É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥

Amid rising political polarization, a team of É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

Current fellows Janet Donavan, Leah Sprain and Christina Stanton, and former fellows Doug Spencer and Matt Burgess, dedicated many hours each to help inform students, faculty, staff and members of the public about election-related issues and to encourage voting.

In sports, it’s often said, offense wins games, but defense wins championships. For Cody Walizer, when it comes to politics, that’s inverted—good defense can win a debate, but it’s offense that wins elections.

The Higher Education and Democracy Initiative catalyzes university-community partnerships and elevates public and community-engaged scholarship that addresses pressing civic challenges. This election season the initiative is helping É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥

In 2018, a change in North Dakota’s voter ID requirements posed a potential threat to the voting rights of tribal members. In response, the Natives Vote team, a collaborative effort including the American Indian Law Clinic at Colorado Law, First

Associate Professor Leah Sprain’s work embraces the idea that the communication discipline is a practical discipline and that community partnerships are key components to doing scholarship well. She also believes partnerships with communities outside the university can be high-impact ways for professors to get satisfaction from their work. For these reasons—and more—it makes perfect sense that Sprain is embarking on her second year as a fellow in the Higher Education and Democracy Initiative.

The Office for Outreach and Engagement is pleased to announce the 2023-24 Higher Education and Democracy Fellows.Matt Burgess, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental StudiesJanet Donavan, Associate Chair, Political ScienceDoug Spencer,