Civic Engagement
Civic Engagement Council
Elon University is a national leader in Civic Engagement, serving as one of the model campuses for the Carnegie Classification on Civic Engagement and is recognized as one of the nation’s top universities for community service by earning a Presidential Award in the first President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
Learn more about the Civic Engagement Council
Elon Votes!
Elon Votes! is a nonpartisan campus initiative created to provide students with the necessary resources to register to vote and learn about issues at stake in upcoming elections.
Dialogue Opportunities
At Elon we recognize that building community and developing the skills to thoughtfully and critically engage within and across difference is easier with practice. We also recognize that ways of engaging in meaningful and productive dialogue takes different forms for different people. For this reason, there are many dialogue initiatives that take place at Elon that each have their own structure, focus, and time commitment. The below initiatives highlight specific opportunities for dialogue on campus:
Active Citizen Series
The Active Citizen Series, sponsored by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Elon Votes!, and the Council for Civic Engagement, is crafted to allow students to gain a deeper understanding of how government works and to develop the necessary skills to engage in civil discourse across political divides. Multiple events are held each year which foster dialogue and bring dynamic speakers to campus. The series involves dialogue models such as Living Room Conversations and Civil Dialogues.
Deliberative Dialogue
The Kernodle Center for Civic Life and Council on Civic Engagement host a campus Deliberative Dialogue on a different topic each semester. A Deliberative Dialogue is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and community members to gather and discuss a public policy issue. These dialogues offer citizens the opportunity to join together to deliberate, to make choices with others about ways to approach difficult issues, and to work toward creating reasoned public judgment. Topics can involve issues such as health care, immigration, Social Security, or ethnic and racial tensions. Deliberative Dialogues provide a way for people of diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of the issue and to search for common ground for action. This model has been established by the National Issues Forum, a nonpartisan, nationwide network of locally sponsored public forums for the consideration of public policy issues.
Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education (CREDE)
The Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education offers programs such as Black Table Talks, Café Con Leche, Big 8 Series, and the Summer Race, Reflection and Discussion Series (in collaboration with the Division of Inclusive Excellence). Contact the CREDE for further information.
Division of Inclusive Excellence
The Division of Inclusive Excellence hosts conversations and dialogues such as the Inclusive Community Conversations, Sustained Dialogue Series, and Summer Race, Reflection, and Discussion Series (in collaboration with the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education). Contact the Division of Inclusive Excellence for further information.
Gender and LGBTQIA Center
The Gender and LGBTQIA Center hosts programs such as LGBTQIA Allyship, Trans Allyship, Gender and Pronouns, Becoming an Active Bystander, and Masculinities for Positive Change workshops and conversations. Contact the GLC for further information.
Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life
The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life hosts a series of conversations and dialogues such as wInterfaith, Better Together, Muslim Life Weekly Lunch, Jewish Learning Fellowship, and Thursday Night Theology. Contact the Truitt Center for further information.