Democracy Starts in the Classroom

This year, 81 faculty from diverse disciplines across our network joined the Faculty Institute—an 18-month journey to embed civil discourse and civic development into their teaching. Working within a growing community of purpose—which doubled in size this year—they embraced challenging topics, facilitated brave conversations, and modeled intellectual humility. More than encouraging students to speak up, listen, and engage, these faculty members have become champions of broader change at their institutions.

Elizabeth Matto (Rutgers University) implements the tools and practices she learned at the Faculty Institute into her coursework. “These skills are like the ground rules exercise I use in class as guidance for the semester. It’s not quite an insurance policy, but more like an inoculation, helping the class manage heated conversations and handle difficult moments.”

Kevin Tan (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) developed a creative superhero exercise to help his social work students think about how to support their younger clients to have difficult conversations. “They came up with some really fascinating ideas. Like, my superhero would be one with like really big ears because it’s really important to listen to other people.

“A small group conversation allows the students to have more authentic, real dialogue across difference.” Sherry Kao (Georgetown University) believes giving students autonomy not only makes them more comfortable sharing their thoughts but also fosters deeper connections.

“At the core of this idea of civil discourse is how are we able to communicate our values in a way that we are coming together to share ideas primarily, and not with the goal of changing anyone’s mind, per se, but to be able to hear all of the possibilities that exist.” Mecca Madyun (Drew University) teaches civil discourse not to change minds, but to strengthen mutual understanding.

See more of what faculty are doing on campuses in Unscripted Campus Conversations and the 2025 Impact Report.