Community Engagement

Photo of Barbara Love (left), Ximena Zuniga, and Beverly Tatum.
Barbara J. Love (left), Ximena Zúñiga (middle), and Beverly Daniel Tatum (right) at the Northeastern Intergroup Dialogue Symposium, Mount Holyoke College, November 2023.

Programs

Building Capacity for Dialogue through the Power of Collaboration 

  • This initiative supports a small group of faculty and professional staff who work across different colleges and campus units and are interested in building their own and others' capacity for engaging difficult dialogues and restorative conversations that are inclusive and equity-driven. This effort is being implemented with support of the Office of Vice-Provost for Equity and Inclusion. (November 2023 - June 2024)

College of Education Listening Circle

  • For students, staff, and faculty who were impacted by national and global events. Co-facilitated by Nina Tissi-Gassoway and Musbah Shaheen. (November 2023)

Northeastern Intergroup Dialogue Symposium at Mount Holyoke College

  • Intergroup dialogue students, educators, scholars, and practitioners were invited to reflect on IGD’s past, present, and future role in creating change within institutions of higher education. The symposium involved the Five College Consortium as well as approximately 25 other colleges/universities in the Northeast. UMass Amherst faculty and Social Justice Education alums led various presentations and events during this symposium. (November 2023)

Dialogic Group Facilitation Workshop for Residential Life Staff 

  • Summer workshop offered every year for new professional staff in Residential Life

UMass People’s Supper

  • A series of events that bring together students, staff, faculty, and community members for facilitated conversations to share stories and build community over a family-style dinner. (Fall 2023)

Breaking the Silence - Reimagining Cancel Culture (Series of programs highlighted by engagement with Loretta J. Ross)

  • Loretta Ross joined the UMass Amherst community to discuss creating change without cancel culture in collaboration with many co-sponsors. (Fall 2023)

Building Capacity for Transformative Racial Justices Practices (TRJP) 

  • This year-long initiative involved 28 professional staff who work in a range of student-facing roles in student affairs and academic affairs, including six schools and colleges. Initially funded by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s Higher Education Innovation Fund, this program was designed to build the capacity of student-facing professional staff to create and sustain more racially-affirming spaces with the student groups they advise, supervise, teach, and coach. (March 2021-September 2021)