Institute for Transformative Dialogue

History of the Institute

Since IGD-based courses were first developed at CMU in 2008, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences has developed and expanded offerings the Intergroup Relations and Justice (IGR) program of intergroup dialogue courses that nurture understanding, communication, and collaboration across social group inequalities. Courses focusing especially on race and gender identity now serve over 300 students each year, engaging students in small-group dialogues facilitated by trained undergraduate peers. The Institute is supporting further curricular development for intergroup dialogue courses across other dimensions of identity and difference. The essential training for peer facilitators has been supported by a partnership between Intergroup Relations and Justice faculty and staff in the Center for Student Inclusion and Diversity (CSID). The fruit of this partnership has also included dialogue-based programming for staff, faculty, and students offered through the CSID.

Recognizing the promise of this cross-unit partnership to expand its positive impact on the climate for inclusion at CMU, the 2017 CMU Equity and Inclusion Task Force issued among its priority recommendations for CMU to "programmatically embed thoughtful, constructive dialogue about and across differences throughout the CMU experience, preparing students for leadership in a diverse world." This recommendation aligned the high-impact practice of intergroup dialogue with the leadership learning goals of the ongoing Cross-Campus Leadership Initiative, which aims to develop capacities for inclusive leadership by fostering identity development, healthy relationships, and social responsibility.  The intergroup dialogue faculty and staff from CLASS and CSID began an initiative in the summer of 2017 to develop a sequenced curriculum in facilitator training and intergroup engagement that extends across the CMU student experience. Through partnerships with a growing number of offices, CMU has begun offering more opportunities for students to develop competence and comfort in engagement across differences and to build the leadership skills to facilitate this engagement for others. 

By providing ongoing cross-divisional support for collaboration in embedding high-impact practices grounded in intergroup dialogue education across academic, co-curricular, and professional development programs, the Institute for Transformative Dialogue underwrites an ongoing commitment to making intergroup dialogue learning a signature feature of the CMU student experience.