Posted on May 15, 2024 by DR. SIOBHAN FLEMING, SR. DIRECTOR, FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
Drs. Laurie Lewis and Sara DeTurk, both of the Department of Communication, led the effort to establish the Center for Dialogue & Deliberation (CDD) as an official UTSA Organized Research Unit, approved April 24, 2024, by the Deans Research Council (DRC).
Students involved with the Center for Dialogue & Deliberation
Drs. Laurie Lewis and Sara DeTurk, both of the Department of Communication, led the effort to establish the Center for Dialogue & Deliberation (CDD) as an official UTSA Organized Research Unit, approved April 24, 2024, by the Deans Research Council (DRC).
The CDD began as the Dialogue & Deliberation Initiative in Fall 2023 as a result of the Visioning exercise in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA). A part of that vision included the creation of the Dialogue & Deliberation Initiative as well as the launch of new student involvement opportunities.
Dr. Lewis stated, “the initial activities related to this center began in the early 2000s when Dr. DeTurk was training student facilitators to lead dialogue sessions on a variety of topics. When Dr. Lewis joined the Department of Communication full time in 2022, they joined forces to envision and build the Center.
“We saw the need for our UTSA students to master skills in listening and participating in dialogue in order to gain better understanding of others who do not always share their world views and experiences.”
Instead of a mission statement, the CDD describes a “Mandate to Prepare Participants” which includes engaging in diverse perspectives, collaborating effectively in workplaces and deliberating constructively in communities.
Drs. Lewis and DeTurk both express concerns that our society certainly lacks good role models and opportunities to practice empathy, curiosity, collaborative decision-making, and authentic engagement with others who hold differing views. Dr. Lewis stated, “our students often express a reluctance to enter into tough conversations for fear that they will be shouted down, negatively judged, or ignored.” Dr. DeTurk noted that after participating in structured dialogues that the Center hosts, “students often report how refreshing it is to have conversation about difficult topics in a calm, genuine, and supportive way.”
The Center’s vision, similar to UTSA’s vision of “preparing citizen leaders for the global environment,” is that the CDD will enable UTSA students’ career readiness as effective communicators; and contribute to building communicative capacity in the larger San Antonio area.
— DR. SIOBHAN FLEMING, SR. DIRECTOR, FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
