lives of communities everywhere seemed a logical choice for academic exploration.* “I was a graduate student for eight years,” said Susan. “My dissertation, which explores the concept of civil religion as it applies to Indonesian democracy, is entitled “The Legitimation of Power and Authority in a Secular State: the Pancasila in Indonesia.”
“One of the many things which endeared me to the Roothbert Fund,” reports Susan, “was when I had finished my coursework and was embarking on the writing of the dissertation. I wrote a letter to Carl Solberg, thanking the Fund for supporting me all these years, and notifying him that I would not be reapplying for a renewal of my grant.” Carl wrote back: “'It seems like you are at a crossroads; enclosed please find the Fund’s application for renewal.’” Susan was very grateful for that.
After receiving her PhD, Susan faced a difficult professional decision: pursue a career in academia or a more people-oriented field. Susan opted for the latter and accepted a position with International House, a hub of support and cross-cultural understanding for international and American residents. After that, Susan served for eight years as the Director of Development and Alumni Affairs at the Quaker Brooklyn Friends School.
However, Susan’s vision of spirituality as sacrifice ultimately drew her towards a career in mentorship and rehabilitation. “I do not enjoy sitting around a table, talking about problems, and writing down on paper how we could solve them,” commented Susan. While mentoring at Women Care, an organization connecting formerly incarcerated women to mentors, Susan discovered a call to criminal justice.
“I became a mentor to a woman named Sonia. I met her family. I taught her how to balance a checkbook. We would shop for clothing together before her job interviews. We became very close friends,” remembered Susan. The friendship has endured for all these 28 years. And it was through Sonia, who had earned her bachelor’s degree at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility that she learned about the college program and the fulfillment she hoped to find through her doctoral degree.
“I have a doctorate”, Susan said to herself. “I have the credential that would allow me to teach at Bedford Hills!” So, Susan became a professor at Bedford Hills through Marymount Manhattan College, teaching for 10 years.
Susan’s interest in criminal justice has not waned. “That was the best, most gratifying job that I have ever had. And I stayed in touch with many women inside who are now out.” More recently, Susan became a volunteer for the Parole Preparation Project, and together with her team members, assisted parole-ready incarcerated folks to navigate the process and, hopefully, win their release.
Currently living in rural western Massachusetts, Susan and her husband remain actively involved in their local church in Charlemont. Susan is also a founding member of the Charlemont Forum, facilitating discussions on religion, politics, immigration, race, climate change, and other pertinent topics. “This year, we’re presenting a panel discussion on regenerative agriculture, food justice, and nutritional outcomes,” shared Susan. “Everybody is welcome. It’s like a 2-hour Pendle Hill.”
“I guess my life has always been one of service,” reflected Susan. The connections Susan has built through her service remain with her today. “Just last week,” she recalled, “I was in New York City to welcome home Deb, one of my former students at Bedford Hills who had been released after more than 20 years of incarceration. Her mother, who had not seen her daughter as a free woman for all that time, joined us for the weekend together with a community of other formerly incarcerated women now living and working in New York City.”
“I have stayed in touch with many fellow Roothbert Fellows. They all have had interesting lives, marked in the overwhelming number of cases by a devotion to service and an embrace of the values of community and altruism,” commented Susan. “This isn’t just a scholarship. It’s a fellowship.”
Susan embodies the adventure, inquisitiveness, and generosity of spirit that she attributes to the quintessential Roothbert Fellow.
Susan closed the discussion with a reiteration of spirituality as sacrifice. “Sacrifice has many forms. Sacrifice is giving to others.” Through her work and passion for service, Susan has led and continues to lead a life of inter-cultural connection, selflessness, and adventure.
*The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a country home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.1%), India (10.9%) and Bangladesh (9.2%). About 20% of Muslims live in the Arab world.