The March 2026 Periclean
Sharing updates and stories from our network of civic champions, delivered on the first Friday of each month.
Announcing Our Program Directors Council
Across our national network, civic learning is sustained by colleagues who are embedded in their campuses and accountable to their communities.
To formalize and strengthen this distributed leadership, Project Pericles has established our inaugural Program Directors Council. The Council brings together leaders who are deeply attuned to the realities of their institutions and committed to strengthening community-engaged civic learning both on their campuses and across the Periclean consortium.
The Council serves as a collaborative space for shaping ideas, strengthening connections among campuses, and providing thoughtful guidance on initiatives connected to the core priorities of our strategic plan, Shaping Civic Futures: Pedagogical Influence, Consortium Strength, and Thought Leadership.
Our 2025-2026 Program Directors Council:
Carleton College | Sinda Nichols
Drew University | Mecca Madyun
Elon University | Mat Gendle
Goucher College | Lindsay Johnson
Pace University | Heather Novak
Occidental College | Celestina Castillo
Skidmore College | Eric Morser
Widener University | Lauren Shermer
We are grateful for the time, insight, and leadership these colleagues are bringing to strengthen civic learning practices across our network.
In this edition, we cover:
Pericles Civic Fellowship RFP
Civic Story Lab February Update
Meet Us at Compact26!
Center for Community News Webinar
Spotlight: Tango
Periclean Thought Leadership
Staff Reads
Invitation for Proposals: Pericles Civic Fellowship
We are pleased to invite proposals for our new Pericles Civic Fellowship! An evolution of our former Mini-Grants program, this redesigned Fellowship supports thoughtfully designed initiatives that translate civic learning from concept to practice in classrooms, in communities, and across differences. Each award provides a $3,000 award to test or advance a focused project that demonstrates innovation, collaboration, and the potential for lasting integration or institutional adoption. Fellows will join a peer cohort of practitioners across institutions and contribute their work to the broader civic learning community.
Inspired by the Periclean Grants Programs (Periclean Faculty Leaders and Catalyst grants) for our consortium members, this fellowship extends those same transformative opportunities to any higher education institution with a priority for applicants from public institutions, community colleges, and minority-serving Institutions.
By funding innovation beyond our consortium, this Fellowship extends Project Pericles’ impact across the higher education sector. Please share this opportunity!
Circulating Care through Ethical Storytelling: Civic Story Lab Resources
In February, our Civic Story Lab brought together campus teams, faculty, and staff for an engaging session on Ethical Storytelling and Power Auditing, led by Periclean Faculty Leader, Dan Trudeau of Macalester College. Participants explored how storytelling can move beyond documentation to become a collaborative practice that circulates care, builds civic agency, strengthens reciprocity, and deepens trust in community-engaged work.
By reflecting on projects such as his PFL-supported collaboration with the Payne Avenue Walking Tour and leading a hands-on power audit activity, Professor Trudeau emphasized how positionality, access, and power shape the stories campus teams tell. The workshop emphasized co-creation, ongoing consent, and asset-based storytelling approaches that center community relationships.
Are you interested in resources for ethical collaboration and community storytelling? Explore this Pocket Guide for Ethical Storytelling by Dr. Trudeau and our Civic Story Lab webpage for a library of related resources.
Meet Us at Compact26!
If you’ll be at Compact26 in Chicago, join us for a Periclean Community Lunch on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 12:15 PM - 2:30 PM CT. Contact arielle@projectpericles.org to reserve your spot.
Our staff will be leading five sessions at the conference, highlighting approaches to dialogue, civic engagement, and systems change, which we would love for you to participate in:
Pluralism in Practice: A Community College Approach to Classroom Dialogue (Roundtable): Monday, March 16, 3:15-4:00 PM (Crystal A)
Reaching the Reluctant: Curious Disagreement Skills for Every Student (Workshop): Monday, March 16, 3:15–4:00 PM (Columbian)
What Story Is Your Campus Telling? Methods for Aligning Purpose, Culture, and Practice, (Workshop): Tuesday, March 17, 2:30–3:15 PM (Toronto)
Systems Change and Sustainability: Postgrad Pathways for Continuous Social Impact: Tuesday, March 17, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM (Crystal Ballroom BC)
Beyond Your Campus: Launching and Sustaining Youth-Led Civic Coalitions (Roundtable): Wednesday, March 18, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM (Crystal Ballroom BC)
Registration Open! Project Pericles and the Center for Community News Webinar
Project Pericles is partnering with the Center for Community News (CCN) to support up to ten Pericles/CCN Champions across our network. Selected faculty will receive $1,000 and a year of cohort-based coaching to help students publish community-focused reporting in local news outlets.
At a moment when local journalism is under strain, we are enthusiastic to equip faculty and students on Periclean campuses to be contributors to the civic information ecosystem and to strengthen both student learning and community news.
If you would like your students to see their bylines in the local paper, join us for a webinar with CCN on Friday, March 27, at 2:00 PM ET to learn more about the opportunities to integrate community journalism into your courses.
Partner Spotlight: Tango Gamifies Dialogue Across Difference
Project Pericles is exploring partnership opportunities with Tango, a platform designed to bridge divides on campus. Designed by Joshua Greene, the Alfred and Rebecca Lin Professor of Civil Discourse at Harvard University, Tango helps participants reduce polarization and strengthen cross-group trust.
Tango is a free, cooperative quiz game that pairs participants across differences, prompting collaboration on challenging questions about pop culture, current events, and real-world challenges. It helps players discover that teammates with different perspectives can be reasonable, friendly, and insightful, challenging assumptions, and creating unexpected bonds.
Evidence from randomized controlled trials shows Tango is both enjoyable and durable in its impact. Tango is offering scheduled times to be paired with people across the U.S. for richer, more diverse conversations and to test out the platform. Sessions are offered weekly on Thursday at 9:00 PM ET or Sunday at 8:00 PM ET, and you can sign up with this link.
If you’d like to explore using Tango on your campus, reach out to Karen Murphy at kmurphy@letstango.org.
Periclean Thought Leadership
Elon News: Gendle and Tapler lead conversation at NCCE PACE conference to promote equity in community-based learning
Mat Gendle (Elon University) and Amanda Tapler (Elon University)
Elon University Project Pericles Program Directors Mat Gendle and Amanda Tapler led a discussion examining power imbalances with community partners and how to develop programs that prioritize mutual benefit rather than solely student outcomes. Tapler also recently received a unanimous vote from Elon’s Board of Trustees to be appointed as a Full Teaching Professor, the highest faculty rank at Elon.
Macalester News: ‘Voices of Lake Street’ Project
Caroline ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick ’26 (Macalester College)
Macalester Civic Story Lab Fellow Caroline ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick is already getting attention. Fitz and her project, “Voices of Lake Street,” were recently profiled by Macalester’s College Newswire. Her digital story map covers immigrant-owned businesses in Minneapolis, sharing their stories, challenging stereotypes about entrepreneurs, and encouraging community support.
Rhodes College: Rhodes Into Memphis Service Campaign Tops Goal
Rhodes College just surpassed its commitment to provide 50,000 hours of service to local organizations in Memphis—months ahead of schedule. The campus logged 57,200 hours by early March, and the numbers continue to rise.
Journal of Experiential Education: “Do Community-Based Learning Experiences in STEM Encourage Students From Historically Underrepresented Backgrounds to Pursue STEM? A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review”
Kelsey Bitting (Elon University), with Jesse Akman and Jessica Merricks
Elon University Periclean Faculty Leader Kelsey Bitting recently co-wrote a review exploring the extent to which community-based learning may support underrepresented students’ STEM intentions and self-beliefs. The review found some studies suggesting potential value of CBL, but the strongest conclusion is that the evidence base is small and not well-designed enough yet to confirm its impact on underrepresented STEM students.
American Psychological Association: “How college students understand American meritocracy: From initial beliefs to emerging meanings”
Yun Garrison (Bates College), with Christopher Draper, Tamaki Hashiramoto, Sarah Pearl, and Charles Cederberg.
Bates College Periclean Faculty Leader Yun Garrison was part of a broad research study that conducted interviews with diverse college students about American meritocracy. The study found emotional tension when their beliefs about meritocracy were challenged but moved toward reaffirming or revising their views through critical reflection.
Times Union: “Federal actions put higher education in peril”
Marc Conner, President (Skidmore College) and Project Pericles Board Member
President Conner recently co-published a piece in the Times Union that argues recent federal actions and incidents threatening free speech, peaceful assembly, and the rule of law endanger the fundamental freedoms that higher education depends on. They urged leaders to uphold the principles in America’s founding documents.
What Staff are Reading
Sanda (Executive Director) is reading Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change by Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva, and Daniel Kelly, enjoying its blend of behavioral science and ethics and reflecting on how small, deliberate choices by campus leaders and students can turn awareness of social issues like racism, climate change, and poverty into tangible action.
Arielle (Associate Director) is reading “Preparing Students for Civic Life: A Guide for Higher Education Leaders” by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. This concise and punchy read shares strategies and case studies for infusing democratic engagement into the DNA of institutions.
Jason (Civic Impact Assistant) is reading the 5th edition of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition’s Strengthening American Democracy Action Planning Guide, which includes practical advice for increasing civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation among college students.
Harry (Civic Impact and Communications Coordinator) is reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, a semi-autobiographical novel about a World War II veteran and the bombing of Dresden.
Maddie (Program Communications and Design Specialist) is reading The Name of God Is Mercy, a conversation between Pope Francis and Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli, which explores mercy as the “first attribute of God” and the cornerstone of the Pope’s papacy.