Office of Inclusive Excellence

• Difficult Dialogues Facilitator Training: The Office of Diversity at Cal State East Bay is hosting a CSU-Systemwide series of dialogue facilitation training that prepares staff, faculty, and administrators for facilitating dialogues on their campuses whether in formal structured dialogue programming or in classrooms, and other university spaces of work and learning. This training is affiliated with the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center (DDNRC).

This two-day training held over two Fridays, September 6th and September 13th from 9-4pm in OSU 310 will provide each campus with the opportunity to come together and learn to facilitate challenging topics in today’s world in a way that honors the lived experiences of our campus communities, while also providing interactive support for a diversity of perspectives. Registration Link 

• Creating Safe Spaces for Difficult Conversations: Navigating Campus Controversies: Facilitated by the Office of Ombudsperson. Zoom. 
  • • September 25, 3:00 PM
    • October 10, 3:00PM (Canceled)
    • November 6, 3:00PM (Canceled)
    • This workshop, hosted by the Office of the Ombudsperson, aims to help students at CSU Monterey Bay develop the skills needed to navigate and engage in difficult conversations on campus, particularly surrounding controversial topics. The sessions will provide a structured, supportive environment where students can explore the balance between free speech, student safety, and the educational mission of the university. Through interactive discussions and exercises, participants will learn practical strategies to foster respectful dialogue, engage with differing perspectives, and create safe spaces for meaningful conversations.
    • https://csumb.zoom.us/j/83882451849

• Campus Activism: Explore When Faculty & Staff Participation Crosses the Line

Bring your lunch and join a webinar on September 16, 2024, 11-12:30pm in the OSU Room 210 when free speech expert – Dr. Allen Groves, Senior Vice President for the Student Experience, the Chief Student Experience Officer at Syracuse University – will engage you in a lively discussion to look beyond a narrow discussion of freedom of speech to examine the broader context of faculty and staff engagement in student activism. Explore potential risks posed by alleged defamation, trespass, and other potential legal claims arising from faculty and staff direct action.

Recent examples in the higher education setting will be used as case studies to bring clarity to the subject and offer clearer guidance on where the metaphorical line should be drawn. Register here  to attend. Space limited to 30 participants. Contact dtambasco@csumb.edu with any questions. 

Courses will offer learning opportunities for students, staff, and faculty beyond enrolled students. 

Courses

• HCOM 310 - Free speech & responsibility: This course surveys the history of free speech in the United States, examines past and present controversies surrounding free speech, and evaluates rights and responsibilities related to freedom of expression from various philosophical perspectives. 
• HCOM 314 - Dialogue across difference: Dialogue is a mode of communication intended to engage differences.  People dialogue in order to increase awareness and understanding of different perspectives, to learn more about the world and our roles and responsibilities in it, and to build trust in relationships. Students learn and apply dialogic theory and skills in varied communication contexts.
• Interracial Dialogue Equity Accountability (IDEA) Program: Curriculum focuses on race and equity in the workplace, and includes learning about dialogic skills and communication. Participation includes approximately 60-90 minutes per module, with eight total modules. Open to employees via asynchronous Canvas course. Participants can self-enroll in the course with this URL: https://csumb.instructure.com/enroll/3LYAM4. If you need a Canvas log in, then contact cat@csumb.edu. If you have any other questions, please contact Jennifer Lovell at jlovell@csumb.edu for more information. Available Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.

Expanded Learning

• Teaching Cooperative-- Building Community through Dialogue: Working in collaboration with the Office of Inclusive Excellence, this group will explore a vision of community building at CSUMB through the lens of diversity, inclusion, and equity-minded practices. Participants can expect to participate in conversations that challenge the status quo and inspire new ways of being in community. We explore concepts from thought leaders such as Adrienne Maree Brown using her book Emergent Strategies: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. This is one of several resources the group will use to explore strategies for transforming the community at CSUMB. This group has been responsible for organizing campus-wide events such as community conversations and panels using subject-matter experts, bringing the National Day of Racial Healing to fruition. and more. Facilitators: Vivian Waldrup-Patterson, Maria Gurrola, and others. Sign up through Center for Teaching, Learning, Assessment at tla@csumb.edu 
• How do we engage in dialogue across difference? And what does this mean for dialogue and free speech? This event will offer theory and practical skill building for students, staff, and faculty. Mridula Mascarenhas, Ph.D. Professor of Communication Studies at CSUMB. Date/location TBD.
• Can we talk? Media, ethics, and dialogue across boundaries, Patrick Belanger, Ph.D., Professor of Communication Studies at CSUMB. Carmel Public library, March 26 @6:30pm. 

Following an election cycle, and in the context of a polarized media culture, what chance is there for civil dialogue across cultural boundaries? In this fireside chat,  we explore varying ideas about how to reinvigorate public communication and enrich deliberative democracy.

• HCOM 314 will offer training of student facilitators to conduct 1-2 dialogue sessions of 1-2 hours each in the spring semester. This will be offered to the campus community.

Invited experts, activists, and academics speak on specific topics related to war, injustice, and global issues. 

• The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, by Jamil Zaki. CSU Monterey Common Read discussion. Join us for a discussion about the book and learn how to critically engage in conversations with peers prior to the start of your CSUMB academic journey. Guided by library staff and psychology professors, this is a time to meaningfully engage in intellectual conversations. August 22, 2024 4:15-5pm. 
• Dialogue Meeting Program with Parent Circle - an organization that is Israeli and Palestinian, created by parents who lost children in the conflict. They now connect over 750 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families. It has a 30-year history of using restorative healing practices to educate and advocate for non-violence. This one-hour program for Universities is conducted over zoom, and features one Palestinian and one Israeli speaker. They each tell their stories and the difficult journey of moving from a revenge mindset to restoration. Date/location TBD.
• Film screening-- “You Will Not Replace Us,” A documentary drama addressing the shared tribulations and historical unity between Black and Jewish Americans. Sponsored by the EAGs. Facilitated discussion to follow. Date/location TBD.

• September 17- National Voter Registration Day Drive 
• • 11am - 2pm 
  • Main Quad at Otter Express
• October 3- Otter Thursday Takeover (Registration Drive)
  • 12pm at the OSU Main Quad Plaza
• October 3- President’s Ocean Forum
  • 5pm at the World Theater
• October 15- Monterey County Office of Elections Workshop 
  • 1PM at the Student Center West Lounge