CDE Fellows Program

Transformative Opportunities

The CDE Fellows are part of the Department of Communication graduate program at University of Colorado Boulder. As enrolled graduate students, Fellows contribute to and support CDE work to foster dialogue across difference, and to strengthen and inform relations between the university, city, and community. Graduate Research Fellows and Graduate Student Affiliates support CDE research through opportunities to design, facilitate, and report on a range of public participation practices with communities--both on and off campus. The CDE鈥檚 transformative opportunities enable fellows and affiliates to deepen their knowledge, engage a wide range of intellectual resources, to leverage these skills through communication praxis, and to expand capacities beyond the classroom. 鈥�

World-Class Faculty and Instructors

Internationally Recognized Faculty: The Department of Communication faculty are among the most prolific scholars in communication, with the National Research Council (NRC) awarding the department a top 20 ranking for research productivity.

Broad Research Opportunities

Graduate students and faculty in Communication utilize a range of social-scientific and humanistic research methods. The diverse array of scholarship conducted in the department is integrated by cross-cutting themes that include design and practice, culture and democracy, and community and justice.

Engaged Advocates

The program has a strong commitment to educating students to become engaged citizens and social change agents. For students, we hope to offer transformative opportunities to learn what communication praxis鈥攖heory and practice鈥攎ay offer the greatest challenges of our times beyond the classroom.

Graduate Student Excellence

Graduate students in Communication routinely publish in prominent scholarly journals, receive top paper awards at major conferences, and are recognized for outstanding teaching and service.

Extraordinary Community

Centrally Located in Boulder, Colorado, USA our students are embedded in a scientific, entrepreneurial, and environmental ecosystem that is unmatched anywhere in the world

Contributions of CDE Graduate Fellows

Our CDE Graduate Fellows have many opportunities to take a central part in developing research and scholarship and energizing community involvement as it relate to the center鈥檚 mission. Fellows and Affiliates gain experience working with the Executive Committee members on projects such as: designing and facilitating dialogues with campus & community partners, developing educational materials and campaigns, drafting content and resources for the public (toolkits, trainings, and issue guides), grant proposal research and writing, and more. At dialogue and deliberation events, our CDE Graduate Fellows are instrumental in helping record a diverse range of perspectives using a variety of methods鈥攊ncluding table notes taken by participants. These processes result in summary reports to share insights from our research.

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Energy Democracy - Talking local energy through public conversations

In Spring 2018, the City of Boulder convened a community working group (Energy Future Communications and Engagement Working Group, or CEWG), tasked with making recommendations about ways to improve communications and engagement around the topic of the city鈥檚 efforts to reach the community鈥檚 climate and energy goals. As part of the recommendations, the CEWG called for expanded opportunities for community engagement. 听

Co-Director Sprain and Research Fellow Reinig are collaborating with the City of Boulder to design and facilitate a multi-phase public participation series. 听Let鈥檚 Talk Local Energy sets out to cultivate opportunities for shared learning and community discussion about energy issues and strategies, including Boulder鈥檚 pursuit of a municipal electric utility. 听The CDE brings to the collaboration a deep expertise in dialogue and deliberation for energy system transformation, and a capacity to provide process design, impartial facilitation, and data synthesis.

Food Engagement - Local Food is about more than just miles.听

As a graduate fellow, Constance Gordon (Ph.D., 2018) worked on an ambitious multi-faceted Boulder campaign to encourage high school art students to Dig In! to the idea of local food beyond soundbites, including a teacher training and an art exhibit. Access the teacher training packet here Dig In! is The Shed鈥檚 first countywide educational project to promote conversation about what a foodshed is and how 鈥渓ocal food鈥� relationships matter to our community.

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鈥淔ood justice requires that we imagine new ecological and social relationships, as well as support communities right to grow, sell, and consume food.鈥� 鈥� Constance Gordon

Facilitating Dialogues - connecting inclusion efforts with a diverse range of political perspectives

Given the CDE mission to foster democratic communities and knowledge, we are often asked to help design more productive community engagement, to facilitate more constructive dialogues, and to increase the capacity of marginalized voices.听Adam Lauver (Graduate Fellow, 2016-2017) contributed timely work by leading the facilitation of facilitators for a campus-wide summit on Diversity and Inclusion in 2016 that involved undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and staff.

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鈥淔acilitating dialogues is a rich experience. People sharing a commitment to this particular way of relating to one another is vital to the campus.鈥� 鈥揂dam Lauver

Our Research

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