Dear UConn Community Members, 

You are cordially invited to participate in the Metanoia 2024 Kick-Off event hosted at the Student Union Ballroom, Room 331, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. This year’s Metanoia will focus on “pathways to productive civil discourse” and came out of a need for our community to better foster an environment of equity, inclusion, and understanding when engaging in challenging conversations. Watch parties will also be hosted at Avery Point (Avery Point Library, Study Room 2, first floor), Stamford (room 216), and Waterbury (Student Lounge), where attendees will be able to view a livestream of the event.  Learn more about the kick-off event. 

Attendees are also invited to join the Democracy & Dialogues Initiative event hosted by the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute titled “UConn Strong: A Dialogue on Mental Health & Resilience” immediately following the kick-off event. Light refreshments will be provided at both. Visit the Democracy & Dialogues event listing for more information.

In recent months and years, we have experienced significant challenges that have resulted in an increase in divisiveness in U.S. society and beyond. Debates on contentious topics can quickly become heated and lead to missed opportunities for productive and understanding dialogue. We hope that our community can learn and grow together through this Metanoia, which will continue into the next academic year with a series of workshops and events hosted on UConn’s multiple campuses. 

UConn is a community that respects all members and strives towards inclusivity and understanding. Our community thrives when we have tools to engage in productive discourse and dialogue together. This is how we truly foster an environment of equity, inclusion, understanding, and empathy. We hope you will join us next week at the kick-off event and look forward to continuing this work into the next academic year. 

Sincerely, 

Jennifer Lease Butts, Associate Vice Provost for Enrichment Programs, Director of the Honors Program 

Phoebe Godfrey, Professor, Sociology, CLAS 

Jon Heiden, President, Undergraduate Student Government, Storrs 

2024 Metanoia Steering Committee Chairs