The Institute for Citizens and Scholars (C&S) is leading a national effort to reshape how colleges and universities foster civic engagement on campus. An initiative of C&S, College Presidents for Civic Preparedness unites 100+ campus leaders nationwide to equip students with the skills to engage in civic life and strengthen their communities. The initiative offers a Faculty Institute, that helps faculty members develop the skills and confidence they need to teach students how to engage in dialogue across differences. C&S is on a mission to help young people collaborate across differences to tackle the toughest challenges our country faces.
In August 2023, C&S launched the Faculty Institute with the goal of equipping professors to create spaces where civil discourse can thrive. Now in its fifth iteration, the workshop has become a cornerstone of the College Presidents for Civic Preparedness initiative. Held at institutions like Davidson College, Duke University, Montclair State University, and Rutgers University, the workshops bring together faculty from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to practice the civic virtues that underlie civil discourse, such as listening, respect, humility, and community awareness. After the two-day workshop, faculty agree to continue learning together, through virtual learning opportunities, a community of purpose, over the following 18 months.
Each uniquely designed workshop is created to help faculty address the challenges of teaching in today’s complex and often divisive climate. One of the key elements of the workshop is its emphasis on practice over theory. In addition to discussions about the precepts of civil discourse, participants role-play difficult conversations and engage in deep listening. Faculty members aren’t just learning about civic engagement—they’re practicing the civic virtues and skills they need to foster dialogue and collaboration on their campuses.
Mecca Madyum, Assistant Professor of Civically Engaged Teaching and Learning at Drew University, and Elton Skendaj, Director of the Democracy and Governance Program at Georgetown University, are two past Institute participants who returned to co-lead and deliver the most recent workshop in January. Both have seen firsthand the impact the program can have on faculty and students alike.
Skendaj, a political scientist with experience in dialogue facilitation, shared how the workshop helped him refine his teaching approach. Before attending the C&S workshop, Skendaj observed a sense of fear among students and faculty about expressing controversial ideas in class.
“There was a concern that ideas expressed in class could appear on social media or in the Washington Post,” he said. “To address this, I developed ground rules for discussing tension-filled topics in a respectful and open way.”
However, after participating in the workshop, Skendaj was emboldened to take his teaching to the next level. “I met leaders from different campuses working through similar issues,” he recalled. “Coming out of it, I was emboldened to be more ambitious. Initially, I planned to integrate more dialogue into my courses, but after the workshop, I thought, why not overhaul my class to ensure students both participate and facilitate dialogue?”
Madyum, who has also led workshops at January’s Institute, emphasized the importance of building relationships and trust in order to work effectively across differences.
“Our ability to understand who we are and how we are positioned in society by our shared histories and institutions means we need to build an ecosystem where relationships are valued,” she explained. “To work across differences, we need to acknowledge our biases and develop practices to work around them.”
The success of the workshops is evident in the feedback from participating faculty and students. One student wrote, “[My instructor] fostered an amazing environment within her class. She led with an accepting attitude and made all students feel comfortable. We talked about how to listen to others through the ‘in your shoes’ project and created class guidelines to make everyone feel comfortable talking in class.” Another student shared, “The professor approached us as a facilitator of dialogue. He imparted knowledge upon us but made it clear that he was doing just as much learning as we were. He gave everyone space to share their thoughts and never made us feel bad for them. He only sought for us to become more informed participants.”
These success stories are central to C&S’s larger vision of creating a strong American democracy and a flourishing civil society where all people can thrive. According to Janett Cordovés, senior program director at C&S, “Our goal is to make college campuses hubs for civic learning, including knowledge, dispositions, and skills, where faculty and presidents work together to reach 100% of their students.”
Cordovés shared the example of American University. There, the president, Jonathan Alger, a member of College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, worked together to launch The Civic Life initiative at American.
“This is the bridge we are hoping to build,” Cordovés said. “It is one that encourages civic engagement to move from inside the classroom to become a cornerstone of the university.”
Cordovés and her team are working closely with college presidents, faculty, and staff to create an environment where civic virtues and civil discourse are prioritized.
“The feedback we’ve received from faculty and administrators has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “One thing we’ve heard from 100% of the presidents in our coalition is that they can only go as far as their faculty is willing to go.”
The workshops play a crucial role in this work. By empowering 40 faculty members at a time with the tools and confidence to facilitate civil discourse, the C&S is helping to build a foundation for a more engaged and thoughtful generation of students.
As the program continues to expand, C&S is hopeful that more colleges and universities will embrace the idea of creating spaces for productive conversations and collaborative problem-solving. The faculty workshops are just one part of a broader effort to reshape the culture of higher education and to ensure that students graduate not only with the skills to succeed professionally but with the tools to participate in a vibrant democracy.
