HEADLINES

-- Dr. Gina Johnson will review South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation approach to robust civility to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid: March 18, 6:30 PM.

-- Two talks focused on robust civility

February 28, 7:00 (PCC Cascade Campus) and

February 29, 3:00 (Friendsview Auditorium)

-- Civility Project wins attention in three state-wide podcast sessions, and three higher education publications.

-- George Fox University infuses civility principles into general education class, campus-wide dialogs.

COMING UP!

Recent Events

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 7:00 - 8:45 PM: Newberg/Dundee Community Conversation (held at Northwest Christian Church). The conversation will focus on the role of school boards in the future of public education, the third in a three-part series of conversations on issues related to education.

Monday March 18, 6:30 - 8:00, Hoover 105.

"The First Thirty Years:

Truth, Reconciliation,

and Post-Apartheid South Africa"

Former GF Associate Professor of History Dr. Gina Johnson will explore how South Africa has fared at achieving justice, healing, and reconciliaton in the 30 years since the end of the apartheid regime there. Did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission strategy work? What can we in a divided America learn from their experience?

"Quakers and Civility in Politics" Thursday afternoon, February 29, 3:00 - 4:30. Friendsview Manor, Newberg.

Civility Project Director Ron Mock spoke in the Friendsview auditorium on a Quaker approach to civility amid the bitter polarization currently affecting American politics.

"The Violence of Peace:

The Violent Nature of Humanity's Quest for Peace"

Wednesday evening, February 28, 2024, 7:00 - 9:00 PM: Portland Community College Cascade Campus (705 N Killingsworth)

Ron was part of a panel exploring violence and peace-making. He shared from nearly four centuries of Quaker witness, and the Civility Project's three-tiered concept of robust civility.

A note about both of these events:

The Friends movement was founded by people who spoke boldly (and at times illegally) the truth as they saw it, a tradition surviving into our own time. Alongside this outspokenness, Quakers have also embraced non-violence and a call to listen to one's opponents expecting to hear "that of God" from them.

The George Fox Civility Project has been working to find ways to "listen to that of God" in our opponents' positions, while maintaining a commitment to pursue justice. Both of Ron's talks on February 28 and 29 explored some of this work.

Civility Project Attracts Attention of Regional, National Higher Ed Groups

On Tuesday, January 9, the national higher education on-line newsletter HigherEdDrive senior editor Natalie Schwartz published an article entitled "How private colleges are grappling with growing partisan divides."

George Fox University President Robin Baker was one of three private university officials on a panel discussing this topic at a recent session of the Council of Independent Colleges Presidents' Institute.

President Baker explained how the Civility Project was created in 2020 in response to growing concern about political polarization at all levels of American government, from the national to the local. Then he described how the concern intensified in Newberg following the 2021 school board election.

The article mentions in passing several Civility Project initiatives, highlighting them as the kinds of things other institutions of higher education could consider.

This story comes in the wake of similar attention we mentioned last month from the university presidents in the Northwest Council of Colleges and Universities, a regional accrediting body.

Presidents of other universities in the Pacific Northwest heard about our George Fox University Civility Project, and asked to hear more. To accommodate their curiosity, GF President Robin Baker and Civility Project director Ron Mock put together a report (updated from the version published here in December) which you can read here.

GFCP hits the Oregon podcast scene

The George Fox Civility Project hit the podcast scene three weeks in a row in December, with the release of an interview project director Ron Mock did with The Oregon Bridge’s co-host Ben Bowman, followed by two more Oregon Bridge episodes comprising Part 1 and Part 2 of an interview Ron did with Bowman and his Oregon Bridge co-host Reagan Knopp.

It all started a year ago when Ron asked Bowman and Knopp if they would come to George Fox to talk about their unique Oregon politics podcast. Bowman, a Democrat, is a freshman Oregon state representative. Knopp is a legislative aide for Republicans in the state legislature and a campaign consultant for Republican candidates.

They drew Ron's attention with their long string of interviews with Oregon politicos from across the political spectrum. Their conversations are friendly and respectful, focused on listening to understand various points. And the relationship between these two avid partisans is friendly and clearly abounding in mutual respect. As exemplars of how to be robustly civil without abandoning one's political principles, they are natural role models of the kind of civility the Project tries to foster.

Alas, the legislature was in session and it proved impossible to find a time last spring. Finally November 13th emerged as an open date. Knopp and Bowman came to GFU, and had a fascinating conversation with Ron and the people in attendance.

In turn, Bowman and Knopp were intrigued by the Civility Project’s work and impact in the Newberg area. Both were familiar with the sensational headlines coming out of Newberg in 2121, and were curious about how the Project has been responding to the divisions in the local community.

So they invited Ron to be a guest on the Oregon Bridge. Bowman and Ron had a fun and wide-ranging conversation about political divisions in Newberg, Oregon, and the rest of the country. Ron described the work the Project and its community partners (like the United as Neighbors group and its Community Conversations project) are doing in Newberg.

It was a great opportunity for people around the state to learn about our work. You can watch (and listen to) the the Ron's Oregon Bridge appearance here ( Oregon Bridge Episode 135) , as it aired on December 6.

The next two episodes of the Oregon Bridge (Episodes 136 and 137) are parts 1 and 2 of the November event on the GFU campus. So the Civility Project set an Oregon Bridge record by being featured in three consecutive episodes! (It being the Christmas season and the hosts being especially busy probably helped, but still... )

Think of how fun it will be to watch and/or listen to three straight hours of Ron Mock and the Oregon Bridge team... Or better yet, don't think. Just do it.