Civic Expression, Engagement, and Leadership
The Office of Civic Expression, Engagement and Leadership supports Dartmouth in its mission to prepare students for a lifetime of learning and responsible leadership by empowering them to share perspectives, challenge ideas rigorously, and engage in open, meaningful discourse and advocacy on and off campus. The Office is dedicated to fostering a rich educational environment by supporting the open expression of diverse perspectives on campus. We encourage departments, programs, and recognized organizations to invite speakers with the widest possible range of views who can contribute meaningfully to our community's intellectual and cultural growth. We also encourage students to participate in conferences, visits, and other in-person experiences that allow them to engage directly in dialogue and advocacy across the country and around the world. The following programs are available to offer guidance and support.
Dartmouth Votes
Dartmouth Votes is facilitated by Community & Campus Life in partnership with Dartmouth Student Government, The Dartmouth Civics Student Association, NAACP at Dartmouth as well as the Town of Hanover. The program participates in the All-In Campus Democracy Challenge and receives significant support and leadership from various campus partners as it seeks to educate students, assist them in registering to vote if desired, and encourage civic engagement. Dartmouth Votes welcomes volunteers, campus, and community partners. It is currently a member of the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire.
Learn more about Dartmouth Votes
Discourse Funds
Graduate, professional and undergraduate students and student groups play a central role in promoting dialogue and influencing social change. To support this, we offer two distinct opportunities for students to promote discourse and effect change on and off campus. Discourse at Dartmouth provides resources for recognized student organization campus events promoting dialogue. Discourse Beyond Dartmouth offers funding for off-campus events, conferences, visits, and other in-person opportunities allowing students to engage in dialogue and advocacy across the country and around the world.
Learn more about the Discourse Funds
Check out some Discourse Fund Student Projects here!
Event Planning and Management
The Director of Civic Expression, Engagement, and Leadership supports students, staff, and faculty in planning and managing campus events- including panels, lectures, debates, town halls, and other expressive activities- by advising on logistics, safety considerations, and best practices for anticipating and responding to potential disruptions. The Office closely with campus partners to help program hosts prepare thoughtfully for events involving guest speakers, sensitive topics, or heightened public interest. Students and student organizations planning expressive activities are encouraged to review the Guidelines and Considerations for Students and Student Organizations in Planning Expressive Activities for additional guidance on Dartmouth's free expression policies and event planning best practices.
Leadership Education at Dartmouth (LE@D)
Leadership Education at Dartmouth empowers Dartmouth students to explore, practice, and grow as leaders by connecting them with high-impact curricular and co-curricular opportunities aligned with Dartmouth’s commitment to lifelong learning and responsible leadership. The Le@dership Hub enables current and prospective students to access information about all leadership programs and heighten student awareness of opportunities available to them; and serves as a resource for professional entities on campus, where staff and faculty involved in leadership programs can learn about each other’s programs and collaborate when opportunities present themselves.
Visit the Le@dership Hub!
Open Expression Facilitators
Campus and Community Life supports an Open Expression Facilitator program where faculty and staff are trained to serve as neutral observers without bias at student organization, departmental, faculty, and institutional events, while also providing guidance on the Freedom of Expression and Dissent policy. An Open Expression Facilitator's role is to provide a presence at, and, if necessary, address disruption at qualifying events.
Learn more about the Open Expression Facilitator program
Trusted Advisors
The Office of Civic Expression, Engagement and Leadership believes it imperative to provide guidance to all students when planning and/or participating in rallies, protests, demonstrations, etc., even if they are spontaneous and/or unregistered. Therefore, we have created a Trusted Advisor program to support students interested and involved in activism on campus. To date, Trusted Advisors have been on site for nearly thirty protests, rallies, vigils, and/or demonstrations.
For more information, click here!