Dear Colleagues:
In an increasingly diverse and polarized world, engaging others with whom we disagree or who have differing perspectives can be challenging. Instructors play a critical role in establishing an inclusive learning environment and, importantly, equipping students with the tools to engage in complex conversations across differences in lived experiences, cultural background and perspectives. Indeed, many of our own classrooms are already sites for such conversations.
If you are interested in shaping how UCLA builds capacity for dialogue across difference on our campus, please consider participating in the inaugural 2024–25 Dialogue across Difference (DaD) Faculty Fellows Program. The year-long program will support instructors of record in incorporating UCLA’s DaD values of intellectual engagement, curiosity, empathy, active listening, and critical thinking into their course materials and teaching practices during AY 2024–25. The DaD Faculty Fellows Program consists of a summer kick-off workshop, recurring community of practice meetings, and a culminating event showcasing the instructional innovations of the cohort.
To learn more about this opportunity, please join a virtual information session on Thursday, May 2 from 2 – 3 p.m. PDT to be facilitated by colleagues from the DaD initiative and the Teaching and Learning Center. All instructors of record are invited to attend. Online applications for the inaugural 2024–25 cohort will open immediately after the information session.
Register to join the virtual information session
Additional Information
Program Benefits: Instructors selected for the Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows Program will receive $3,500 to support participation and a letter certifying completion of program requirements for inclusion in their professional dossiers. This program has been intentionally designed to support instructors in their professional journeys to advance their teaching and represents a leadership opportunity for instructors to shape and build DaD capacity within their departments and across the campus.
Eligibility: This program is open to all instructors of record. Priority will be given to instructors in a position to sustain and deepen UCLA’s commitment to dialogue across difference by, for example, continuing to teach the course developed/revised in this program and serving as a mentor for other instructors.
Questions? Email help@teaching.ucla.edu and include “DaD Faculty Fellows” in the subject line.
We look forward to seeing you on May 2 to learn more about this exciting opportunity!
Sincerely,
Erin Sanders O’Leary
Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning
David N. Myers
Distinguished Professor of History
Chair, Dialogue Across Difference Committee