Activation Plan

Below is an overview of some campus activities:

1. UMass Amherst created the Community, Democracy, and Dialogue (CDD) initiative to help our campus community navigate challenging, complex, and controversial subjects in ways that bring everyone together. The campus has committed $150,000 in grant funds to support grassroots efforts by students, staff, and faculty to promote diverse discourse and open dialogue on critical global and domestic social issues. 
2. UMass Amherst’s College of Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) has made a 10-year commitment to studying and teaching about democracy and governance through the SBS Democracy Project. The project includes faculty hiring, faculty and student fellows to advance teaching and research on democracy and governance, and inter-institutional research teams to study how democracy is practiced across the United States. 
3. Since Fall 2024, the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences has sponsored the Democracy in Troubled Times (DTT) series. DTT is a campus-wide initiative led by SBS faculty that features speakers and events focused on issues related to democracy in the US. Begun as an election year initiative, DTT continues as a way to learn about the history, theory, and practice of democracy, reflect on old and new challenges facing democracy, and act to strengthen and enrich democratic politics.   
4. UMass Amherst’s College of Humanities and Fine Arts created the Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy to honor the legacy of Daniel Ellsberg and to promote public understanding, scholarship, and activism in support of compelling and sustainable alternatives to militarism, authoritarianism, and environmental degradation and in support of democratic solutions to conflict. It recognizes that some of the world’s most pressing problems are interrelated and can only be resolved adequately through multidisciplinary solutions. 
5. UMass Amherst is committed to helping municipalities understand the intersection of technology, governance, and democracy. Last spring, the University’s Public Interest Technology (PIT) initiatives developed a pilot project to help towns and small cities learn about and use AI responsibly and productively. Built in cooperation with the leadership of Belchertown, Massachusetts, by a team from UMass Amherst’s Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, the University is committed to expanding this pilot across the region and state. 
6. Managed by UMass Amherst’s Donahue Institute, the Civic Initiative brings international scholars and students to campus for immersive educational exchanges focused on democratic leadership. Programs are designed for attendees to improve their leadership skills, increase their subject knowledge, and learn about U.S. culture.