Lewisburg, Pa. — Bucknell has named Lauren Baillie as the inaugural director of the Bucknell Initiative for Dialogue & Democracy (BIDD), a new campus-wide effort focused on preparing students for positive citizenship in an increasingly polarized world.
Grounded in Bucknell's mission to educate students for lifelong critical thinking, leadership and intellectual exploration, BIDD will help prepare students to productively participate in civic life in a complex era.
"Under Lauren's leadership, BIDD will foster the skills students need to participate in respectful, cross-perspective dialogue," says University President John Bravman. "The initiative strengthens our commitment to free expression in a campus community that welcomes all viewpoints, advances understanding and seeks to educate citizens who serve the greater good."
Baillie joins Bucknell from the United States Institute of Peace, where her efforts at the intersection of dialogue and justice strengthened and nurtured democratic participation in some of the world's most volatile places. Throughout her career in international peace-building, she has translated complex concepts into accessible learning experiences.
"Students are navigating unprecedented polarization. They deserve opportunities to develop skills that will serve them as professionals and as members of their communities," says Baillie. "As they prepare for careers and become members of our civic body, the learning and development that will happen all across campus through BIDD programming will equip them to be citizens and leaders."
Rooted in the nonpartisan exploration of citizenship and society, BIDD will prepare students to engage across differences by embracing pluralistic perspectives, approaching disagreement with respect and listening as carefully as they speak. Baillie intends to connect with students in the classroom, through trusted faculty relationships and across campus to create spaces that encourage civil discourse, intellectual curiosity and constructive opposition. She says she believes that fostering conversations across subject matter will broaden understanding and inspire collaborative action in service of the public good.
Through educational programming and research opportunities that draw on the strengths of Bucknell's three colleges, BIDD will help students develop the skills needed to navigate the complex civic and information landscape. Students will explore how information is created, shared and consumed in the digital age while examining the effects of social media, misinformation and screen-based reading on public discourse and civic engagement. The initiative will also create opportunities for students to practice constructive dialogue through mediation and rhetorical skill-building that foster empathy, cultural awareness and meaningful outreach across differences.
At the same time, BIDD will encourage students to think critically about leadership and democratic participation by examining the policies, practices and societal structures that sustain communities and civic life. Through scholarly inquiry, students will strengthen their ability to analyze complex arguments and data, engage deeply with peer-reviewed research and develop innovative approaches to enduring societal challenges.
A $2 million gift from Catherine Kolb Stroup '83, P'19 and her husband, Chris P'19, together with support from Bucknell's Board of Trustees, enabled the University to establish the new initiative during a period of renewed public reflection as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday.
For Catherine, the initiative aligned with the future she hopes to see for the country. "In their pursuit of liberty and justice for all, our nation's founding fathers understood the virtues — peace, unity, empathy, integrity, discipline, patience, perseverance, kindness and compassion — as foundational principles of democracy," she says.
"In order to grow as a country, in order to be powerful, in order to lead our democracy, we need to teach those virtues and be able to communicate more clearly in our personal lives and our interactions with each other. That's why Chris and I are very enthusiastic about supporting this initiative."
Baillie is set to join Bucknell July 6. BIDD programming will open to students at the start of the fall semester.