President’s Initiative on Civil Discourse | Office of the President | The University of Vermont(title)

Today’s students—tomorrow’s leaders—urgently need the capacity to engage in frank, open conversation with people of differing viewpoints. Society —in America and around the world— faces profound, even existential, challenges that require open, informed debate.

University of Vermont students and faculty are eager to contribute to solutions that bridge political, social, economic, cultural, geographical, ideological, religious, and generational divides. Lasting solutions can be built through respectful and constructive dialogue among people who hold diverging opinions, perspectives, and beliefs. In other words, through civil discourse. By learning to appreciate one another’s viewpoints, exchange ideas, and seek mutual understanding, especially in the midst of disagreement or controversy, UVM graduates will create the better future we imagine for them and the generations that follow. 

“We must provide students practice and training in democracy, just as we expect them to master other important skills. Public universities like UVM are uniquely situated to accomplish this goal. I believe it’s in our mandate to do so for the public good.” 

Suresh Garimella, Former UVM President

To underscore our commitment to student success and advance the university’s role in improving the health of our societies, UVM is launching the President’s Initiative on Civil Discourse. Through this new Initiative, UVM will lead by example, demonstrating how institutions of higher education can more fully, more credibly, and more effectively embrace their responsibilities to students—and to broader society. The Initiative will build upon and amplify several initiatives at UVM that support the free exchange of ideas, and develop constructive new opportunities through greater urgency, resources, collaboration, and creativity.

Imagine a world where citizens welcome divergent opinions and weigh them on their merits, where neighbors and strangers are open to understanding each other’s backgrounds and identities as part of who they are rather than determinants of who they must be, where differences of opinion lead to robust conversations that compel people to reexamine their certainties, and where people work together to build from mutually shared values to mutually shared solutions. The President’s Initiative on Civil Discourse will make this vision real, practicing the principles of engaged dialogue and cultural and intellectual pluralism within our institution and beyond, throughout Vermont, and everywhere our students and graduates go. 

President’s Initiative on Civil Discourse Building Blocks

a person speaks at a podium while an audience member looks on

Presidential Lecture Series

Each year, UVM chooses a theme of relevance to contemporary society and sponsors several lectures on that theme under the banner of the Presidential Lecture Series. The Series strives to make academic work, reliable information, and thoughtful deliberation accessible to the widest possible audience.
the words university press through the lens of a a pair of glasses

University of Vermont Press

Through the recently launched UVM Press, UVM Libraries leads a global movement to make knowledge more accessible, timely, and free—for all people. Building upon the tradition of open, constructive debate established by the Janus Forum, the Press will soon launch the Janus Texts series.
a professor sits in a chair gesturing with his hands while a class looks on

Patrick Leahy Honors College

UVM’s Patrick Leahy Honors College is a residential college enrolling some of the most capable students from across the nation and around the globe. It recently launched a new curriculum structured around interdisciplinary seminars that address pressing, and often perplexing, societal challenges.
A view of Old Mill and the UVM green in spring.

Our Common Ground

The fabric of our campus community is woven around six values shared by students, faculty, and staff: Respect, Integrity, Innovation, Openness, Justice, and Responsibility.

Our Commitment
a group of students sit around a table debating

Lawrence Debate Union

The award-winning, internationally recognized Lawrence Debate Union helps students significantly improve their critical thinking and skills in research, analysis, and communication through the practice of structured argumentation and persuasion.
president garimella walks and talks with a student surrounded by trees

Intergroup Dialogue Program

UVM has established an Intergroup Dialogue program for students, faculty, and staff. Principles of Intergroup Dialogue are used to facilitate conversations between groups and promote constructive discussion of charged topics and controversial issues.
a student gestures with their hands while a room of observers listen intently

Presidential Leadership Conversations

The Presidential Leadership Conversations equip future leaders with an understanding of the power of evidence-based civil discourse, especially when opinions and backgrounds are very different.
a professor stands in the middle of a lecture hall while students listen intently

Catamount Core Curriculum

Required of all undergraduates, is designed to expose students to the intellectual breadth of the liberal arts, develop the skills needed to integrate and apply diverse areas of knowledge, and build the foundations for lifelong learning and active participation in local and global communities.

Foundational Learning
a student edits an article on a computer screen in a news room

Center for Community News

The Center for Community News (CCN), funded by the Knight Foundation, staffs local news outlets with student journalists, greatly expanding access to reliable, balanced local news. CCN strengthens a key pillar of American democracy: an informed citizenry.
the floor of the state house from above showcasing the many desks, chairs, and people engaged in a legislative session

Legislative Internship Program

This College of Arts and Sciences program matches students with legislators in Montpelier, engaging them with the political process, policy research, development, and debate. Connecting them with real-world problems and with non-profits, corporations, and citizens throughout Vermont.
a person in a lab coat oversees a student pipetting liquid into a test tube

Larner College of Medicine: Professionalism

Members of the Larner College community embrace the principles of professionalism in interactions with patients, students, and colleagues. Professionalism at Larner College means integrity, accountability, compassion, altruism, social responsibility, cultural humility, kindness, and respect.
7 individuals standing in a group smiling while talking to each other

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

UVM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) provides a platform for engaging in thoughtful dialogue on diverse and important topics through lectures and short programs such as Political Parties Across American History, Banned Books Club, The Future of the U.S. Refugee Program, and more.

UVM OLLI

Future Opportunities

Future Opportunities
Leahy Honors College minor/certificate in civil discourse 

Students will take a series of interdisciplinary courses focused on contemporary issues, emphasizing leadership, research, and service, leading to a minor/certificate in civic engagement.		 Leahy Honors College Civil Discourse Scholars-in-Residence 

A selected cohort of civic leaders will lead masterclasses on civil discourse / leadership / service for undergraduates.		 Bennington College collaboration on civil discourse 

UVM and Bennington would teach a collaborative course related to civil discourse open to students from both institutions.
College-level Civil Discourse Fellows 

Following the model of Presidential Leadership Conversations, specific schools and colleges will offer opportunities for their students to engage with one another in discourse around contemporary issues. 		Video Tutorials on Free Speech and Hate Speech 

General Counsel will create a series of videos to educate student leaders and others about the differences between free speech and hate speech.		 Student Orientation 

New students will engage in programs to learn, practice, and promote civil discourse during orientation.

Civil Discourse Leadership Collaborative

  • Amer Ahmed, Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence
  • Erica Caloiero, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
  • Jonathan D’Amore, Chief of Staff to the President
  • Monica Delisa, President and CEO, UVM Foundation
  • Jennifer Dickinson, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Student Success
  • Bryn Geffert, Dean of University Libraries
  • Wendy Koenig, Executive Director of Government Relations
  • David Jenemann, Dean of the Patrick Leahy Honors College
  • Sharon Reich Paulsen, Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel
  • Joel Seligman, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
  • Katharine Shepherd, Dean of the College of Education and Social Services