Dialogue Vanderbilt is a campus-wide initiative advancing the university’s enduring commitment to constructive and civil discourse by putting into practice the two key pillars of Vanderbilt's approach to free expression: open forums and civil discourse.
Vanderbilt’s transformative education supports our students' development of strong dialogue habits—equipping Vanderbilt graduates to thrive in complexity, connect across differences, and lead with courage and clarity—preparing them to succeed and drive meaningful impact in their careers and beyond.
In partnership with Vanderbilt faculty and students, Dialogue Vanderbilt provides tools and programs to engage in respectful, thoughtful conversations—across differences and on any topic, helping our students build healthy dialogue habits.
Dialogue Vanderbilt is a holistic campus approach that spans the curricular, co-curricular, and broader community.
Fueled by our commitment to Radical Collaboration, Dialogue Vanderbilt programs represent a partnership among faculty, students, and the Vanderbilt community.
Students practice dialogue habits across settings—from casual conversations to debates to decision-making deliberations—always grounded in the principles of civil discourse: respect, constructive exchange, and trust.
Students build habits through our Learn, Practice, Model and Engage model:
Our Student Advisory Board and our recently launched DV First Year Ambassador Program provides thought leadership to ensure we stay student centered in all our work.
Dialogue Vanderbilt is committed to supporting free expression and civil discourse beyond our campus.
The Vanderbilt Civil Discourse Lab is the university’s new hub for student civil discourse education. Our mission is to foster and support a culture of open and respectful speech both on campus and beyond.
The Lab utilizes proven methodologies that equip students to engage with different perspectives while incorporating curiosity, empathy, open-mindedness and academic humility.
From lunch-and-learns and community dinners to high-profile guest speakers, Dialogue Vanderbilt creates spaces where students, faculty, and the broader community can engage directly with diverse perspectives on today’s most pressing issues. These conversations prepare students to think critically, listen deeply, and practice civil discourse in real time.
Dialogue Vanderbilt brings leading voices from across the political, cultural, and ideological spectrum to campus for dynamic, large-scale events. These high-profile programs give the Vanderbilt community and the public opportunities to engage directly with influential thinkers and decision-makers shaping our world.
A student-driven initiative, Voices of VU provides Vanderbilt students a space to practice freely and respectfully expressing their thoughts and views on a variety of topics. The free expression poster, displayed on campus at Rand Dining Hall is rotated weekly with a new prompt. Students are invited to answer and then encouraged to read other responses and write back, creating an atmosphere of engaging discussion.
Past prompts have included: “I wish I know more about _____”, “What’s a question you have about another religion?”, and even, “What is one thing you wish people knew about your political beliefs?"
The Building Relations in Democratic Global Engagement (BRIDGE) Fellowship is a new opportunity for undergraduate students at Vanderbilt interested in international relations and transatlantic democracy. This fellowship aims to develop emerging leaders to foster transatlantic dialogue and shared solutions among students, addressing critical democratic challenges facing the transatlantic community, fostering next-generation cooperation on issues ranging from Ukraine support to technology governance, and building strong foundations for civil dialogue across both partisan and geographic divides.
University leaders and current students discuss freedom of expression, institutional neutrality and civil discourse during a webinar for incoming students and their families.