TDI is a national network of multidisciplinary scholars, campus leaders, and civic leaders in the fields of democratic dialogue, public deliberation, and democracy-building.


Our mission is to strengthen public life and advance deliberative democracy in and through higher education.


Upcoming Events

Pre-Conference Workshop at AAC&U
Please join TDI in creating a community of practice connecting diversity with deliberative democracy at AAC&U's conference in Long Beach. More »

TDI Pre-Conference Workshop
TDI will be convening a day long pre-conference workshop at the National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation in Austin, TX. Learn more and register today, "Deliberative Democracy and Higher Education: A Workshop on Innovative Democratic Education and Leadership."

TDI Workshop on Inclusive Excellence
TDI will be convening two pre-conference workshops on Oct. 16 (2-5 pm) at AAC&U's national conference on Diversity, Learning & Inclusive Excellence. To learn more about the conference & the TDI workshop (see #s 1 & 2), click here.

2009 TDI National Conference
Save the date! TDI will be hosting a national conference at the University of New Hampshire from July 9-11, 2009. Wonderful time of year to visit New Hampshire, so bring the family and make a vacation out of it. More details coming soon.

Make a Note of This

Student-Centered Discussions
The Interactivity Foundation released a new guidebook for student-centered classroom discussions. You can download the report here.

TDI Featured in Peer Review
The latest issue of Peer Review (quarterly magazine published by AAC&U) focuses on student political engagement. TDI members authored some of the articles, including one by our Director, Nancy Thomas. More »

New John Gastil Book!
Prof. John Gastil has written a new book, Political Communication and Deliberation, and has developed a companion instructor website to assist other professors in using this new text in their courses. More »

New Kettering Foundation Book
Deliberation & the Work of Higher Education, describes how deliberative dialogue - in both the classroom and on campus - can promote learning and problem solving. More »

Civic Engagement at the Center
AAC&U recently released this new monograph which highlights developmental models for students' civic learning and socially responsible leadership implemented at 77 campuses. More »

Democratic Theory & Practice Database
The Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University developed a Refworks database for sharing citations to literature on the study and practice of democracy. More »

TDI Member Opportunities

Contribute to the Syllabi Repository
TDI is embarking on an ambitious project to develop a deliberative democracy syllabi repository. Learn how you can contribute! More »