UCF is the only institution in the state of Florida selected to address the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 civil discourse priority as part of its Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education initiative.

The department from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). Following a record number of applicants, UCF was among the honorees with a four-year $3.4 million grant for our proposal 鈥� Civil Interactions and Viewpoints for Interpersonal Competence (CIVIC): A Campuswide Model 鈥� which seeks to protect and promote civil discourse on campuses.

鈥淭he future demands graduates who can collaborate effectively, navigate complex conversations and lead with integrity within varied professional environments, even when they don鈥檛 always agree.鈥� 鈥� Andrea Guzm谩n, UCF vice president for access and community engagement

鈥淭he future demands graduates who can collaborate effectively, navigate complex conversations and lead with integrity within varied professional environments, even when they don鈥檛 always agree,鈥� says Andrea Guzm谩n, UCF vice president for access and community engagement and CIVIC principal investigator. 鈥淭his grant allows us to prepare students not just academically, but to be thoughtful citizens and professionals. By integrating civil discourse skills throughout curricular and co-curricular experiences, we are helping students develop the communication and critical thinking skills that employers, communities and our democracy depend on.鈥�

What is the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)?

FIPSE is a discretionary grant initiative that supports innovative projects to address urgent national needs in postsecondary education. The funds awarded from this specific program competition empower institutions to develop and scale solutions that improve educational outcomes, strengthen institutional capacity and align education with workforce demands.

In November, the Department of Education announced four FY 2025 competition priorities focused on expanding innovative teaching and student success initiatives, promoting civil discourse on campuses, advancing accreditation reform, and building capacity for high鈥憅uality, workforce鈥慳ligned short鈥憈erm academic programs eligible for Workforce Pell Grants.

While UCF was Florida鈥檚 lone representative selected for the civil discourse priority, the state saw Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic 海角直播, and its Commission for Public Higher Education, Inc. earn grants in accreditation. Hillsborough Community College earned funding for AI.

What is civil discourse?

鲍颁贵鈥檚 defines civil discourse as constructive conversation or dialogue which intends to enhance understanding, be productive and requires taking responsibility for truly listening and talking about important local, national and global topics/issues.

鈥淐ivil discourse is about understanding the other person鈥檚 viewpoint so you can come together to make thoughtful decisions in spite of having different viewpoints,鈥� Guzm谩n says.

Guzm谩n says she often hears students today are hesitant to share their own perspectives. She hopes that through this intentional framework, students will begin to feel more confident engaging civilly with those around them.

鈥淲hether students are in the classroom or just having a conversation with a peer, we want them to have the skillset and emotional intelligence needed for constructive conversations,鈥� Guzm谩n says. 鈥淭hey should still be able to walk away and respectfully say, 鈥業 still don鈥檛 agree with you, but let鈥檚 go get a burger and fries afterward.鈥� Too often, we鈥檝e seen relationships fracture because the skill of civil discourse has been lost.鈥�

How will UCF use these funds?

鲍颁贵鈥檚 priority with this $3.4 million grant is to intentionally embed civil discourse and constructive communication skills into the everyday experience at the university through four main strategies.

Strategy 1: Faculty Learning Communities

The first strategy is geared toward . UCF Director of Civil Discourse and Engagement Haley Winston 鈥�17贰诲顿 and a faculty fellow, yet to be named, will partner to create a curriculum to offer paid learning experiences via faculty learning communities each semester and a track at the Summer Faculty Development Institute. This curriculum will inform faculty on strategies and methodologies for building civil discourse opportunities into their classes. There are also plans to develop and implement civil discourse modules in new faculty orientation.

Eventually, 鲍颁贵鈥檚 course catalogue will recognize classes 鈥� much like it does now with service-learning courses 鈥� with a civil discourse designation.

Strategies 2 and 3: Student Orientation and Training

Two additional strategies are student-focused. One will collaborate with 鲍颁贵鈥檚 to include civil discourse modules at orientation.

鈥淔rom the very start of a student鈥檚 journey at UCF, we set the expectation that we are an institution where people can express their views freely and constructively, in a respectful way,鈥� Guzm谩n says.

The other will partner with to offer civil discourse training for both student employee onboarding training as well as a supervisor-specific training via its , preparing students to carry on these skills into the workforce after graduation.

Strategy 4: Mini-grants for Learning Opportunities

The fourth strategy is geared toward expanding co-curricular opportunities through the UCF Ginsburg Center 鈥� Office of Civil Discourse and Engagement. Mini-grants will be offered to units and colleges who want to offer learning opportunities within their department or classrooms.

鈥淭his grant builds on work already underway at UCF and allows us to scale it intentionally.鈥�
鈥� Andrea Guzm谩n

鈥淭his grant builds on work already underway at UCF and allows us to scale it intentionally. It also enables the development of a pilot program designed to be replicated across the state university system,鈥� Guzm谩n says. 鈥淭he reason we are choosing to bolster programs like orientation and faculty learning communities are because these are existing infrastructures that almost every institution will have and can seamlessly incorporate.鈥�

What happens next?

The funding takes effect immediately. UCF will invite faculty applications for the faculty fellow position during the Spring 2026 semester, with the appointment beginning in August.

鲍颁贵鈥檚 will also organize an internal implementation team to confirm year-one priorities, which includes aligning timelines, refining deliverables and establishing the infrastructure needed to support the work.

鈥淲ith every project we implement, we think about scale and long-term impact. The goal is always for meaningful, transformative work to live on beyond the grant,鈥� says Cyndia Morales Mu帽iz 鈥�13EdD, senior director of grant initiatives and partnerships, and CIVIC project director.

In addition to Mu帽iz, Guzm谩n and Winston, the project includes activity coordinators Joel Cramer, interim vice provost for Faculty Excellence; Chanda Torres 鈥�98 鈥�00MA 鈥�08EdD, assistant vice president of the Dixon Career Development Center; and Ryan Goodwin, assistant vice president for Strategic Initiatives.

In years three and four of the grant, UCF will develop and host two symposiums for Florida鈥檚 State 海角直播 System institutions and state colleges to share implementation strategies and lessons learned, providing a model that can be replicated at their own campuses.

鈥淭his is yet another example of UCF leading the way to best serve our students and faculty and we look forward to getting started,鈥� Mu帽iz says.

Note: 100% of 鲍颁贵鈥檚 Civil Interactions and Viewpoints for Interpersonal Competence (CIVIC): A Campuswide Model is being financed with this federal funding and 0% of the program is being financed with non-federal funding.

Last week, ELHE Department Chair traveled to the UCEA鈥檚 annual convention in Los Angeles to accept the honor. Admission to full membership requires institutions to undergo rigorous institutional and program review, including a site visit to meet with representatives from the department, university administrators, student body and alumni.

鈥淣early seven years ago, upon entering as chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education, my vision was for our educational leadership program to be part of this distinguished consortium of higher education institutions,鈥� Bartee says. 鈥淭he vision now has been realized through the hard work and tireless efforts of our program and department faculty, college leadership and broader UCF community. I am grateful for the collaborative commitment of all who made this distinguished recognition possible.鈥�

Following the department鈥檚 review, one of the educational leadership program’s standout benefits as highlighted by the visiting team was the many partnerships the College of Community Innovation and Education (CCIE) maintains with the surrounding school districts.

鈥淥ne of the most exciting components of the educational leadership program is the depth of partnerships with the school districts in and near the greater Orlando metropolitan area 鈥� most notably Orange County, Osceola County and Lake County,鈥� the review noted. 鈥淐ommunity engagement is a big focus of this program, and it shows in the consistently hard work that the faculty display in this area.”

Also noted in the report were the department鈥檚 commitment to placement and success of graduates, as well as the strength of the cohort model in facilitating a collaborative learning environment among both faculty and students.

鈥淭he department did a fantastic job during UCEA鈥檚 site visit,鈥� Associate Professor Eadens says. 鈥淭his is a huge honor. There are two large organizations in the education leadership field in the United States: UCEA and International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership. Being a member of both puts our department on the map.鈥�

CCIE Dean had the opportunity to meet with the UCEA representatives during the site visit.

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly pleased that our Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education has been accepted into the prestigious 海角直播 Council for Educational Administration,鈥� Hayes says. 鈥淚t is an honor for our department to join a council that places emphasis on all of our core values here in the College of Community Innovation and Education, as well as supports our department as we continue to establish innovative community partnerships and cultivate our commitment to serving our students and communities.鈥�

鈥淭oday, more institutions are turning to data and analytics to help personalize advising and identify struggling students before they get too far off track,鈥� said Bridget Burns, executive director of the alliance. 鈥淥ur mission is to test new ideas, understand what works, and scale effective innovations across the country to ensure that more students have the supports they need to complete college. The First in the World grant will enable us to study the work already taking place at our 11 institutions, and test best practices using data analytics that we can share with and beyond the alliance.鈥�

The project will study 10,000 students who are exposed to an intensive menu of proactive, analytics-based advising interventions at the UIA universities. Through research and analysis, the study will examine the benefits, especially for at-risk students, of introducing systematic, proactive advising.

鈥淭his grant illustrates why the alliance is so important. Over the next four years, our eleven institutions will produce groundbreaking evidence illustrating the impact of predictive analytics on student success that will have national significance,鈥� said Dr. Tim Renick, vice president for enrollment and project lead at Georgia State 海角直播.

As part of the study, students at each of the universities will be selected by random assignment and will receive traditional advising services along with intensive, proactive advisement to help them establish individualized academic maps, real-time alerts prompted by a system of analytics-based tracking when they may be struggling, and timely, targeted advising interventions to get them back on the appropriate academic path.

Launched just one year ago, the UIA is a consortium of public research universities established to help more students from all socioeconomic backgrounds graduate from college. This year, all institutions are implementing or scaling the use of data analytics and advising to improve student retention and college completion.

In addition to UCF, the 海角直播 Innovation Alliance includes: Arizona State, Georgia State, Iowa State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon State, Purdue and the universities of California at Riverside, Kansas, and Texas at Austin.

Blair leads a reading program, which is held Saturday mornings during the fall and spring and every day in June. The free tutoring program has been held at community centers in Parramore for 13 years and is staffed by education students from UCF.

On Monday, Blair spoke with Greg Darnieder, Senior Advisor to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, about 鲍颁贵鈥檚 involvement with urban education and partnership with the City of Orlando鈥檚 Department of Families, Parks and Recreation.

Darnieder was in town to learn about the City of Orlando鈥檚 College Access Initiative, which focuses on helping Central Florida students pursue and earn college degrees.

鈥淭he city is proud of my program and its commitment to children and parents in Parramore,鈥� said Blair. 鈥淭he unique partnership between a college of education and a major metropolitan city can and should be replicated throughout the country鈥攊ndeed that was my message to Greg Darnieder.鈥�

To learn more about the College of Education, visit .

Jackson graduated from UCF in 2002 with a bachelor鈥檚 in Early Childhood Education and completed her master鈥檚 degree specializing in Home-School, Community and Educational Leadership in 2003. She currently works as a first-grade teacher and grade-level chair at Dunwoody Springs Elementary School in Sandy Springs, Ga.

Jackson was selected along with 11 others out of 625 applicants from different states, grade levels and specializations. She is one of six teaching ambassador fellows that will remain in their classrooms and participate in the fellowship on a part-time basis. As part of the fellowship, she will have the opportunity to learn about and give input on national educational policy issues. She will also be instructing teachers on how to implement gifted strategies to challenge all learners in a general education setting and working on the RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching) Project.

鈥淚 aspire to obtain my Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies and I feel like the fellowship will prepare me for that experience,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 also feel that it will improve my communication, networking and leadership skills.聽 The fellowship will also make me a greater advocate for students and the teaching profession.鈥�

She described the application process for the fellowship as extensive and highly competitive. The requirements include six multiple-question essays, several letters of support and a lengthy general application. The selection committee looks for candidates who demonstrate exceptional leadership and communication skills, the ability to show initiative and a desire to learn and inform policy.

Jackson is also a four-time Teacher of the Year nominee and won the honor in 2012. She has served in several leadership capacities while conducting action research and teaching in classrooms.

鈥淥ftentimes I speak about how I felt well-prepared for success due to my experience at UCF,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he caliber of professors and rigor during my teacher- preparation program was exceptional. I met my mentor, Laine Powell, when I was a Minority Programs in Education scholar and I am still in contact with some of my Early Childhood Education professors.聽 They shaped me into the teacher I am today.鈥澛� 聽

鲍颁贵鈥檚 efforts to recruit, retain and graduate Hispanic students earned it a spot on the magazine鈥檚 list of 100 best colleges for bachelor鈥檚 degrees.

Using data from the U.S. Department of Education, Hispanic Outlook rated public and private universities throughout the country for its May 7 issue.

More than 1,600 Hispanic students earned their bachelor鈥檚 degrees from UCF in the 2010-2011 academic year. UCF awarded 220 master鈥檚 degrees to Hispanic students that year.

UCF also placed in the top 10 for degrees awarded to Hispanics in several categories. UCF ranked 10th for education; ninth for biological and biomedical sciences; sixth for business management and marketing; seventh for engineering and engineering technology; fourth for health professions and related programs; and fourth for psychology.

Hispanic Outlook is sent to high schools around the country with large Hispanic student enrollment to provide students and parents with information about what schools might offer them the best opportunities for higher education.

The rankings demonstrate 鲍颁贵鈥檚 commitment to helping students of all backgrounds succeed. The university provides support services such as tutoring and counseling, and looks for innovative ways to engage students and their parents.

For example, UCF offers orientation sessions in Spanish for parents who feel more comfortable speaking their native tongue. In addition, 鲍颁贵鈥檚 Board of Trustees last year approved an undergraduate program in Latin American Studies. The program, which began in the fall, prepares students to understand, study and work with Hispanic populations throughout the world.

Adam Giery and John Phillips won two of the state鈥檚 13 fellowships in a highly competitive process that included 150 applicants. The criteria included outstanding leadership skills, strong written and oral communication skills, community activism and a desire to serve the people of Florida.

The Gubernatorial Fellows are assigned to the Executive Office of the Governor and various state agencies based on their majors or areas of concentration. They work a minimum of 20 hours each week, and they are paid. The fellowships began Aug. 16, and they will conclude May 13.

Giery, a graduate student in Higher Education & Policy Studies, holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Social Science Education from UCF.聽 He is working with the Department of Education鈥檚 Division of Florida Colleges.

Phillips is a graduate student in Political Science at UCF. He received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in Political Science from Flagler College. He is working with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

The fellows meet weekly as a group to participate in educational activities such as presentations, press conferences, budget briefings and policy briefings.

鈥淚 commend these outstanding students for their achievements in the classroom and their enthusiasm for serving the people of Florida,鈥� said Gov. Charlie Crist. 鈥淧ublic service is an honor, as well as a great responsibility, and the Gubernatorial Fellows program is a unique way for students to gain valuable on-the-job experience while learning about the positive impact public service has on the lives of all Floridians.鈥�