Newly formed collaborative builds on distinct strengths of three centers

Three Grand Valley centers have partnered under a new structure that draws on their distinctive strengths to create a holistic approach to civic participation, leadership and constructive dialogues.

The Collaborative for Leadership and Civic Life (CLCL) is a shared organizational structure among the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse. 

Those centers will retain their identities, missions, advisory boards and community/campus outreach. Laura Aikens, vice president for Institutional Advancement, said the collaborative, housed within Aikens' division, makes the sum of the parts more powerful. 

"The initiative grew from our belief that we can preserve those strengths while also creating something more powerful: a platform connecting ethical leadership, constructive dialogue, interfaith understanding, civic engagement and our shared responsibility for advancing the common good," she said.

Megan Rydecki, Kyle Kooyers and Lisa Perhamus are the directors of, respectively, the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse. They have worked for more than a year to finalize the collaborative's structure. 

"There's an urgency for this kind of work," said Rydecki, who serves as the collaborative's executive director. "We're building on the legacies of the people who created the foundations for each of these centers." 

Learn more about the names behind each center: Ralph Hauenstein, Sylvia and Richard Kaufman, and Shelley Padnos and Carol Sarosik.

Perhamus said the collaborative's resources come at a complex time for the country. 

"Following the midterm elections, we need the strength of this collaboration," Perhamus said. "We need people who are versed in the work of civic engagement, ethics and interfaith dialogue. The collective work will become richer and more robust as we complement the work of each center yet keep our signature, distinct programs."

Kooyers said the collaborative will equip students and others to lead, drawing on the resources, expertise and methodologies of the centers, while providing easier access to each center's calendar of events.

"We're representing three distinct vantage points of conversations and yet we're building bridges to create a comprehensive approach for people to constructively engage across their differences," he said.

Learn more about the Collaborative for Leadership and Civic Life.