Now Accepting 2008 - 2009 Moderator Applications
If you’re interested in becoming a moderator for the 2008 - 2009 academic year, please download our application and follow the instructions.
About Sustained Dialogue
Sustained Dialogue aims to bring people together from diverse backgrounds to address and resolve deep-rooted issues that are dividing the campus and community along political, social, racial, or socioeconomic lines.
Dr. Harold Saunders — former U.S. diplomat, author, Princeton Trustee, Director of International Affairs at the Kettering Foundation, and President of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue – conceptualized the political process known as Sustained Dialogue to settle international conflicts after innumerable years of foreign diplomacy. He played a central role in Dartmouth Conference, the Arab-Israeli peace process, and the Kissinger Shuttles.
Sustained Dialogue began as a student organization in 1999 when two Princeton students, frustrated with race relations on campus, approached Dr. Saunders to find a solution to address these divisive issues. With Dr. Saunders, the students implemented the Sustained Dialogue process in a university setting with great success.
SD is now a network of universities and colleges including Princeton University, University of Virginia, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Denison University, Dickinson College, Emory, Northwestern, and Colorado College
Info Sessions!!!
If you would like to know more information about SD, please attend one of our information sessions.
The first info sessions will be held at 6:30 pm on Monday, September 10 in Ferguson Center Room 312.
The second info session will be held at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, September 12 in Ferguson Center 360 (Forum).
Also, if you’d like to apply for membership, be sure to fill and submit our participant application which can be downloaded by clicking here.
Please also visit www.sdbama.org, www.sustaineddialogue.org, and www.sdcampusnetwork.org, or feel free to email us at sdbama@gmail.com for more information about our organization.
Interested in joining SD?
2008-2009 Moderator Applications can be downloaded by clicking here.
If would like to find out more information on our organization please feel free to contact us at sdbama[at]gmail[dot]com
Reasons you should think about joining:
- opportunities to intern in Washington D.C.
- opportunity to fly to SD conferences, which have been previously held at Princeton and Colorado College
- learn from others and see many different points of views on an issue
- More!!
Visit us on Get On Board Day!
Sustained Dialogue will be having a table on Get on Board Day. This will be a great chance to learn more about our organization and meet the people within it. Remember, GOB Day will be held Wednesday, August 29 from 10:00am - 4:30pm!
Updates on SD Course
As discussed in a previous post, we’re working to create a course about diplomacy and conflict resolution through dialogue. We’re looking at obtaining an associate from the Kettering Foundation to teach the class. So far, the course is still an idea, but a hopeful one.
Many of you may not know this, but Sustained Dialogue was formed in collaboration with the Kettering Foundation, and David Matthews, President of the Kettering Foundation, used to be UA’s president! According to Wikipedia, he attended UA and received his PhD from Columbia, and served as Alabama’s president from 1969-1975, 1977-1980.
2007-2008 Moderators Selected
After selective application and tryout processes, the 2007-2008 moderators have been selected. Congratulations to the following:
2007-2008 Moderators
- Hazina Campbell, Alabama - Law student
- Matthew May, Alabama - Finance, Political Science
- Michael Emery, West Virginia - Economics, Political Science
- Armando Medina, Texas - Biological Science
- Patrick McGowan, California - Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Cedrick Alexander, Georgia - Communication, Journalism
- Samantha Midkiff, Alabama - Microbiology
- Jamie Gile, Colorado - Telecommunication and Film
Given their outstanding leadership background, we are sure they will help bring SD to a new level of success.
We would like to extend our appreciation to the UA administration and faculty for organizing the process and interviewing our prospective moderators:
- Bettina Byrd-Giles, Executive Director of Campus Activities
- Dr. Beverly Hawk, Assistant Director of Crossroads
- Liz Denson, Crossroads Community Center
- Josh Burford, Crossroads Community Center
- Corrie Harris, Director of Leadership Development
- Dr. Margaret King, VP of Student Affairs
- Dr. Samory Pruitt, VP of Community Affairs
- Dr. Jane Stanfield, Executive Director of Capstone International
- Marc Shook, Blackburn Institute
- Dr. Zhijian Wu, Professor and Chairperson of Department of Mathematics
It is with their unrelenting support that will help make SD a success.
About Sustained Dialogue
Sustained Dialogue aims to bring people together from diverse backgrounds to address and resolve deep-rooted issues that are dividing the campus and community along political, social, racial, or socioeconomic lines.
Dr. Harold Saunders — former U.S. diplomat, author, Princeton Trustee, Director of International Affairs at the Kettering Foundation, and President of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue – conceptualized the political process known as Sustained Dialogue to settle international conflicts after innumerable years of foreign diplomacy. He played a central role in Dartmouth Conference, the Arab-Israeli peace process, and the Kissinger Shuttles.
Sustained Dialogue began as a student organization in 1999 when two Princeton students, frustrated with race relations on campus, approached Dr. Saunders to find a solution to address these divisive issues. With Dr. Saunders, the students implemented the Sustained Dialogue process in a university setting with great success.
SD is now a network of universities and colleges including Princeton University, University of Virginia, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Denison University, Dickinson College, and Colorado College.
Sustained Dialogue teaches students understanding
Students share opinions on controversial issues
From Crimson White.
Martha Jean Schindler said she thinks students on campus should be able to discuss controversial issues with one another. The co-director of public relations for the UA chapter of Sustained Dialogue said the group holds discussions so students can better understand one another’s opinions.
Sustained Dialogue is a student organization that evolved from the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, which was created by Harold Saunders, a former U.S. diplomat.
Kenny Liang, a sophomore majoring in economics and finance, is the president of Sustained Dialogue and said Saunders developed the group at Princeton University. “Dr. Saunders came up with Sustained Dialogue and how the discussions can be done with moderators and members of the groups,” Liang said. “It began at Princeton and is now at universities such as Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and the University of Virginia.”
The group consists of eight to 12 members and meets every other week to discuss issues that relate to the campus or life outside of the University. The idea is that each member of the group is allowed to share an opinion without being attacked or debated by another member of the group, said Schindler, a junior majoring in management information systems.
Schindler said the discussions are a way for people to make their opinions of a subject known without trying to win a debate or competition.
“We emphasize the term ‘dialogue’ because it is not debate,” Schindler said. “It is not heated, and there is no winner. It is just a discussion among a group.” The moderator of the group is the leader, who makes sure discussion maintains a respectful balance among all members of the group.
Tiffany Story, a sophomore majoring in international business administration, is a co-director of public relations for Sustained Dialogue. She said moderators are an important part of the group because of the role they play. Story said the moderator plays an important role to make sure all members are respected.
Sustained Dialogue Teams Up With CESR To Create Course
“What is dialogue?”
If you ask the average person this question, they will probably give you an answer like:
- “It’s a discussion between two people.”
- “You’re asking the wrong person.”
- “It’s when people argue about the (in)competence of the Bush Administration over a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s.”
- “I don’t know.”
Well, it turns out that dialogue, and in particular, Sustained Dialogue, is much more than that, and we’re collaborating with The Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility to form a class to educate students on dialogue, diplomacy, Sustained Dialogue, and conflict resolution. We’re still in the early stages of development and the details are still being worked out, but it will more likely be an honors class. Look out for it in the Fall 2007 or Spring 2008 semester!
Bettina Byrd-Giles named campus activities director
Byrd-Giles will lead office that replaced dean of students
From Crimson White
Director of the Crossroads Community Center Bettina Byrd-Giles will join the Division of Student Affairs as Executive Director of Campus Activities, transitioning into the new position while completing current Crossroads projects, UA officials said.
Byrd-Giles joined the Crossroads Community Center staff in November of 2005. The Center was created to assist student organizations with multicultural issues and to facilitate coordination of multicultural programs on campus, according to the UA Web site.
“While at Crossroads, we have provided a vehicle for dialog across all cultures through programs such as Sustained Dialogue, bringing the global simulation workshop to campus and further dialog through book topics,” Byrd-Giles said.
In her new position, Byrd-Giles said she plans on continuing her success by working for the students.
“I plan on combining my talents with the wonderful staff already in place with [the Office of] Student Affairs to ensure that all students at the University are served,” she said.
Student Affairs Director of Leadership Development Corrie Harris has worked closely with Byrd-Giles over the past few years in the Crossroads Community Center office and seen Byrd-Giles’ work firsthand.
“Bettina has had a lot of success working with the Crossroads Community Center by getting a lot done very quickly,” Harris said.
Harris said she thinks Byrd-Giles will continue to succeed in her new position.
“As the University continues to grow, there will be new activities needed to go along with that,” Harris said. “She will be able to succeed in mobilizing her new team quickly to add to the quality of programs offered, and to involve more students on campus.”
Byrd-Giles has also had an effect on the students that she has worked with while at Crossroads.
“She runs a very laid-back, professional office,” said Jacob Richards, a freshman majoring in American studies and a student worker in the center. “She will be perfect for her new job and will do all she can to help the students on campus.”
Vice President for Student Affairs Margaret King, who created the new office after phasing out the Office of the Dean of Students, said in a statement that Byrd-Giles has clearly demonstrated a tremendous ability to work with students and colleagues throughout departments and organizations within the Capstone.
King also commended current Campus Activities staff in accommodating the growth in their office and role on campus.
“I applaud the Campus Activities staff for their professionalism, dedication and spirit of cooperation during this period of growth and expansion,” King said.
Byrd-Giles said that in her new position she will be the administrative head in charge six areas of campus activities. The different areas will report to her.
Byrd-Giles earned her bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia in 1989 and her master’s degree in education from UAB in 1995. She holds an Intercultural Foundations and Intercultural Practitioner’s Certificate from the Intercultural Communications Institute in Portland, Ore.
UA First School in the State to Institute Prominent International Dialogue Program
Origins of Sustained Dialogue at Alabama
When then SGA Vice President for Student Affairs, Justice Smyth and Zac Riddle interviewed Bettina Byrd-Giles for director of Crossroads Community Center in the fall of 2005, they expressed concern about polarization on campus and the desire to develop skills to dialogue with other cultures. Visioning sessions with campus leaders echoed this sentiment. Upon her hire, Byrd-Giles contacted her sister, Evita Byrd, who had held a leadership role in a student cross-cultural dialogue program at the University of Virginia. Byrd-Giles had participated in a moderator retreat and felt it was a good fit for UA. The program is called Sustained Dialogue. The Sustained Dialogue network at UVA had gained prominence following an incident in which a bi-racial candidate for SGA president was allegedly assaulted by opponents. UVA President John T. Casteen relied upon SD members to calm the student body and develop a strategy for building positive race relations. Following the incident, over 200 students joined dialogue groups.
Byrd immediately put Byrd-Giles in touch with the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network. To her delight, the SD Campus Network notified Byrd-Giles that Sam Todd, a Birmingham native and Princeton Alum, was in his second year at the UA School of Law. Todd was a member of the Princeton SGA which founded the SD campus network following campus racial tensions. With the help of Smyth, Corrie Harris, Assistant Dean of Students, and Crossroads Graduate Assistant, Marie Feagins, Byrd-Giles put together a team of students to explore the feasibility of Sustained Dialogue at UA. Todd and Feagins held several organizational meetings and plotted a strategy.
For sustainability of the program, they felt it was important to prepare freshmen and sophomores for an extended commitment. They selected freshman forum participants, Jessica Garcia and Calvin Han to lead the effort and represent UA at the annual campus network in Princeton, NJ. They were represented among schools such as Princeton, UVA, Michigan, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Emory.
So how does Sustained Dialogue work? According to the International Institute of Sustained Dialogue,
Sustained Dialogue as a change process is the conceptualization of two decades of dialogues. Bringing the same group together repeatedly, we began to see that relationships among participants changed through a recognizable pattern. We thought defining this pattern might enable us to transfer the experience of changing relationships to other conflicts and to teach the process to others.
SD differs from most other change processes in two ways (1) It focuses on transforming the relationships that cause problems, create conflict, and block change. SD works within a carefully defined concept of relationship -both an analytical and an operational tool for SD moderators. (2) Since relationships change only over time, SD is presented as a five-stage process. The stages are a guide to moderators and participants-not a rigid template to be slavishly followed. SD moderators must begin by internalizing the concept of relationship and the special work that defines each of the five stages http://www.sustaineddialogue.org.
UA kicks off its program September 30th and October 1st with moderator training conducted by the Washington, D.C. based International Sustained Dialogue Institute. On October 9the, International SD founder, Harold Saunders will address UA students and faculty at 7:00 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Ballroom. For additional information, please visit http://crossroads.ua.edu.