The Civil Discourse program, led by Dean of Students Dr. Jim Woodruff as an initiative of Pritzker's Identity and Inclusion (i2i) Steering Committee, has received a 2025 University of Chicago Diversity Leadership Award.
The program aims to provide opportunities for students to pursue meaningful discourse with others—peers, administrators, faculty members, scholars—who have diverse and even opposing views on contemporary issues, aligning with i2i’s goal of promoting respectful and effective communication with diverse patients and colleagues.
“The Civil Discourse program has been a uniquely important forum for helping our learning community navigate challenging and sometimes controversial issues together with respect and appreciation for differing beliefs and experiences,” said Pritzker Dean for Medical Education Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP. “We are proud to see this program recognized and especially thrilled for Dr. Woodruff, who has been a champion of free expression and worked diligently to foster meaningful and respectful discourse in our community for many years.”
Since its inception seven years ago, the Civil Discourse program has covered a range of topics, including intellectual safe spaces, reproductive rights, free expression, and physician political advocacy. In a typical event, two guest discussants with differing views briefly share their positions before opening discussion to include attendees. Past discussants have included faculty members from the University of Chicago Law School, the Booth School of Business, the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, the University of Chicago Police Department, and UChicago Medicine.
Civil Discourse seeks to equip students with the skills to effectively communicate across difference, seeking out opposing and alternative viewpoints as a means of deepening their understanding of issues that impact their educational community and the community of patients they serve rather than engaging only with those who share their position.
“The Civil Discourse program has created space for robust engagement across difference,” University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos said before presenting the award on Tuesday. “Through its rigorous commitment to pluralism and reflection, the Civil Discourse series exemplifies what it means to prepare students for a life of principled inquiry and service.”
According to the Office of the Provost, the Diversity Leadership Awards are given to “honor University faculty, staff, students, and alumni who show leadership in advancing the university’s commitment to diversity of thought, perspective, and experience. The awards also recognize programs or initiatives led by academic or non-academic units that seek to further advance the university’s commitment.”