Donations from Aronson Family Foundation and Petrie Foundation Support Pilot Program to Improve Dialogue on Campuses

Training and Workshops Are University’s Latest Effort to Combat Hate and Improve Campus Climate

CUNY today announced the launch of constructive dialogue training and workshops for University leadership, faculty and students. The training begins Oct. 9 for all CUNY presidents, deans and members of the Chancellor’s cabinet. In addition, 50 staff members will be trained and certified as constructive dialogue facilitators, and 100 faculty and 50 students will attend workshops preparing them for difficult conversations. In partnership with the Chancellor, the Jeffrey H. and Shari L. Aronson Family Foundation and the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, generous supporters of CUNY, are funding the program, which will be facilitated by the Constructive Dialogue Institute. 

“As the most diverse university system in the nation, CUNY has an important role to play in helping individuals navigate conversations. College is a place for the curious, those who want to broaden their horizons and learn from each other, but that can’t happen without the tools to engage in respectful dialogue,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “I’m grateful to our partners at the Aronson Foundation and Petrie Foundation for investing in this important work and recognizing CUNY’s role in helping New Yorkers better communicate about their differences.”

“We appreciate CUNY’s efforts to improve the climate on campus for its students, faculty, and staff across the system,” said Shari L. Aronson, trustee of the Jeffrey H. and Shari L. Aronson Family Foundation and member of CUNY’s Advisory Council on Jewish Life. “This project is a step towards an ambitious goal to help ensure every person on a CUNY campus feels safe and is equipped to navigate conflicts across differences. Investing in an essential skill-building project should yield benefits for all, especially for CUNY, given its extensive reach and diverse population.”

“Colleges and universities play an essential role in our society by preparing students to become engaged citizens and contributors to their communities,” said Cass Conrad, executive director of the Petrie Foundation. “The ability to listen to and learn from people with differing perspectives is a necessary component of that endeavor. This new initiative is closely aligned with the Petrie Foundation’s emphasis on helping students thrive and succeed in college, and we are pleased to support it.”

“We are proud to partner with CUNY through our Leadership Institute, providing their leadership teams with the tools to promote meaningful and respectful dialogue across campuses,” said Mylien Duong, senior director of research and innovation at the Constructive Dialogue Institute. “In today’s complex environment, it’s more important than ever to create spaces where differences are embraced and used as a catalyst for creativity and progress. CUNY’s involvement in this initiative demonstrates their strong commitment to fostering a campus culture where diverse perspectives are appreciated and every voice is heard.”

The training will focus on providing conflict leadership skills as well as developing a campus climate that can support a culture of trust and dialogue. Participants will be challenged to reflect on how they have navigated recent conflicts on their campuses and learn how to broaden the strategies they utilize in addressing those conflicts. The training will explore how constructive conversations can serve as tools to combat hate.

The University has made it a priority to ensure that its campuses maintain a safe climate where students, faculty and staff can exchange ideas, even when they disagree with one another. Like colleges and universities across the country, CUNY grappled with conflict and tension last spring that often served to divide its community, leading the system to find new ways to promote respectful and productive discussions, embrace diversity and enhance security.

This past summer, the CUNY Board of Trustees and the Chancellor announced the creation of the Center for Inclusive Excellence and Belonging (CIEB), which will centralize efforts to combat discrimination systemwide by overseeing policies, training for new chief diversity officers and processing of complaints.

The academic year began with the launch of a student-developed unity campaign, “Our CUNY: Hate Divides Us, Diversity Defines Us,” to provide information and resources for combating all forms of hate and creating campus environments that embrace the full breadth of the University’s diversity. CUNY is also conducting a system-wide campus climate survey this fall to assess students’ perceptions of issues surrounding inclusivity and experiences with discrimination.

These University-wide measures are in addition to the many programs and initiatives CUNY campuses have implemented over the past few years. They also add to a number of existing actions taken by CUNY to ensure a respectful campus climate. In 2022, CUNY established a partnership with Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative to ensure Jewish students feel comfortable expressing their identity and values in an environment free of antisemitism and harassment.