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Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows Program

The UCLA Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) has partnered with the Dialogue across Difference (DaD) Initiative to support instructors as they equip students with the tools to engage in complex conversations across differences in lived experience, cultural background, and perspective.

Program Overview

Instructors play a critical role in establishing an inclusive learning environment and equipping students with tools to engage in complex conversations across differences in lived experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. The year-long Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows program supports instructors of record in integrating the UCLA DaD Initiative’s five values of intellectual engagement, curiosity, empathy, active listening, and critical thinking into their course materials and teaching practices. Faculty Fellows engage with best practices in evidence-based, inclusive teaching and practice dialogic frameworks to foster learning environments where open dialogue thrives.

As participants in the Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows program, Fellows will: 

  • Form collaborative relationships with a community of colleagues across campus who share a commitment to engaging in meaningful dialogue across difference in the classroom; 
  • Practice a range of dialogue frameworks, gaining the ability to discern when to employ strategies from each to meet pedagogical goals and learning objectives;
  • Leverage pedagogical best practices to create supportive contexts for dialogue in the classroom;
  • Create multiple opportunities in one’s course for the DaD Initiative’s five values of intellectual engagement, curiosity, empathy, active listening, and critical thinking to appear when addressing differences in the classroom.

Applications are now closed for the second cohort of the Dialogue across Difference (DaD) Faculty Fellows Program, which will run during the 2025-2026 academic year. Participants have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the university and build capacity for supporting dialogue across difference on campus and in their classrooms. 

Visit the program information page to learn more about eligibility requirements and program expectations.

Learn more about the vision behind the DaD Faculty Fellows from the directors of the program

2025-2026 DaD Faculty Fellows
Aryun Hahm
Undergraduate Education Initiatives
Caitlin O’Grady
Anthropology
Cambria Garell
David Geffen School of Medicine
Chris Mott
English
Chris Wegemer
Sociology
David Kim
European Languages & Transcultural Studies
Deborah Lehman
David Geffen School of Medicine
Elisheva Gross
Psychology
Emily Quinn
Human Genetics
Faith Deckard
Sociology
Grace Meng
School of Law
Jason Sexton
Sociology
Jennifer Chatmon
School of Education & Information Studies
Jimena N. Rodríguez
Spanish and Portuguese
Lauri Mattenson
Writing Programs
Philip Sayegh
Psychology
Raffi Wartanian
Writing Programs
Rebecca Shipe
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Robert Lucero
School of Nursing
Victoria Marks
World Arts and Cultures/ Dance
Aaron Littman
Law
Abigail Saguy
Sociology
Brenda Suttonwills
Law
Caitlin Solone
Disability Studies
Dana Rose Garfin
Community Health Sciences
Hirsch Perlman
Art
Jonathan Heldt
Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Julie Elginer
Health Policy and Management
Katrina DeBonis
Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Michele Moe-Forsyte
Writing Programs
Natasha Wheaton
Medicine
Paul Macey
Nursing
Rachel Ketai
Writing Programs
Rebecca Jean Emigh
Sociology
Sanford Williams
Law
Tamara Levitz
Comparative Literature
Learn more

Funding for these faculty fellowships is provided by the UCLA Teaching and Learning Center, the Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Foundation, and the office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.

For questions about the DaD Faculty Fellows Program, contact edp@teaching.ucla.edu.

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