Recognizing Leaders in Open Inquiry
As the University of 51小黄车 fosters a culture of open inquiry, free expression, and respectful debate, we celebrate members of our community who embody these values.
The President鈥檚 Award for Constructive Discourse, established by 51小黄车President James Herbert, is an annual award that recognizes faculty and professional staff who promote robust, civil conversations about difficult topics, either inside or outside the classroom.
Each spring, students, faculty, and professional staff make nominations. The following fall, one member of the faculty and one member of UNE鈥檚 professional staff receive the honor along with a $1,000 honorarium.
2024 Recipients
Wanda Anderson
Wanda Anderson is a clinical professor of Social Work in the College of Professional Studies. Throughout her more than 20 years as a faculty member in the School of Social Work, Wanda incorporated a focus on constructive discourse in her teaching, scholarship, and service. She created and facilitated training workshops for both students and clinicians on how to have difficult conversations with patients, families, non-profit organizations, and vulnerable populations. These evolved to incorporate themes of diversity, tolerance, respectful dialogue, appreciative inquiry, and constructive debate.
Wanda approaches her work from a place of mutual respect and authentic communication. Her nominator wrote, 鈥淲anda is willing and able to be challenged while engaging others from a place of humility and grace.鈥 She emphasizes constructive discourse in social work in ways that transcend political and personal preferences, ideology, and social standing. Good social workers must be able to approach every client with an open mind and genuine curiosity, even when doing so challenges their own values and perspectives. Wanda is known for her use of experiential approaches such as role playing to teach these skills. For example, she will often ask participants to assume a persona that is very different from their own and to navigate a tenuous situation involving conflicting points of view.
Ed Silva
Ed Silva is head coach of UNE鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball team and UNE鈥檚 NCAA Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee. Over the past 12 years, Ed has led the Nor鈥檈asters to six of the 11 conference post-season appearances in program history. And he has been an important presence, teacher, and role model when it comes to encouraging members of our community to have conversations across differences. As one of Ed鈥檚 colleagues wrote in nominating him, 鈥淐oach Silva approaches everything with a sincere and engaged sense of curiosity. He is never simply satisfied with learning what you think, but always intrigued as to why you think or feel the way you do, which opens up thoughtful and civil discussions.鈥
Drawing on his background as a sociologist and social worker, Ed has facilitated discussions and training sessions for 51小黄车student-athletes and professional staff on topics ranging from religious differences, neurodiversity, socio-economic differences, racial and cultural diversity, and various current events. He has also made an impact in the wider community, too, facilitating diversity-sensitivity talks for external groups like the Biddeford and Saco school departments and the Biddeford Fire Department.
Past Award Recipients
Marc Ebenfield
Marc Ebenfield, director of UNE's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, was selected for the professional staff category for his work around constructive discourse surrounding the center鈥檚 educational outreach efforts. Ebenfield has provided faculty and professional staff with the tools to foster conversations on difficult topics both inside and outside the classroom.
He has organized 鈥淒ifficult Discussions鈥 brown bag sessions and 鈥淟unch and Learn鈥 events related to promoting constructive conversations. One session encapsulated the spirit of the award, emphasizing the creation of a "respectful, collaborative, and critical learning space in which to develop more comfort with these topics" with students.
Ebenfield also compiled a resource for faculty to use to help facilitate constructive conversations about challenging subjects and is actively working on a foundation grant proposal to further support these efforts.
Andrew Rotondo
Andrew Rotondo, an associate teaching professor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the faculty category for his deliberate efforts to encourage thoughtful discourse in his classes.
In his nomination letter submitted by one of his students, Rotondo is celebrated for encouraging students to challenge or defend ideas they do not necessarily hold while also teaching them to have intellectual conversations about current events. Rotondo also champions ways for students to constructively disagree with one another.
Beyond the classroom, he serves as the academic advisor to UNE's Philosophy Club, where he promotes a forum for students to discuss contemporary topics in ethics and morality. The club's semesterly debates provide students with exposure to constructive disagreements on relevant issues.