Ohio State University Center for Ethics and Human Values

The Center for Ethics and Human Values is delighted to present our 2026-27 Civil Discourse Fellows! These students are committed to bringing people with different viewpoints together to respectfully and rigorously discuss contentious issues. They join twenty Civil Discourse Fellows from previous cohorts as leaders of civil discourse on campus. These dedicated students are key contributors to the culture of civil discourse here at OSU. Join us in congratulating them!

Join us TOMORROW for a student-moderated Civil Discourse Forum: Is Democracy for Everyone?

Time: 11:15am-12:45pm, Friday, Nov 7
Place: Thompson Library, Rm 165 (Columbus campus)

More info:

Civil Discourse Forum: Is Democracy for Everyone? Democracy is often considered the ideal political system because it emphasizes individual liberties, participatory decision-making, and accountability for leaders. But is democracy ideal for all nations despite cultural, economic, and other differences? What considerations bear on the moral and poli...

CEHV Welcomes its 2025-26 cohort of Civil Discourse Fellows!

These undergraduates will moderate forums that explore contrasting perspectives on contentious issues and serve as ambassadors for civil discourse along with the 27 other Civil Discourse Fellows currently on campus.

Reed Bushbaum (Junior, PPE)
Jeremy Lavoie (Junior, Philosophy, Economics)
Carissa Lumby (Junior, Psychology, Political Science)
Mary Paydock (Junior, PPE, Music)
Isabel Rodriguez (Sophomore, Psychology, Human Development and Family Sciences)
Rishika Rohatgi (Junior, Finance and Economics)
Nathan Snizik (Sophomore, PPE, Information Security)
Julian Yetsky (Freshman, Public Management, Leadership, and Policy)

Congratulations!

Announcing New Cohort of Civil Discourse Fellows! CEHV is very pleased to announce our undergraduate Civil Discourse Fellows for 2025-2026. This new cohort will join the 27 Civil Discourse Fellows currently on campus. Working with CEHV faculty and program director, Kathryn Joyce, fellows plan and moderate Civil Discourse Forums and serve as ambassa...

CEHV’s Civil Discourse program on the front page of the Columbus Dispatch today!

These Ohio State academics want to help you navigate difficult conversations better Ohio State President Ted Carter launched the 'Listen. Learn. Discuss.' initiative earlier this semester to highlight OSU's civic discourse offerings.

Living in a community can be challenging - especially against a backdrop of significant disagreement and polarization. Fortunately, Ohio State is lucky to have a number of dialogue facilitators who offer workshops and other training opportunities for people who are interested in having challenging conversations.

Join us at The Ohio State University Libraries on October 17 for a discussion between two of Ohio State's most active dialogue facilitators: Sophia Antoun (Ohio State Office of Diversity and Inclusion Inclusive Excellence) and Aaron Yarmel (CEHV), moderated by Civil Discourse for Citizenship Program Director Kathryn Joyce.

Learn more here:

Dialogue Facilitator Interview: Sophia Antoun and Aaron Yarmel Living in a community can be challenging--especially against a backdrop of significant disagreement and polarization. Fortunately, Ohio State is lucky to have a number of dialogue facilitators who offer workshops and other training opportunities for people who are interested in having challenging co...

The deadline for Buckeye undergraduates to apply to be a 2024-25 CEHV Civil Discourse Fellow is Friday, September 20.

Civil Discourse Fellows plan and moderate CEHV's Civil Discourse Forums and serve as ambassadors for civil discourse on campus. Each Fellow receives a $750 fellowship award.

Learn more and apply on our website:
https://cehv.osu.edu/civil-discourse-citizenship/civil-discourse-fellows

The semester's first CARE Panel is coming up next week on the topic of xenotransplantation: the use of non-human cells, tissues, or organs for human medical treatment.

Join our conversation on the ethical considerations of this emerging field with expert panelists Luz Padilla (UAB - The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children's of Alabama), Daniel Hurtz (Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine) and Martin Fitzgerald (Ohio State University College of Medicine).

Learn more and register on our website below.

CARE Panel: The Ethics of Xenotransplantation Research We invite you to attend a panel discussion examining the ethical considerations surrounding xenotransplantation research. Xenotransplantation, the use of non-human cells, tissues, or organs for human medical treatment, raises significant ethical questions that merit thoughtful exploration. Our disti...

CEHV Associate Director Aaron Yarmel will co-present a free workshop on Restoring Care Around Controversial Topics, held online on July 16, 7-8 PM EDT.

Dialogue is increasingly recognized as a crucial component of education. Bringing dialogue into the classroom is easier said than done - especially when the conversation address controversial topics. This workshop will introduce participants to techniques for showing care for all participants in dialogues about controversial topics.

Learn more and register below.

Restoring Care Around Controversial Topics Dialogue is increasingly recognized as a crucial component of education. Bringing dialogue into the classroom is easier said than done--especially when the conversation address controversial topics.

Read Aaron Yarmel’s insightful reflection on the recent protests at OSU!

Were OSU students protesting against oppression or being antisemitic? Perspective matters. Opinion: We must lean into the discomfort of honoring multiple perspectives when it comes Palestinian and Israeli tensions.

Sustainability is a complex issue whose solutions require wisdom — and not just wise maxims, good science and sound ideas, but the practical wisdom to carry out, implement and embody sustainability solutions. This is as true when developing university curricula as it is in supporting human flourishing and building resilience into our lives at individual and community levels. If we hope to live well across generations, is Ohio State providing an education that can help ground such hope?

Join us this Friday for our COMPAS Colloquium “Sustainability and Phronesis: Does the ’Ohio State Way’ Help Us Live Well?” with panelists Randall Curren (Professor and Chair of Philosophy and Professor of Education, University of Rochester) and Elena Irwin (Faculty Director, Sustainability Institute; Distinguished Professor, Ohio State - College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics) and moderator Gregory Hitzhusen (Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University).

This event is co-sponsored by the Ohio State University Sustainability Institute.

Sustainability and Phronesis: Does the "Ohio State Way" Help Us Live Well? Sustainability, amid the increasing intellectual and scientific attention it receives, is a complex issue whose solutions will require wisdom. And not just wise maxims, good science, and sound ideas, but the practical wisdom, phronesis, to carry out, implement, and embody sustainability solutions, b...

Do more developed countries have an obligation to help less developed countries? Should developed countries provide military or humanitarian aid to countries facing a crisis? Should developed countries consider human rights records when making foreign aid decisions? What is the future of foreign aid by developed countries?

Join us on campus on Friday for our Civil Discourse Forum “What are the foreign aid responsibilities of developed countries?” with panelists Professor Jessica Trisko Darden (VCU Political Science) and Ambassador Jason M. Chung (CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies).

The panel will be moderated by our Buckeye undergraduate Civil Discourse Fellows Sophia Markley (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Arts and Sciences at Ohio State) and Sarah Spencer (EEDS, School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University, and World Politics).

Civil Discourse Forum: What are the foreign aid responsibilities of developed countries? Do more developed countries have an obligation to help less developed countries? Should developed countries provide military or humanitarian aid to countries facing a crisis? Should developed countries consider human rights records when making foreign aid decisions? What is the future of foreign aid...