Spring 2009: 'Difficult Dialogues' project deadline

Deadline to apply: Today, Jan. 26, 5 p.m.

The Ford Foundation has awarded UAA and APU one of only 13 two-year joint renewal grants nationwide to continue work with the national Difficult Dialogues project.

An aspect of the grant offers faculty the opportunity to participate in a spring '09 faculty development series centered around the recently published book, Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.

Start Talking is based on the experiences of UAA and APU faculty who participated in the first Ford Foundation's national Difficult Dialogues initiative. The book, which has achieved national recognition, addresses themes of academic freedom; classroom safety; rhetoric and debate; race, class and culture; science and religion; and business, politics and social justice and is designed to serve as a manual for professors who wish to strengthen their teaching and engage students more effectively in conversations about the most important issues of our time.

The Start Talking series will meet from 1-2:30 p.m. on Fridays, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27 and Mar. 20 and 27. A limited number of $200 stipends for library purchases are available.

Participation is limited and applications are due by 5 p.m. today, Jan. 26. All UAA and APU faculty are eligible to apply.

For more information on where and how to apply, contact Libby Roderick, UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence at (907) 786-4605 or aner@uaa.alaska.edu; Tracy Stewart, Ford Faculty Associate, APU at (907) 564-8358 or tstewart@alaskapacific.edu; or John Mouracade, Ford Faculty Associate, UAA at (907) 786-4437 or afjmm2@uaa.alaska.edu.