The inaugural Dialogue and Discourse experience for junior and senior scholars concluded in March. The year-long program was designed to build capacity for leadership and communication on complex issues.

Launched last fall, the program was led by Bill Isaacs and Skip Griffin of Dialogos, a strategic dialogue and leadership development consulting firm.

Nigel Parker ’25 said the program strengthened him through a “practice of self reflection.”

“My experience has inspired me to deepen my relationships with myself, my fellow scholars, and my community at large,” he said. “I am grateful for the wisdom of the scholars who experienced this program with me, as well as for Skip and Bill for facilitating and guiding this special group.”

For Roariker Swenson ’25, Dialogue and Discourse grew his understanding of the “power of deep empathy in disagreement.”

“We often forget that, during most arguments, we both have the same end goal and simply envision different paths to its successful achievement,” the junior said. “As someone who studies Chinese and Russian, and who wants to build a career around building bridges and deepening cross-cultural understanding, this experience has been profound in helping me shape new strategies and frameworks for peace building.”

Morehead-Cain is grateful to the alumni who supported the Dialogue and Discourse program.