News
Toward A More Perfect Union – What IF…? Online Conversations
Please join us on Zoom for this 4-session community conversation series to explore the state of our democracy and how we might move toward a more perfect union (register here). This free discussion program is open to all and organized in partnership with the...
Just Imagine…Preserving Cultural Heritage
Debra White Plume was a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe. She spent her life trying to protect the Oglala Lakota way of life. As a child, she was encouraged to leave her traditional land and relocate to California as part of the Indian Relocation Act of 1956. This...
Facilitating While Avoiding Panic Attacks
It was the first day in Dr. John Tatum’s class. After class he was approached by Eddie Gibson, a freshman. “Professor, I get panic attacks whenever I’m in front of a group. I don’t think I can do the discussion facilitation that’s required. Can I be exempt from...
Just Imagine…Good Trouble
Imagine Good Trouble, Not Bad Mimi Jones, born Mamie Ford, was the thirteenth of fourteen children born to her parents in rural Georgia. She worked on the farm until her mother took a job in a nearby town. She and her sister moved to town with their mother. There...
Special Needs Discussions
Making meaningful accommodations for inclusion Professor Anita Watkins had received an accommodation notice for Norm, a student in an upcoming class. While the accommodation request did not specifically label Norm’s disability, it asked Professor Watkins not to...
Films & Conversations – an Online Community Conversations Series
Please join us on Zoom for this 3-session community conversation series to watch short, often award-winning films and then participate in facilitated, generous, and exploratory small-group discussions. You can register for this discussion series at...
Overcoming Preconceived Ideas
Introducing a human dimension to engage with complexity Taylor Mathis was a trained facilitator who had earned a reputation for helping organizations think through very tough issues. His approach was to help facilitate the identification of possibilities before the...
Facilitation Styles
Hot and Cool Facilitation Styles It was a crazy day in Professor Anita Waldman’s class. One discussion group, which she called the “Brady Bunch,” was really riled up. Normally this group was very docile. It was hard for the facilitator to get an energetic...
What IF…? The Future of Sports and Fitness–the Fourth of Four Conversations
What do you imagine as an ideal future for sports and fitness? Suppose you were to imagine an ideal future for sports and fitness in our society. What would it look like? What might we do as a society to travel toward this future? Below are some of the different...
Hidden Talent and the Role of Mentors
What's the real value added from higher education? Kay was an unassuming student. Her shyness held her back. She was afraid to ask questions in class and didn’t have a study group to depend on. Her senior year, she took a class that focused on facilitation skills....
