Dialogue Michigan 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops

Explore how movement, shared experiences, and a little play can create the conditions for more meaningful dialogue and connection. Designed for University of Michigan faculty and staff who facilitate conversations, networking, community-building, or group experiences, the session offers an alternative to the traditional “sit around a table and talk” approach. We’ll explore how place, movement, reflection, and intentional facilitation can help people feel more comfortable, curious, and connected — creating a stronger foundation for listening, perspective-taking, and meaningful conversation. Participants will leave with practical ideas they can bring into the conversations and communities they facilitate.

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

As we navigate an increasingly complex social and political landscape, the need for robust democratic engagement has never been more vital. At its core, democracy thrives not just through the ballot box, but through our ability to foster discourse, practice inclusive decision-making, and build resilient communities. On behalf of the Dialogue Michigan planning team, we invite you to join us for our next networking event, where we will explore a practical tool for this civic work. Why Circle Processes Matter for Democracy: Democratic engagement requires us to move beyond "debate" and toward "dialogue." Circle processes provide a structured way to do exactly that and to be in community. Rooted in First Nation and Indigenous peacemaking practices, these processes create an egalitarian space where:

Every voice is centered: The use of a talking piece ensures that all participants have the space to be heard without interruption.

Power is shared: The circular structure removes traditional hierarchies, encouraging collective responsibility and transparency.

Community is restored: It offers a framework for navigating conflict and making decisions that reflect the needs of the whole, rather than just the majority.

This workshop will be interactive, providing you with the opportunity to experience a circle firsthand and learn how to bring these restorative practices into your work and community spaces. Facilitated by the Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) and the Restorative Practice lead at the Equity, Civil Rights & Title IX (ECRT) office.

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

This workshop is for faculty, advisors, and staff who work with graduate students on professional development, resumes, fellowship essays, networking outreach, and interview prep. Most institutional guidance on generative AI is either policy-based (what's permitted) or tool-based (how to prompt), leaving advisors unprepared for the conversation that actually happens when a student arrives with AI-assisted materials, an unclear sense of authorship, or unspoken concerns about whether their use is allowed. Using the Explore-Build-Connect-Refine framework (published in Inside Higher Ed, October 2025), participants will practice inquiry moves such as Does this reflect your actual experience?, Can you defend this claim?, and Does this sound like you? These moves ground advising in listening, perspective-taking, and critical reflection rather than adjudication. Participants leave with a structured approach they can adapt to their own contexts, one that treats AI as the contested topic where dialogic skill is tested, not the subject to be taught.

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

Designed for faculty, staff, administrators, and campus leaders, this interactive session explores a community-informed approach to institutional culture change. Participants will learn how the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability leveraged dialogue, restorative practices, shared leadership, and cross-functional collaboration to strengthen organizational culture, leaving with practical strategies and transferable lessons they can adapt within their own schools, colleges, departments, or campus units. Through facilitated discussion and structured reflection, attendees will have the opportunity to translate these ideas into action within their own institutional contexts.

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

Join members of the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center (DDNRC) board for an interactive session designed to build core facilitation skills. In this hands-on workshop, participants will get a practical taste of the California State University (CSU) system’s facilitation training through 1–2 core exercises used to foster inclusive, constructive group engagement. Participants will engage in practical activities via breakout rooms designed to build group engagement skills and explore how to leverage DDNRC resources to bring deeper dialogue and facilitation programming to their UM context. This session offers immediate, actionable tools to take back to your work.

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

"Designed for people who regularly engage in dialogue and want to do so with greater intention, this interactive workshop explores dialogue as both a skill set and a relational practice. Participants will examine conflict influencers that shape a conversation before it begins. 

Through guided reflection, facilitated conversation, and applied practice, participants will examine what shapes their readiness for difficult dialogue and develop a pre-dialogue ritual they can use in future conversations. 

The session will support participants in remaining engaged across differences while creating conditions for perspective-taking and collaborative engagement."

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

In academic spaces, we are trained for extractive listening to process information and ideas. Relationship-oriented teaching, advising, and collaboration, however, calls for existential listening to others’ experiences in a way that offers presence, affirms humanity, and bears witness without immediately rushing to offer solutions, refer to external expertise, intellectualize, or falsely claim identification and understanding. In this workshop, we will explore a framework for existential listening and then practice applying it in response to recorded testimonies. The workshop will be interactive and participatory, but will not ask you to share your own personal stories. Participants will come away with increased stamina for receiving personal, sensitive, or uncomfortable disclosures from students or colleagues through concrete practices they can then teach and share with others, if interested. 

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

Two University of Michigan Museum of Art curators will facilitate a conversation in the museum galleries. They will use images to model dialogue techniques that faculty and staff can use with classes and colleagues. These approaches unlock sticky topics and personal details. The session will include tips on: how to select appropriate images for your group, a menu of dialogue techniques to use with a variety of images, and an invitation to bring your class or group to UMMA for a customized conversation. 

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

Staff, faculty, and students are all welcome to join us and learn three games that encourage dialogue. You will have a chance to play the game and test it for your purposes. 

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.

"When Values Collide: Dialogue Across Generations is an interactive workshop that explores how generational experiences and value systems shape difficult conversations in classrooms, workplaces, and communities. Participants will examine how ideas about respect, identity, responsibility, and communication influence dialogue across differences.

Through guided discussion, reflective activities, and dialogue practice, the workshop encourages curiosity, perspective-taking, and open inquiry rather than debate or persuasion. Drawing from dialogue facilitation and nervous system awareness, the session helps participants engage in more grounded and constructive conversations while developing a deeper understanding of how generational positionality, lived experience, and social context shape the beliefs and worldviews people hold"

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This event is part of Dialogue Michigan's 2026-2027 faculty and staff workshops. Learn more at myumi.ch/dialogue.