2024-2025 Impact Summary

A truly transformative experience…

Students consistently described the Deliberation Dinners as a transformative experience that improved their ability to engage in civil discourse. A major theme was the development of stronger listening skills and greater open-mindedness.

One student shared, “I don’t interrupt as much, I wait and actually listen,” while another reflected, “It helped me be a better listener, honestly.” Many described a shift from reacting quickly to taking time to understand others’ views: “It made me reflect more before responding,” and “It slowed me down, in a good way.”

This shift also included deeper curiosity about differing perspectives. As one student put it, “I think I’m more curious now when people say something I disagree with,” and another added, “I started to try to understand why they think what they think.” These changes helped students move away from a need to “win” arguments. “Made me realize I don’t always need to be right, just to understand,” explained one student.

Observers also noted that students engaged in exchanges that indicated they were trying to listen and understand others’ viewpoints. For example, some of the student statements documented include: “Just to clarify, are you considering…;” “What I thought I heard you say…;” and “Can you elaborate…”

Respectful and calm dialogue was another key outcome.

Students noted that they became less defensive and more intentional in how they communicated. “I think that I am less defensive about it now than I used to be,” said one, while another shared, “Even when I feel strongly, I try to express it gently.”

Several students mentioned how tone and demeanor influenced the quality of their conversations: “Made me notice how much tone matters,” and “I try not to escalate anymore, I keep it low-key like we did in the dinners.”

These skills didn’t stay confined to the dinner table. Students reported applying them in real-life settings: “I think these skills that I’ve learned have definitely carried into how I talk about politics with my friends,” and “I tried it at Thanksgiving dinner and it actually helped!” Others mentioned using techniques like paraphrasing and acknowledging before disagreeing: “Now I use that technique of paraphrasing what someone said before responding,” and “I remember the ‘acknowledge before disagreeing’ thing, it really works.”

(Excerpt from the Year Two Evaluation of the UW–Madison Deliberation Dinners)

Faculty & Academic Staff Facilitators

Monday Cohort

Facilitator	Department	School/College
Ajay Sethi	Population Health Sciences	School of Medicine & Public Health
Carlos Benítez Barrera	Communication Sciences and Disorders	L&S
David O’Brien	Educational Policy Studies	Education
Diana Rodríguez-Gómez	Educational Policy Studies	Education
Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen	History	L&S
Jeri Barak	Plant Pathology	Agricultural & Life Sciences
Jerome Camal	Anthropology	L&S
Karen Kopacek	Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research Division and Office of Student Affairs	Pharmacy
LJ Randolph	World Language Education, Curriculum & Instruction	Education
Pam McGranahan	Nursing, Director of the Doctorate of Nursing (DNP) program	Nursing
Robert Nix	Human Development & Family	Human Ecology
Shamya Karumbaiah	Educational Psychology	Education

Tuesday Cohort

Facilitator	Department	School/College
Aja Watkins	Philosophy	L&S
Andrew Stevens	Agricultural and Applied Economics	Agricultural & Life Sciences
Catalina Toma	Communication Arts	L&S
Gwen Eudey	Economics & Finance, Investment and Banking	L&S
Joe Conti	Sociology	L&S
Kassem Fawaz	Electrical & Computer	Engineering
Maria Widmer	Administration	L&S
Mike Shapiro	Engineering	Engineering
Nathan Jung	Engineering	Engineering
Rahul Chatterjee	Computer Science	L&S
Rommel Javier Jimenez	Bachelor of Business Administration	Wisconsin School of Business
Taylor Odle	Educational Policy Studies	Education
Harry Brighouse (Sub for both days)	Philosophy	L&S