Amid deepening divisions within our nation and communities and an increasingly polarized civic landscape on and off campus, it is more important than ever to prepare students to engage in meaningful, trusting dialogue with one another. In response, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) today announced a new grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) to support the creation of a first-of-its-kind online course and credential in deliberative discourse. 

Designed for college and university faculty, the course will strengthen faculty, staff, and students’ ability to engage with each other in respectful ways that advance mutual understanding, particularly when encountering meaningful differences of belief, opinion, or thought. The offering will be developed and delivered by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), the nation’s leader in quality teaching and faculty development.

“Our nation’s cultural politics and partisan divide are tearing campuses apart. Controversies over free speech, trigger warnings, outlawed topics, international affairs, and academic programs addressing gender, identity, and racial/ethnic studies have turned open discussions into shouting matches and worse,” said CIC President Marjorie Hass. “We can’t think of a more pressing issue for the future of higher education and the country than restoring a sense of common purpose through meaningful, trusting dialogue. We are grateful to AVDF for funding this new online course and credential in deliberative discourse to help our member institutions and other campuses around the country provide their faculty, staff, and students with the tools for having constructive conversations on difficult issues.”

Distributed through ACUE’s presence on hundreds of campuses, as well as CIC’s membership of more than 600 independent colleges and universities, the online course offering will:

• Allow college educators to develop the skills to facilitate more effective conversations among students in class, online, and on campus;
• Utilize ACUE’s experience as the creator and provider of the highest-quality courses, pathways, and certifications;
• Feature demonstration videos and scenarios so educators have opportunities to envision themselves and their students in situations where best practices for productive discussions are needed; and
• Share information from leading experts, practitioners, and peers.

“Students with diverse backgrounds and beliefs come together in class. It’s imperative that professors have the skills and confidence to engage these differences in productive ways,” said Jonathan Gyurko, ACUE president and cofounder. “This new credential, thanks to the generous support of AVDF and ACUE’s longstanding collaboration with CIC, will prepare college instructors to foster the tolerant and respectful conditions necessary for learning and mutual understanding.”

This collaboration is an extension of a partnership between CIC and ACUE, grounded in Belong: An Inclusive Learning Community, a network of CIC member colleges and universities dedicated to making their campuses more welcoming and inclusive. Once the new course in deliberative discourse is finalized in Spring 2025, this ACUE offering will be made available at no additional cost to all members of the Belong community, providing thousands of faculty members with access to this essential and timely resource.