Dear friends,
Every day, our students show us what’s possible when dialogue, community, and social justice education come together. In classrooms, CommonGround workshops, fellowships, and student-led programs, the Program on Intergroup Relations helps students build the critical thinking, leadership skills, and resiliency they will carry far beyond campus.
IGR continues to thrive as the home on campus for students seeking these experiences, offering connection, belonging, and the skills to navigate an increasingly diverse and polarized world. One student recently shared that IGR “immersed me in a welcoming and positive community that encourages my passion for social justice and equity,” while another described finding “a community that allows me to show up as I am.” These experiences reflect the heart of our approach—using research-backed dialogic practices, cultivating a generous sense of community, and being grounded in the belief that everyone is both a teacher and a learner. Will you support IGR by making a gift today to sustain and expand this life-changing education?
Our work is also entering an important new chapter. Earlier this year, Student Life and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts deepened their longstanding partnership with IGR at the center of a new campus dialogue education leadership structure. To meet rapidly rising demand and expand access, we need help funding facilitator trainings, student workshops, student research opportunities, summer fellowships, and efforts to expand intergroup relations education and dialogue pedagogy across campus with students, staff, and faculty. Every gift helps us reach more students and strengthen the spaces where they can find their voice, learn about social identities, and practice the skills of dialogue, humility, empathy, and understanding.
Your support directly benefits students who will carry what they learn through IGR into their communities, workplaces, and lives far beyond the University of Michigan. Gifts of any size help ensure that current and future Wolverines can access transformative experiences that cultivate social justice leaders grounded in dialogue and community. Thank you for believing in the power of this work and for supporting the Program on Intergroup Relations.
In gratitude and solidarity,
Roger Fisher, IGR Program Director
Donna Rich Kaplowitz, Senior Director for Campus Dialogue Education
