Dialogues on Culture and Community
May 28, 2024 / Bill Reynolds
For the last several months we’ve been hosting the Lucas Center Dialogues on Culture and Community, a series of conversations with faculty, staff, and students about how we can all contribute to creating and maintaining the kind of community we want to be part of. The philosophy and practice of dialogue is something I’ve been exploring for some time now, and my interest in the topic emerged from my work in the Student-Faculty Partnership Program (SFPP), which we began in the Lucas Center in 2018 as a way of connecting our faculty professional development work to student success initiatives. The SFPP promotes deep dialogue between student and faculty partners, between student partners and program facilitators, and among the students themselves. The involvement of the Lucas Center staff and students in an ongoing dialogue with students and staff at other universities has also enriched our understanding of the role of dialogue in nourishing and sustaining partnerships. For a slightly deeper dive into the role of dialogue in partnership, I invite you to read an essay I wrote for the recently published issue of the journal Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education.
If you’re interested in contributing to a dialogue on culture and community at FGCU, join us in the Lucas Center on Friday, May 31 at noon. The Dialogues are typically held at that time and location on the final Friday of each month. (Due to a scheduling conflict the June dialogue will be on Friday, June 21 at noon.)
