Sustained Dialogue Campus Network

Amy Lazarus Executive Director, SDCN

Objectives and Agenda

By the end of today, you will Agenda

1.

Have a working knowledge of the history, process, need, and impact of Sustained Dialogue

Welcome and Introductions Introduction to Sustained Dialogue at Tri-C and the SDCN network

2.
3.

Hear from SD participants

Envision the next steps for Sustained Dialogue at your institutions

Student Panel
Large group debrief: Working together to spread the program

Closing and next steps

Turn to the person next to you. Share your:

Name Role Organization/campus One thing youre very excited about right now in
your life

What interested you about this session?

Upon graduation, did students agree with the statement more or less often than when beginning college?
I tried to better understand someone else's views by imagining how an issue looks from his or her perspective. My college encourages contact among student from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds. I had serious conversations with students who are very different from me in terms of their religious beliefs, political opinions, or personal values. Im comfortable encouraging contact among students from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds.

I am skilled at understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Source: sample Items from National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) 2010 (750 Institutions, 500,000 students) and Community College Survey on Student Engagement

Students identified race/ethnicity, socioeconomic divisions, and sexual orientation as pressing needs to address
Students: In relation to each listed aspect of identity, please indicate the extent to which you feel there is a NEED on your campus to improve awareness, relations, and tension.

Source: Sustained Dialogue Campus Network Student Survey, Spring 2009, n=153

Employers rank the following abilities as most desired and most deficient in entry-level workers:

Solve problems and make decisions Resolve conflict and negotiate Cooperate with others Listen actively
These sought-after skills outcomes from SD prepare employees to work across lines of difference to address pressing needs.

SDCN is the college-focused arm of a powerful international movement for transforming conflictual relationships and building peace

Sustained Dialogue (SD) is a public peace process, conceptualized by US diplomat Hal Saunders, from his experience in the Arab-Israeli peace process, including the Camp David Peace Accords and the Cold War dialogues of the 1980s. In 1999, Princeton students adapted SD to address identitybased tension, transform relationships across lines of difference, and improve campus culture. SDCNs mission is to develop everyday leaders who engage differences as strengths to improve their campuses, workplaces, and communities.

In their words: Students talk about SD

SDCN has a track record of success bringing Sustained Dialogue to college campuses nationwide, and demand for our programming remains high

Current member institutions include: Colorado College, Cornell College, Cuyahoga Community College, Denison University, Dickinson College, Harvard College, Montana State University, Princeton University, Roger Williams University, Saint John Fisher College, Susquehanna University, Stevenson High School in Chicago, University of Alabama- Tuscaloosa, University of Georgia, University of Richmond Law School, and University of Virginia

Global reach: The National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia Workplaces and Communities: The Bridgespan Group, YearUp, Atlas Service Corps, Turning the Page, Four Collaborating Organizations in Oakland, California

SDCN APPROACH
Definition of Dialogue

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Dialogue is a process of genuine interaction through which human beings listen to each other deeply enough to be changed by what they learn. No participant gives up her or his identity, but each recognizes enough of the others valid human claims so that he or she will act differently toward the other.
Dr. Harold Saunders, Founder and President of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue (IISD)

5 Stage Process

SDCN prepares students and others to be engaged citizens and for serious discussions of social identity:
TRANSFORM RELATIONSHIPS DESIGN COMMUNITY CHANGE

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IDENTITY

INFORMED DECISION MAKING COMMUNICATING ACROSS DIFFERENCES

Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, sex, age, ability, faith, politics Traumas and glories

ACTIVE LISTENING
IDENTIFY ROOT CAUSES BUILDING EMPATHY DEVELOPING COURAGE TO ACT FAIRLY

INTERESTS

self-interests, community interests

POWER PERCEPTIONS/MISPERCEPTIONS/ST EREOTYPES PATTERNS OF INTERACTION

SD Leads to Community-Building Actions

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PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, Princeton, NJ: Students invited the first African American Supreme Court Justice of New York to be an honorary class member, after he was turned away from Princeton in 1936 for his skin color. He graciously accepted in front of thousands in pre-graduation ceremonies. CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Cleveland, OH: Students and faculty across 3 campuses came together to brainstorm student-supported ways to raise levels of student success (see right). UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, Charlottesville, VA: As a result of the campus-wide Day of Dialogue, SD students launched joint dialogues among students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Tri-C students identified issues to address, linked directly to the Colleges Strategic Plan:

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Issues

Improving the experience/integration of working students/parents Improving the LGBT student experience Cultural insensitivity Tension around police Lack of support for learning disabilities Ageism Integration and support for veteran and military students Sexual harassment Class awareness/poverty Religious intolerance Financial anxiety Domestic Violence Safety Increasing student participation and involvement Building more means to student success

Students identify issues and solutions to focuses of the colleges strategic plan

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SD is part of a larger institutional commitment to diversity, inclusion, civic, and life skills
Student recruitment Student retention Admissions One-time campus speakers and events Multicultural efforts Veterans Upward Bound ACCESS Women in Transition

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Access and Success

Climate and Intergroup Relations

Institutional Viability and Vitality

Diversity Advisory Councils Chief Diversity Officer Sustainability efforts Image/branding

Education and Scholarship

Faculty recruitment, retention Curriculum Service learning Leadership development opportunities

Adapted from AAC&U Assessing Campus Diversity Initiatives

What type of students do you want your institutions to produce?

Conflict management skill set is important and marketable for future employment
Community Responses Students

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88% rated skills important or very important for professions 81% said important or very important in hiring decisions for employment Professionals strongly endorsed a conflict management skill set for potential employees 25.4% reported their current employees would benefit from courses for credit

Report high levels of personal conflict, experiencing conflict fairly often or very often in their:

daily life (44.6%)

family relationships (36.4%) intimate relationships (21.7%) work environment (25.6%) school environment (12%)

Source: Tri-C Market Research

SD contributes to the growing demand for higher order skills

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Source: New Visions, New Designs, New Measures for Success. Presentation by Alma Clay-Pedersen, Lee Knefelkamp, & Carol Geary Sneider. AAC&U Greater Expectations, June 17, 2009.

Skills for effective workers are the same as skills for civic agency

Embrace complexity Deliberate on issues Forge bonds in common pursuit of public action Discover shared identity despite profound differences

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Make prudent judgments and make collective decisions

Communicate effectively Organize resources for work Think critically

Civic work builds crucial employability skills, and a flourishing economy requires many of the same skills that support citizenship. -Martha Nussbaum

Source: Martha Nussbaum Not for Profit Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, Princeton and Oxford Press, 2010.

Civic Competencies: Key skills participants develop in SD

1. Learning to learn from the experience of interaction with others. 2. Learning the art and practice of dialogue as the medium for developing and conducting productive relationships. 3. Learning the tools (e.g., listening, questioning with a purpose, dialogue, deliberation) and concepts (relationship) for probing and analyzing experience in ways that produce defensible conclusions. 4. Developing and internalizing a sense of respect for others, fairness, decency, justice, right and wrong; honing the ability to judge; cultivating the courage to act fairly. 5. Learning how to create space for dialogue on difference and for the peaceful resolution of differences. 6. Learning to develop information about how members of a community define community problems, talk about them, frame options for dealing with them, and decide on courses of action.

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Students cite several impacts on their interests after participating in SD

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Agree or Strongly Agree (n=167)

Discussing personal experiences with others is a valuable learning method. Skills I have gained through SD are relevant to other aspects of my life, such as volunteering in the community, work environments, etc.

95.2% 93%

I am comfortable working to resolve conflictsammy value the diversity on the campus and feel I in learning community across racial or ethnic lines. from it. I am thinking critically about the experiences of others

88% 89%
88%

SDCN alumni infuse their leadership skills in every sector of society

SD Alumni enter the workforce aware of how their identities and backgrounds impact their interactions with others, be it with colleagues, clients, or supervisors. SD Alumni are sought after by some of the most competitive hiring organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, including McKinsey Consulting, Bain Consulting, Teach for America, the White House, community organizations, and Fortune 500 corporations.

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SD was a very transformative process for me. It gave me a sense of identity and space at my school. It really taught me leadership skills, and moderating and facilitating. Carrying things on past graduation, I bring this with me wherever I go. SD alum, former White House Office of Social Innovation intern, current student at Harvard Kennedy School/MIT Sloan The experiences I had *in SD+ shaped the way I interact in general, including sitting around the client room and trying to diffuse tension. SD alum, former consultant at Bain, current MBA candidate at UVA Darden School of Business Im impressed with the way SD helped me interview clients, understand power dynamics, and value various perspectives. SD can help people to be effective in their own professions. SD alum, student at Yale Law SD alumni are more confident in themselves - their ability to work in their communities and interact with people of different backgrounds. Volunteering or tutoring is one thing, but until youve really looked at yourself hard and done so in relation to others experiences, youre not as effective as a leader as you can be. - SD alum, TFA 2004-2007, currently third year at Washington University School of Law

SD affects long term impact and outcomes Outcome Sample Indicators Testimony

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Personal impact of SD

Allies for other groups Increased awareness of how individual biases affect interactions Greater empathy

My GPA boosted dramatically my junior year, and I owe it to SD. Engaging in SD made me engage in other arenas, like the classroom and community.

Leadership Capacity and Civic Engagement

Positive shifts in values, knowledge, and skills Positive civic engagement outcomes in participants of diverse backgrounds Post-college civic behaviors (advocacy, volunteerism, philanthropy, Initiating a dialogue or diversity initiative)

Moderating a SD gave me the opportunity to grow from a tentative and passive student to a campus leader, introducing me to a civically focused life.

STUDENT VOICES:
Panel with Sustained Dialogue participants

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How can we work together to enhance the spread of the program?

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1. What might this look like at your institution? What

structures or strategies will enable more people to participate in SD?

2. How can executives/administrators/faculty support this

initiative? What does support look like?

3. How will you invite others (people, institutions) into

Sustained Dialogue (into the process, into the organization, into the community)?

4. How do you want to be involved?

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Questions? Comments?

Contact SDCN: Amy Lazarus, Executive Director

amy@sdcampusnetwork.org, 202.393.7643

Contact at Tri-C: Jen Batton, Director, Global Issues Resource Center and
Library, Jennifer.Batton@tri-c.edu, 216.987.2231 Andre Burton, Director, Diversity & Inclusion Andre.Burton@tri-c.edu 216.987.4773

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A Snapshot of Tri-C Student Leaders

Moderator Ethnicity Participant Ethnicity

8 Moderators
Asian Black/Africa n-American Caucasian 25% Unknown

27 Participants
African 4% 4% 18% 37% 37% unknown Black/Afric anAmerican Caucasian

13% 37% 25%

A Snapshot of Tri-C Student Leaders (continued)

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Gender
20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Female Male

Moderators Participants

A Snapshot of Tri-C Student Leaders (continued)

Campus Representation
Moderators Participants
12 10

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4 2 2

East

West

Metro

The Relationship Model

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Partnered Prompt:

Which topics do you feel most prepared to

lead conversations about regarding diversity or social identity?

What are some aspects of social identity

that you feel less comfortable leading discussion around or teaching others about?

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What norms can we agree on now to create an intentional space where we can learn from and with each other?

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Community Norms

Use I statements: Participants represent

themselves, and are not representatives of social or professional groups Honor confidentiality Listen harder when you disagree Share air time Assume that we are all here with the best intentions Practice empathy put yourself in the other persons shoes

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SD has perceived lasting effects on alumni

Dr. Andrea Diazs doctoral dissertation (2009) focused on the influences of SD on post-graduate civic engagement. Dr. Diazs study provides evidence that participation in Sustained Dialogue has long-term perceived effects on civic behaviors and community engagement, such as:

Engaging in volunteerism, philanthropy, service, or advocacy; Becoming involved in ones local community, such as joining a civic association; or

Initiating a dialogue or diversity initiative in the workplace or in local elementary schools.

Research resulted in an Inventory of Civic Impacts. Twenty-nine themes were categorized into the five domains of cognitions, behaviors, attitudes, skills, and hopes and plans for the future.

Students identify issues and solutions to focuses of the colleges strategic plan

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