Initiatives

The Free Expression & Constructive Dialogue Task Force will be offering ten $1,000 mini-grants to faculty for the Spring 2024 semester. These funds are to be used by faculty to help promote free expression, constructive dialogue, and viewpoint diversity on campus.  These funds could be used for items such as conference travel, classes/training, or other […]

The Free Expression & Constructive Dialogue task force will be hosting swimmer Riley Gaines for a speaking event on Feb 20th. The event will take place at McKnight Hall (Cone Center) from 4 pm until 5:30 pm on Tuesday, Feb 20th. Riley Gaines is a leader defending women’s single-sex spaces, advocating for equality and fairness, […]

Braver Angels Collegiate Debate: Should parents have a say in K-12 public school curriculum? UNC Charlotte students, faculty, and staff are invited to join a respectful conversation touching all sides of a challenging issue. Braver Angels debates are not competitive, but a provide a deep experience of civil discourse. Conducted in a light parliamentary style, […]

The Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force announces the opening of applications for faculty to participate in the Spring 2024 Constructive Dialogue Faculty Learning Community. Join a group of colleagues to learn how to incorporate constructive dialogue into your courses. Matt Metzgar, Economics, will lead the faculty learning community. Spring 2024 Constructive Dialogue Faculty […]

UNC Charlotte was honored by the Heterodox Academy on September 20 with the 2023 Open Inquiry Award for Institutional Excellence, which they define as the college, university, or center/institute operating as part of a college or university that has done the most to advance or sustain open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement either on […]

UNC Charlotte announces the Respectful Conversation website, which features free, authoritative resources on free expression, constructive dialogue, and media literacy for a broad audience such as students, teachers, and parents of K-12 schools, public libraries and their patrons, and the general population. The website includes openly-available resources on each of the three topics of various […]

UNC Charlotte’s Faculty Council held a special meeting to discuss and ultimately pass a free-speech resolution endorsing the Chicago Principles. The Charlotte Faculty Council’s resolution came from work done by the Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force, created by Provost Joan Lorden in 2022 following the UNC Board of Governors’ report on a survey […]

The Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue (FECD) task force recently unveiled its inaugural website: freeexpression.charlotte.edu. The site provides information on events focusing on free expression topics occurring on campus, opportunities to engage with others, and resources to learn more about free expression and constructive dialogue. The FECD held four events this spring to inform and […]

Faculty Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force to host spring events The Faculty Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force (FECD) will host several events in spring 2023 to inform and engage faculty on the topics of free expression, constructive dialogue and civil discourse: “Fostering Constructive Disagreement in Student Discourse” with Kevin Marinelli, teaching […]

On January 9, 2023, Heterodox Academy (HxA) launched a new initiative called the Campus Community Network. The Campus Community Network aims to change campus culture and institutional practices by empowering members to promote HxA values. Each Campus Community will be led by several HxA member co-chairs who are faculty, staff, or graduate students at the […]