Scaling Civil Discourse: Higher Education Leaders Reimagine Campus Democracy

​The fifth annual SNF Ithaca National Leadership Summit, hosted by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware’s Biden School on March 19–20, 2026, convened national leaders in civil discourse, civic engagement, and higher education to explore scalable, nonpartisan strategies for strengthening democracy through campus-based cultural and institutional change. Through keynote remarks, research presentations, and collaborative sessions, participants examined both the opportunities and challenges facing the field, including new findings that nearly 41% of institutions lack dedicated resources for civil discourse initiatives, raising urgent questions about sustainability and scale. Discussions emphasized actionable solutions, from expanding campus-wide programming and fostering cross-institutional collaboration to developing facilitative leadership skills that build long-term capacity for constructive dialogue. Attendees also addressed broader tensions affecting higher education, including academic freedom, DEI, and the current democratic climate, ultimately identifying practical next steps to extend this work beyond campuses into communities nationwide. Read more in the blog post below.

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The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware's Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration brought together a network of scholars, practitioners, and administrators as national leaders in civil discourse for the fifth annual SNF Ithaca National Leadership Summit on March 19-20, 2026, exploring how to advance civil discourse across higher education in ways that are scalable, impactful, and nonpartisan. The two-day gathering united national leaders in the theory and practice of civil discourse and civic engagement around a transformative vision: advancing democracy through institutional and cultural change on campuses across the country, with Timothy Shaffer, SNF Chair of Civil Discourse and Director of the SNF Ithaca Initiative, opening the conversation by emphasizing the importance of solidarity amid differences and stating "There are these moments where we call for unity and collaboration and acknowledge the environment that we're in. We have not just some points of tension and disagreement, but real opposition. There are more fundamental questions about the state of democracy, but for our purposes, I think there is an invitation to lead." Through a series of breakout discussions and expert-led sessions, participants explored the theme of "Advancing Constructive Engagement Through Civil Discourse" with the aim of collaborating on actionable approaches to foster democracy and civic engagement in higher education.

The summit featured presentation of SNF Ithaca research on the national mapping of civil discourse practices in U.S. higher education by doctoral student and SNF Ithaca Graduate Student Fellow Ojooluwa Ibiloye, revealing that the recent explosion of new programs and initiatives is very broad in scope and impact yet findings from the current sample indicate that 40.96% of institutions have no funding or staffing dedicated to civil discourse initiatives. This research exposed a vital point of conversation around scalability, with Kara Dillard, Executive Director for the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement at James Madison University, and Graham Bullock, Faculty Director for the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative at Davidson College, leading conversation on what it means to "go to scale" with campuswide programming by sharing comprehensive programs they are implementing at their institutions and inviting participants to brainstorm bold institutional changes that could sustainably strengthen civil discourse while considering risks of scaling too quickly. Dillard stated "This is such a great time for the field of civic discourse, civil dialogue, deliberative democracy, and democracy in general, because there are so many wonderful people who are here at the Leadership Summit thinking and talking together and grappling with really big, important questions. How do we scale this work? How do we make it sustainable? How do we do it better?"
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The summit also featured Lori Britt, Director for the Institute for Constructive Dialogue at James Madison University, who recognized that scalability and impactful change are driven by more than institutional legislation and are also shaped by personal disposition and mindset, leading the room through the four phases of facilitative leadership: practicing self-awareness, setting intention, fostering a growth mindset, and enacting responsive behaviors. Britt explained, "Facilitative leadership is about bringing people together to have difficult conversations, which focuses not just on having a good conversation, but on imparting the skills, habits of mind, and knowledge that they can take and model the same things in other parts of their lives. It's a capacity-building framework. We want to make sure that we're not just having great conversations, but that we're showing people that they're capable of shaping conversations that are better in all parts of their lives." As breakout discussions followed, participants shifted focus to intentionality discussing the purpose of engagement and practical ways to foster supportive, safe environments where diverse voices can be heard, with deliberations over potential barriers embracing crucial topics including whether the current state of democracy affects academic freedom, how DEI fits into the dialogue movement, and ways to approach this work sustainably—concluding with reflection on actionable next steps including connecting students with professionals in the field beyond academia, designing centralized resources to connect institutions nationwide, and advancing the day's work beyond the classroom to local communities.