As institutions across the country grapple with polarization and declining trust in public dialogue, faculty and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are taking a leading role in addressing those challenges. The Center for Governance and Markets (CGM), housed in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), has received a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to advance new approaches to civil discourse on campus and in the broader community. 
The four-year award will support Pluralism360, an initiative designed to strengthen the capacity of students, educators, and civic leaders to engage thoughtfully and constructively across deep differences. The project will bring visiting scholars to Pitt, develop digital civic dialogue platforms that encourage asynchronous student participation, and offer student-led dialogues and leadership activities supported by faculty fellows.
The multidisciplinary initiative will be led by Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, professor of public and international affairs at SPIA and founding director of CGM. It is designed around a “360-degree” approach to pluralism that recognizes political disagreement as rooted in moral, religious, philosophical, and cultural differences, and seeks to create institutional spaces where those differences can be engaged rather than avoided.
“Pluralism360 is grounded in the idea that disagreement is not a problem to be managed away, but a reality of democratic life that can be navigated productively,” Murtazashvili said in an article published by Pittwire this week. “This initiative is about building durable skills and structures that support civil discourse, even when consensus is unlikely.”
In addition to on-campus programming, the funding will support the development of regional networks of nonprofit and educational partners in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia to help institutions strengthen their own efforts around constructive dialogue.
Read more about this exciting work in the following coverage:
- Pittwire: Pitt’s Center for Governance and Markets received a $2.7M grant to promote civil discourse (January 20, 2026)
- Tribune-Review: Pitt, IUP launch initiatives to transform campus culture through dialogue (Jan. 16, 2026)