Skip to main content
Connecticut College
  • About Connecticut College
  • Academics
  • Admission & Financial Aid
  • Alumni & Life After Conn
  • Athletics
  • Campus & Community
  • Career Preparation
  • Human Resources
  • Student Experience
  • Calendar
  • News
  • Directory
  • Employment
  • Libraries & Technology
  • CC Magazine
  • Site Map
Make a gift CamelWeb Today at Conn

Specialized Resources

  • Accessibility Services
  • Admission Deadlines
  • Admitted Students
  • Admitted Student Statistics
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookshop
  • Campus Map
  • Clubs and Activities
  • Counseling Services
  • Directions to Campus
  • Essays That Worked
  • Financial Aid Services
  • Health Services
  • International Students
  • Interviewing
  • Libraries
  • Orientation
  • Request Information
  • Residential Life
  • Majors and Minors
  • Student Blog
  • Sustainability
  • Technology Services
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Transfer Students
  • Tuition and Fees
  • Transportation
  • Visit Campus
  • Academic Advising
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academic Resource Center
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Camel Card Office
  • Campus Safety
  • Campus Map
  • Career Services
  • Class Schedules
  • Clubs and Student Engagement
  • Connections
  • Counseling Services
  • Course Catalog
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Environmental Health & Safety
  • Global Focus
  • Health Services
  • Libraries
  • Residential Life
  • Sustainability
  • Technology Services
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Transportation
  • Academic Advising
  • Academic Calendar
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Banner Self-Service
  • Camel Card Office
  • Campus Map
  • Campus Safety
  • Center for Teaching & Learning
  • Course Catalog
  • Course Information and Schedules
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Employee Benefits
  • Environmental Health & Safety
  • Facilities Management
  • Human Resources
  • Instructional Technology
  • Libraries
  • Moodle
  • Sustainability
  • Technology Services
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Wellness Program
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academic Resource Center
  • Alcohol and Drug Education
  • Arboretum
  • Arts & Culture
  • Athletics Calendar
  • Bookshop
  • Camel Card Office
  • Campus Map
  • Campus Safety
  • Career Services
  • CARE Team
  • Commencement
  • Counseling Services
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Fall Weekend
  • Applying for Financial Aid
  • First-Year Student FAQ
  • Global Focus
  • Health Services
  • Libraries
  • Orientation
  • Parent enewsletter
  • Parents Council
  • Residential Life
  • Resources for Parents and Families
  • Student Employment
  • Tuition and Fees
  • Visiting New London

 

  • Area Attractions & Events
  • Area Hotels
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookshop
  • Campus Map
  • Campus Safety
  • The Children's Program
  • Community Learning/Volunteering
  • Directions
  • Events and Catering
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Reserving Harkness Chapel
  • Local Restaurants and Dining
  • OnStage Performances
  • Transportation
  • Alumni Directory
  • Alumni Events
  • Alumni Association
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookshop
  • Campus Map
  • Fall Weekend
  • Global Focus
  • Libraries
  • Library Databases
  • Notable Alumni
  • Email Help
  • Replacement Diploma
  • Reunion
  • Sponsor an Internship
  • Support the College
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Transcripts
  • Update Your Info
  • Volunteer
  • Post a job or internship
  • Explore employment programs
  • Learn about funded internships

Agnes Gund ’60 endows The Agnes Gund ’60 Dialogue Project at Connecticut College with $1 million gift

Faculty and students participate in a first-year seminar discussion
  • Home 
  • Home 
  • News 
  • News Archive 
  • 2019 
  • The Gund Dialogue Project

Agnes Gund ’60 endows The Agnes Gund ’60 Dialogue Project at Connecticut College with $1 million gift

Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion John McKnight and Professor of Psychology Audrey Zakriski are teaching a first-year seminar course,
Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion John McKnight and Professor of Psychology Audrey Zakriski are teaching a first-year seminar course, "Conversations on Race," as part of The Agnes Gund ’60 Dialogue Project at Connecticut College.

Philanthropist, arts leader, and social justice advocate Agnes Gund ’60 has designated a gift of $1 million to endow The Agnes Gund ’60 Dialogue Project at Connecticut College. The purpose of the Gund Dialogue Project is to build a generation of leaders capable of respecting and expressing a broad range of divergent ideas and opinions. 

“We are so grateful for this wonderful gift from Agnes Gund, which allows us to establish one of the most comprehensive intergroup dialogue programs in the country,” said Connecticut College President Katherine Bergeron.

“The Gund Dialogue Project responds to the urgent need for acceptance, understanding, and empathy in our increasingly divided world. Through this program our students will learn to embrace difference, listen deeply, and find common ground. These are critical life skills that inform the best kind of leaders.”

The Gund Dialogue Project combines critical theory and experiential learning to deepen intercultural awareness and understanding. Through workshops, interactive classes, cultural immersion experiences, community service projects and events on and off campus, students will build the capacity to engage in courageous conversations that speak across political, social, racial, and socioeconomic differences. 

“It is wonderful to see Connecticut College taking the lead in educating students for a more just society,” Gund said. “I look forward to the flourishing of this project and to witnessing the changes brought by the capable young leaders who will emerge from it.”

“The Gund Dialogue Project is one way we are addressing the troubling and divisive sociopolitical climate we are experiencing in this nation and its impact within our campus community,” said Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion John McKnight.

“We will provide students with opportunities to develop the intercultural competence they need to prepare them for successful lives and careers and enable them to lead social change within their own communities. Ultimately, the Gund Dialogue Project will raise our collective consciousness, help us build stronger relationships across social identities, and equip us with new tools for taking action against inequality.”

Jonathan McBride ’92, managing director and global head of Inclusion and Diversity at BlackRock, Inc. and former director of White House personnel under President Barack Obama, said the skills students will gain through the Gund Dialogue Project are vital for today’s global economy. 

“Connecticut College students who have gone through this program will be uniquely prepared to enter the global workforce. So many corporations today are investing in programs like this one to equip their talent pool with exactly these capacities. Conn graduates will have the skills as they come in the door,” McBride said. 

The Gund Dialogue Project is being implemented in several phases. The initial phase includes intergroup dialogue training for faculty and staff and a First-Year Seminar for students, “Conversations on Race,” which was launched this fall with seed funding from David Carliner ’82. Over the next several years, it is anticipated that more than 200 students will have participated in the program, along with dozens of faculty and staff with training to integrate these pedagogical approaches into their work.  

Gund is the president emerita of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), chair of its International Council and chair of MoMA PS1. In 2017, she provided seed funding for the Art for Justice Fund, which supports criminal justice reform and combats racial inequality in America. She is also the founder of Studio in a School, a non-profit organization that engages professional artists as art instructors in public schools and community organizations.

In 1997, Gund received the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the U.S. government, from President Bill Clinton. In 1984, she received the Connecticut College Medal, the highest honor awarded by the College. 



Put the world together in new ways. Learn more



October 3, 2019

Related News & Media

Recent News

World AIDS Day: AIDS Memorial Quilt on display

World AIDS Day: AIDS Memorial Quilt on display

Campus News

Race Across Generations

Race Across Generations

Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320
1 (860) 447-1911
admission@conncoll.edu
Web Privacy Policy
Web Accessibility Notice

Website Navigation

  • About Connecticut College
  • Academics
  • Admission & Financial Aid
  • Alumni & Life After Conn
  • Athletics
  • Campus & Community
  • Career Preparation
  • Human Resources
  • Student Experience
Make a gift CamelWeb Today at Conn
  • Calendar
  • News
  • Directory
  • Employment
  • Libraries & Technology
  • CC Magazine
  • Site Map
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn