Capacity Building Around Civil Discourse at UTSA

As educators, we are committed to nurturing within UTSA students the capacity for robust and constructive civil discourse. Through various academic programs, the university empowers students to navigate complex discussions and challenging issues. By fostering an ethos of mutual respect and intellectual curiosity, we champion the ideals of free speech while also fostering the development of a new generation of informed and engaged citizens.

Efforts in this area are centered around three focus areas:

• Students: Offer students courses, co-curricular activities and workshops that help them to build skills in engaging with different perspectives and understanding free speech.
• Faculty and Staff: Provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to strengthen classroom and campus dialogue and resolve conflicts
• Community: Extending efforts into the wider San Antonio community by developing interuniversity initiatives and community partnerships 

Faculty Learning Community

Academic Innovation will launch the Civil Discourse Faculty Learning Community in September. Through this cohort training experience, faculty members will work through common classrooms dynamics to create conditions where respectful conversations can thrive. Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applications are due on September 6 ^th.

Center for Dialogue and Deliberation – College of Liberal and Fine Arts

Led by Department of Communication faculty members Sara DeTurk and Laurie Lewis, this initiative has trained over 50 UTSA students to serve as dialogue facilitators, including Top Scholars, Terry Scholars, RowdyCorps members and other interested students. The project currently has 11 students committed as Dialogue Associates who will help to lead campus and community dialogues. The Center is hosting a series of Democracy Dialogues in the leadup to the Presidential Election and students are encouraged to attend the next session on October 24th.

Nurturing Hope San Antonio

This fall UTSA will launch a student fellowship program focused on meaningful dialogue across differences. The fellowship will bring together students from local colleges and universities representing many neighborhoods, backgrounds, and faith traditions to explore the Nurturing Hope curriculum and to lead campus and community dialogue events. This is a collaborative effort that includes the Alamo Colleges, the H.E.Butt Foundation, Trinity University, Rotary San Antonio and UTSA. Students interested in this leadership opportunity should contact gina.amatangelo@utsa.edu.

Student Workshops

UTSA Student Affairs hosts workshops on understanding Free Speech as well as the connection between free speech and students' perception of their mental health. Students interested in understanding more about campus policies and freedom of expression can visit Free Speech Office Hours held throught the fall semester. Details for the sessions are on RowdyLink.

UTSA Student Affairs, in partnership with the Honors College, will hold a workshop for registered student organizations during the LeaderU leadership conference entitled "Can We Talk About This" led by UTSA faculty member Gina Amatangelo. 

Student Peer Facilitators in Wellbeing Services host workshops covering various topics to help students build skills for self-awareness, self-appreciation and compassionate leadership. Workshops include "Advocacy and Me," "I Wanna talk About Me," and "Courage to Be The Change." Details for the sessions are on RowdyLink.

Select list of Fall 2024 classes that include classroom dialogue and deliberation:

HON 3601: Leading through Crisis

Students are guided through a hands-on exploration of what it means to lead through crisis. The course text,  The Mayor and the Judge, by Nelson Wolff explores leading the seventh largest city during the COVID pandemic. Guest speakers will be from across the university and the city, including Judge Wolff, telling their stories of leading through crisis. Students will produce their own evidence-based approach to leading through crisis. This course is developed through a partnership of Honors College and the College for Health, Community and Policy and is open to all UTSA students.

PAD 2073: Engaging in a Divided World – Foundations of Civic Engagement

As residents battle over library books, election results, and racial equity it often feels as though our civic life in the U.S. has devolved into a shouting match. How has this social discord impacted our ability to respond to crises and solve problems? The class will compare civic engagement in our community with those in other countries. Students explore our role as citizens in a democracy, observe how local residents advocate on policy issues, and complete a local service project. During the second half of the semester students will participate in a virtual international exchange program that convenes small groups of students from around the world to share perspectives on global issues and develop skills in communication and conflict resolution. Students collaborate on a series of short video interviews featuring local community members. 

COM 4413: Dialogue Facilitation

In our increasingly polarized society, it is important to be able to engage in constructive dialogue with people whose views differ from our own. Dialogue—defined as “a sincere and mutual exchange involving inquiry, reflection, and responsiveness”—is an essential skill, and one that often requires expert facilitation. This course will prepare students to facilitate dialogue to engage diverse perspectives in interpersonal, organizational, and civic contexts. It will help students to communicate effectively in their relationships, collaborate successfully in the workplace, and engage in participatory democracy—and will help students to help others do the same. This will be a service-learning course with opportunities for hands-on facilitation experience both on and off campus. Successful students will earn a Collaborative Discussion Coach badge through the Interactivity Foundation.

Summer Experiential Learning Global Opportunity

In Summer 2024, the UTSA President’s Office, the Honors College, and COLFA partnered with Rotary San Antonio to send three students, fully paid, to the Peace & Reconciliation Centre in Corrymeela, Northern Ireland, for a 10-day intensive, immersive training in conflict resolution. Students came from across the globe to participate.

Faculty Workshops

Resilience and Mental Wellbeing (June 2024):

The Honors College partnered with Dr. Lauren Gulbas from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work to teach the “Resiliency in the Classroom” curriculum. The workshop was open to both faculty and student leaders and focused building resilience skills essential to managing difficult conversations. The UTSA Academic Innovation division plans to extend this training to additional faculty in the future.

Conversation and Connection in a Divided Country: How to Foster Respectful Discourse in the Classroom (February 2024):

UTSA faculty members Sara DeTurk (Communication) and Gina Amatangelo (Public Administration) led this interactive workshop on the use of “structured dialogue” in the classroom. UTSA’s Chief Legal Officer, Jason King, was available to address questions on issues such as free speech on campus, compliance with SB 17, and other issues.