Providence College receives $250K grant to support new campuswide civil discourse initiative

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE has received a $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to support a new campus-wide initiative to promote civil discourse across both the campus and surrounding community. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE has received a $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to support a new campus-wide initiative to promote civil discourse across both the campus and surrounding community. / COURTESY PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE – Providence College has received a $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to support a new campuswide initiative to promote civil discourse across both the campus and surrounding community, the college announced Thursday.

Providence College said the initiative, titled “Conversations of Change,” is designed to foster active citizenship skills by strategically embedding dialogue and deliberation in courses and student life. The initiative will also offer professional development on facilitating dialogue related to disputed questions for faculty, staff and students, the college added.

Nicholas Longo, Providence College’s global studies professor, and Providence College Assistant Vice President for Institutional Diversity Quincy Bevely will lead the new initiative, the college said. Long said in a statement that the country has become more and more polarized with divisions “being built that seem insurmountable.” He said young people is society’s best hope to address the challenges currently present.

“With ‘Conversations for Change,’ we plan to create spaces for students to talk across differences, learn from one another, and then take action on the really difficult and complex issues affecting our world,” Longo said.

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James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.

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