The Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse, Kaufman Interfaith Institute, Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, and WGVU Public Media are thrilled to reconvene for a second year of Talking Together: Strengthening Our Communities Through Conversation - a dialogue initiative aimed at interrupting polarization and creating instead a culture of conversation on campus and in surrounding communities.

Our Talking Together collaboration began in 2022-2023 as a year-long Grand Valley Presidential Initiative with a number of opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members to engage in conversation with one another across differences in perspective, identity, and life experiences.

In the 2024-2025 academic year, we returned to build upon those foundational strategies and techniques from Year One by intentionally leaning into spaces of deep listening and story-telling from a multiplicity of perspectives.