U-M Alumni Leading Dialogue for Impact Certificate

Constructive civic leadership requires listening across differences, building trust, and working collaboratively on shared challenges. The U-M Alumni Leading Dialogue for Impact Certificate is a five-week virtual program that equips University of Michigan alumni to lead productive dialogue and public problem-solving efforts in their communities, workplaces, and civic organizations.

The program will equip you with the civic skills, dialogue methods, and collaborative problem-solving tools needed to work effectively across differences within your own sphere of influence.

Audience:

• U-M alumni

What it offers

The program combines live instruction, self-paced learning, peer coaching, small-group support, and hands-on project development. You will:

• Strengthen skills in active listening, open inquiry, constructive disagreement, trust-building, and depolarization.
• Learn to engage communities equitably and collaborate with people who hold different perspectives.
• Join an Impact Community Support Team for feedback, accountability, and connection.
• Receive guidance from an experienced U-M alumni peer coach.
• Develop and present an actionable Dialogue Impact Project for your community, workplace, or civic organization.
• Earn the U-M Alumni Leading Dialogue for Impact Certificate after completing all program requirements.

The cohort will include 50 alumni participants led by U-M experts and practitioners with support from alumni peer coaches.

Five-week program

Week 1: Open Inquiry and Project Strategy – Learn about open inquiry and the Center for American Dialogue while identifying stakeholders, clarifying goals, and framing your Dialogue Impact Project.

Week 2: Constructive Dialogue and Depolarization – Explore active listening, de-escalation, constructive disagreement, bias awareness, and productive engagement across differences.

Week 3: Equitable Engagement and Trust-Building – Explore respectful community engagement, asset-based approaches, and the shift from acting as an expert to working as a collaborator.

Week 4: Pluralism, Public Engagement Leadership, and Evaluation – Learn to foster open environments, manage risk, assess outcomes, and adapt projects to real-world conditions.

Week 5: Capstone Showcase and Action Launch – Present a refined project plan, receive feedback, share early learning, and identify next steps for implementation.

Impact on the public good

Participants will leave with stronger civic leadership and dialogue skills and a practical project plan ready for implementation. These alumni-led projects will promote open inquiry, civic engagement, constructive dialogue, or collaborative problem-solving where alumni live and work.

By activating U-M’s network of more than 700,000 alumni, the program will extend the university’s public impact across Michigan, the United States and the world.