Emory University’s (GA) Rollins School of Public Health has rolled out a series of open dialogue programs to help faculty, staff and students feel confident and compassionate in conversation with community. Faculty and staff can go through the Courage in Conversation and Connection training series or the C.A.R.E. (Communicating with Curiosity, Attention, Responsiveness and Empathy) Fellows Program while students engage through DEI modules before they arrive for orientation and Living Room Conversations to continue practicing their dialogue skills.
The Courage in Conversation and Connection trainings put faculty and staff in groups of 30 or fewer “to learn and practice the skills they need to recognize their own emotional responses and manage conversations through them,” according to a university news release.
The more in-depth C.A.R.E. (Communicating with Curiosity, Attention, Responsiveness and Empathy) Fellows Program helps participating faculty and staff members develop communication skills they can use in emotionally charged situations.
For students, once they complete DEI modules prior to orientation, they also complete in-person DEI sessions with second-year DEI ambassadors, the news release stated. An optional session allows students to work on public dialogue skills and advocacy. And the new Living Room Conversations – following a national model – will connect community members through guided conversations about topics such as social identity, AI, anxiety and more.
The hope is that members of the Rollins community will be leaders in compassionate conversation. “It is a public health skill to be able to manage conversation and dialogue in a way that is inclusive and that brings people together to hear each other, even if they disagree,” Joanne McGriff, MD, associate dean of DEI at Rollins, said in the news release.
Learn more about these initiatives here.
