Faculty Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force to host spring events

February 13, 2023
Categories: Initiatives

Faculty Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force to host spring events

The Faculty Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force (FECD) will host several events in spring 2023 to inform and engage faculty on the topics of free expression, constructive dialogue and civil discourse:

  • “Fostering Constructive Disagreement in Student Discourse” with Kevin Marinelli, teaching associate professor and executive director for the Program for Public Discourse at UNC Chapel Hill, at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23 via Zoom

Marinelli will share practical insights gleaned from his experience teaching rhetoric and directing the Program for Public Discourse. He will focus on constructive dialogue in the classroom and across campus, including approaches to public dialogue and deliberation, classroom exercises and student development. Participants will leave with a toolkit of rhetorical activities, best practices and theoretical perspectives.

The Program for Public Discourse strives to support a culture of robust public argument through curricular and extra-curricular engagement, equipping students with the rhetorical and deliberative capacities to serve Carolina and beyond as citizens, leaders, and stewards of democracy.

  • Discussion on Free Expression with Vice Chancellor of Institutional Integrity and General Counsel Jesh Humphrey, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Sujit Chemburkar, along with Mary Griffin from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and Susan Harden as moderator, 4-5:30 p.m., March 30 in the Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library. More information will be shared with the community closer to the event date.

  • Campus Panel and Forum on Institutional Neutrality with Mark McNeilly, UNC-CH; Steven McGuire, ACTA; Rosemarie Monge, James Madison Program Visiting Fellow; Jesh Humphrey; and Susan Harden as moderator on April 21 from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Halton Reading Room Atkins Library, followed by a breakout session from 1:30-3 p.m. in the Visualization Lab. More information will be shared with the community closer to the event date.

The Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force was created in 2022 by then Provost Joan Lorden, and under the direction of the Faculty Advisory Library Committee of the Faculty Council, following a report commissioned by the UNC Board of Governors related to a survey exploring free expression on college campuses throughout the UNC System. Chaired by Anne Cooper Moore, dean of Atkins Library, the task force is charged with engaging the community to develop and practice the skills of speaking freely, openly and respectfully on all topics.

“Growing effective student interactions with other students is a particular target of the efforts of the Task Force,” said Cooper Moore. “We will facilitate a series of events, programs, curricula, a faculty learning community, a student mentor program, a website, and other activities to build more open and constructive dialogue among students, faculty, and employees across the UNC Charlotte community.

For more information about the FECD, contact Cooper Moore at anne.moore@uncc.edu.