Fostering Productive Dialogue
A bedrock of premier universities and campus life is participating in productive dialogue while fostering understanding and empathy for one another. We are launching more programming and resources to help foster productive understanding, communication, and dialogue among members of our community.
Faculty-Led Working Groups
The Office of the Provost has received and reviewed reports from faculty working groups convened in summer 2024, each assigned to a topic related to a community challenge. Based on these reports, the university has identified a set of recommendations to advance this fall and in the future.
The Provost’s Office charged the groups to develop at least two or three recommendations that could reasonably be implemented within the 2024-25 academic year.
The working group topics include identifying opportunities to encourage open dialogue in community conversations, promoting free expression while maintaining a culture of respect, convening thought leadership around difficult topics, and identifying pathways to greater inclusion.
Educational Programming
The university provides educational programming focused on inclusivity, diversity, and conflict management for all incoming students. This semester, the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement launched a new online training module, mandatory for incoming students, called “Raising Higher: Celebrating Diversity, Striving Toward Equity & Creating an Inclusive GW.” Students also learn about university policies and reporting options for bias, discrimination, and harassment. GW also will again hold a session for students that explores salient topics that have impact on the university community, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the challenges of navigating the politics of Israel and Palestine on campus.
In addition, the Division for Student Affairs (DSA), Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC), and the Nashman Center are working to help students become better equipped to support one another and engage with challenging ideas. This includes a greater emphasis on creating opportunities for authentic peer-to-peer dialogue. To support that work, DSA has brought in external consultants to train student leaders and DSA staff members on how to host listening circles and foster difficult dialogues across differences. This training will be extended to broader groups of students as the fall semester progresses.
Similarly, the Nashman Center will host its annual Institute for Citizen Leaders training for more than 70 student leaders, addressing collaborative leadership, respectfully entering communities, and engaging in dialogue across differences.
The MSSC also will offer educational programming with a focus on race, ethnicity, and culture, and gender and sexuality from a holistic and intersectional lens. All programs will foster dialogue that invites multiple perspectives and lived experiences.
Finally, highlighting the importance of conflict education, the university has evolved the mission of Student Rights and Responsibilities over the past few years, and the office is now called Conflict Education and Student Accountability (CESA). The office offers the university community extensive conflict education resources and workshops to help students build conflict navigation strategies. Using restorative practices, CESA supports accountability and equitable resolutions to harm.
Free Speech Discussions and Resources
Recognizing the complexities of free expression, the university will continue to undertake programming that is intended to foster greater understanding and informed discussions regarding community rights and responsibilities. Information about events or opportunities will be shared with the community as they are available.
The university provides a resource page with information and FAQs regarding free expression at GW.
Classroom Dialogue and Debate
Difficult and occasionally uncomfortable conversations are a hallmark of a rigorous academic environment, but our classrooms also must feel welcoming and inclusive to all and free from harassment based on, for example, race, gender, national origin (including shared ancestry), and gender identity. GW remains fully committed to supporting academic freedom for our students and faculty. However, we recognize the tension that sometimes exists between free expression and inclusivity and are continuing to solicit feedback from our community about ways to navigate this space.