To promote more constructive dialogue and cross-group understanding on college campuses, the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley will expand its Bridging Differences in Higher Education project. In this new phase, they will: 1) extend the Learning Fellowship to support more campus leaders who want to develop or strengthen a science-based bridge-building program; and 2) produce field-building multimedia resources that codify and spread lessons learned from the work to date.
The center will streamline the Learning Fellowship to offer a Campus Cohort for hundreds of campus professionals newer to bridge-building work, a Project-Based Cohort for those who want to strengthen a specific initiative, and an Alumni Network to sustain the supportive professional community they find in the cohorts.
The new multimedia resources will include three articles, a podcast episode, and a Bridging Differences in Higher Education Playbook, which will provide a road map for thousands of higher ed professionals who want to initiate or deepen bridge-building work on their campus. These activities will give campus leaders science-based strategies to foster civil discourse and bridge differences, giving rise to more effective programs that foster empathy, respect, and connection across divides.