In Fall 2025, the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences partnered with the University of Utah’s John R. Park Debate Society to launch a new “Debate Across the Curriculum” initiative. Led by Associate Dean Michael K. Middleton and supported by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, Debate Across the Curriculum engages students in structured debate exercises to teach them skills for navigating disagreement and solving complex problems.
Though Debate Across the Curriculum is relatively new, the U has been supporting many similar efforts for years. While the university prepares students with the technical expertise required in their fields, it also recognizes that a thriving democracy depends on citizens who can engage in disagreement thoughtfully and constructively.
Helping students strengthen their communication skills and understand perspectives different from their own is fundamental to higher education, but the U also intentionally looks for opportunities to integrate these values into its teaching.
“Engaging students in rigorous dialogue across difference has long been a part of how learning happens at the U,” said Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Mitzi Montoya. “Our faculty are deeply committed to creating learning environments where students test ideas, examine evidence and refine their thinking through respectful, structured engagement with others.”
The Office of the EVPAA has created the Dialogue, Dignity and Civic Engagement Project to highlight the work already taking place on campus and to provide a platform for future activities as they arise. Projects that focus on encouraging and teaching students to participate in healthy conversations will be featured on the website. Anyone who wants more information on how the U is helping its students create unsurpassed societal impact can read about the many projects, initiatives and programs across campus.
Debate Across the Curriculum is one example of a featured project. It equips students with valuable communication and critical thinking skills by developing curricular supplements instructors can implement, giving students the opportunity to participate in guided debates grounded in course curriculum.
While debate topics will differ depending on the course, each debate will follow the same basic outline: students and instructors determine which side of the argument students will represent, then students are given equal time to make arguments and answer questions from their peers. Finally, the class engages in guided reflection questions about the experience. Research shows participating in structured debates, like Debate Across the Curriculum, promotes intellectual curiosity and creativity, increases willingness to engage in perspective-taking, reduces verbal aggression, improves productive discourse and fosters intellectual flexibility and openness to diverse viewpoints.
“At its best, debate, as an exercise in exploring and testing ideas rather than defeating an opponent, reveals that, even if our disagreements remain, there may be something to be learned from the perspectives of others and that we may agree on more than we initially think,” Middleton said.
Students who participated in the Debate Across the Curriculum pilot program reported a 12% increase in perceptions of shared values, priorities and/or experiences with those who held opposing views as compared to students who have not participated in Debate Across the Curriculum. They also felt less stress discussing controversial or political issues, more at ease engaging across differences and more comfortable sharing their honest perspectives about politics and governance at the U.
“Success means our students learning to be effective advocates, while also developing the resilience that allows them to learn from opposing views even if they don’t find those views persuasive,” Middleton said.
Many other projects across campus are seeing similar results—and have been for years. For instance, the John R. Park Debate Society has been hosting annual debates since 1869 and continues to support K-12 and community-based learners through teacher clinics, summer institutes and community debate leagues. The Honors College designed Intellectual Traditions courses, which invite students to reflect on their assumptions and values by introducing them to new texts, ideas or conversations. Additionally, the J. Willard Marriott Library contributed to an exhibit on the power of the written word in the context of the American Revolution. This work is part of the broader community-engaged efforts reflected in the university’s 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
The Dialogue, Dignity and Civic Engagement Project will continue to seek out and feature efforts across campus. If anyone wishes to share a project they’ve participated in or heard about, please contact Greg Kratz, communications director in the Office of the EVPAA, with details. The website will be regularly updated as the U develops more projects.