Braver Angels College Debates and Discourse Program (John Templeton Foundation Grant)

Braver Angels College Debates and Discourse Program

Program Administrator: Braver Angels (nonprofit organization)

Award: Two-year research grant (specific dollar amount not disclosed)

Geographic Scope: 10 colleges nationally designated as "Community of Practice," including VMI (Virginia Military Institute), Lexington, VA

Program Focus: Promoting civil discourse and respectful debate on difficult and divisive issues

About Braver Angels:

• Nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting civil discourse
• Founded by David Blankenhorn (among others)
• Provides trained facilitators for debate programming

Program Philosophy:

• Not competitive but rather a collective exercise in thoughtfulness, respect, and search for truth
• Focuses on deep listening, critical thinking, and thoughtful communication

Debate Format:

• Light parliamentary style guided by trained chairperson
• Resolution chosen in advance
• Each speaker has up to 4 minutes to present argument
• Audience asks questions through the chair
• Short debriefing session at end

VMI Partnership History

• 2017: David Blankenhorn invited to speak at VMI's Center for Leadership and Ethics (CLE) Annual Leadership and Ethics Conference on "Speaking Truth to Power: Candid and Courageous Civil Discourse"
• 2021: Braver Angels sent four trained facilitators to run debates during the Leadership and Ethics Conference (theme: citizenship and social responsibility)
• 2022-2024: Two-year research grant awarded

Grant Requirements

The grant stipulates that VMI must:

• Conduct one campus-wide debate
• Conduct one debate in a class each semester for 3 semesters
• Conduct data analysis in the fourth semester
• Provide one faculty fellow and two student fellows

Research Component

• Purpose: Research the impact of debates on participants, including:
  • Ability to exhibit calm and confidence when conflict arises
  • Leadership skills development
• Data Collection: Gathered by all 10 partner institutions
• Analysis: University of Delaware will analyze data from all participating institutions

VMI Participant Roles

Faculty Co-Advisors:

• Lt. Col. Sara Whipple, Ph.D. (Psychology Department Associate Professor)
• Col. Valentina Dimitrova-Grajzl, Ph.D. (Department of Economics and Business)

Student Fellows (2022-2024):

• Cadet Katie Lloyd '23 (International Studies major) - involved with program since initial partnership
• Cadet Devin Thomas '24 (International Studies major)

Student Responsibilities:

• Determine debate topics
• Publicize the debates
• Recruit participants
• Lead debates (after training by Braver Angels)
• Work with faculty to train other faculty members

Implementation at VMI

• First debate planned for early spring with topic of particular interest to cadets and life on post
• Faculty training sessions planned for spring to help faculty integrate debates into their courses
• Long-term goal (within 1 year): Host intercollegiate debate or community debate

Partner Institution

• VMI is one of only 10 colleges nationwide designated as a "Community of Practice"