March 26, 2025
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
REGISTER NOW*
*Virtual Event
Starting in Fall 2026, SUNY’s updated general education framework will include a mandatory Civil Discourse requirement designed to equip students with the skills for respectful dialogue, productive conflict resolution, and meaningful civic engagement. SUNY Chancellor John B. King has emphasized that this addition will help safeguard the future of democracy by preparing students to engage in ethical and informed discussions.
Join regional colleagues to explore SUNY’s Civil Discourse requirement.
This session will provide:
- an overview of the mandate
- showcase how member institutions are integrating civil discourse into their curricula
- insights into effective implementation strategies, fostering inclusive conversations, and helping students critically evaluate diverse perspectives.
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with peers and exchange best practices for advancing civil discourse on your campus.
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Presenters:
Professor Graves is a political scientist with a global perspective on democracy and citizenship. Having studied in Romania and Hungary during their post-communist transitions, Professor Graves’ research focuses on political culture, globalization, and civic education through a comparative lens. Through her work, she helps her students understand that democracy is not a given and that it requires universal tools which include civic education, free expression, and a commitment to equal citizenship. Professor Graves empowers students to engage across all levels of their community by offering herself as an example. She has served her community as a member of the zoning and planning board, an election inspector, Census enumerator, and volunteer instructor for the Cornell Prison Education program. Professor Graves is also active as a corporate intercultural coach, helping professionals and their families on international assignments both to and from the United States. The opportunity to engage regularly with professionals in the global tech and manufacturing sectors as they navigate cross-cultural transition allows her to share real-world examples of the opportunities and demands of 21st century global citizenship with her students.
, Monroe Community CollegeProfessor Scanlon has led the expansion of deliberative dialogues at MCC including creating an annual deliberative dialogue series. MCC now hosts 2-3 dialogues per semester, covering a range of complex local, national, and global problems. This work also includes developing issue guides to expand local and globally-oriented dialogues. Professor Scanlon began training students to moderate dialogues to further the long-term goal of building a culture of deliberation and ensuring dialogues are student-centered and contributing to developing crucial life skills. He developed other civic opportunities by expanding the number of town halls and panel discussions dedicated to issues and civic-related themes, e.g., convening an annual Constitution Day town hall. Partnering with faculty in Visual and Performing Arts, Professor Scanlon and his colleagues guided political science and photography students in their research and photographic documentation of major social justice figures and movements from the region, thus creating a digital humanities project highlighting the intersections of civic engagement and creative placemaking. Professor Scanlon twice participated in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects with classes at Universidad Simón Bolívar in Venezuela. This exchange required students to engage in intercultural communication, collaboration, and collective problem-solving. The experience underscored what is required of people living in a diverse democratic society. Before his doctoral degree, he was an AmeriCorps environmental educator. He partnered with community organizations, local governments, and K-12 schools to provide education about our obligation to safeguard groundwater supplies. Dr. Jacobs, MCC’s Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, says, “I do not know of another employee who has done more to advance the ideals of community enrichment through civic engagement and discourse at our institution.”
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