Elon University partners with the Institute for Multipartisan Education for innovative student fellowship | Today at Elon
Student leaders can apply for the new nine-month fellowship program that will equip them with skills to help reduce polarization and build bridges on campus.
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Elon University’s Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life announces a new partnership with the Institute for Multipartisan Education that will equip student leaders on Elon University’s campus with skills to foster a curious approach to difference and disagreement and reduce polarization.
The Institute for Multipartisan Education is the only student-run organization working to reduce polarization and strengthen American democracy. The Multipartisan Leadership Training Initiative (MLTI) is designed to foster a curious approach to difference and disagreement on college campuses.
The nine-month stipend fellowship program builds campus-based cohorts of student leaders from different universities, teaches an interdisciplinary method of approaching difference with curiosity, and empowers its fellows to create and implement programming promoting this approach in their communities. Students are encouraged to apply.
Elon University is one of only two institutions selected to pilot this program, alongside Dartmouth University. At Elon, the fellowship will be led through the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life by University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement, Rev. Kirstin Boswell, and Director of Multifaith Programming and Engagement, Hillary Zaken.
“At Elon, we are dedicated to fostering a campus culture where students can engage meaningfully across differences with openness and respect. This fellowship is an exciting opportunity to equip student leaders with the skills to navigate complex conversations with curiosity, empathy and resilience,” shared Boswell. “By partnering with the Institute for Multipartisan Education, we are empowering our students to build bridges, strengthen community, and model the kind of thoughtful engagement that is so needed in our world today.”
“We are so excited to launch this fellowship with Elon University,” says Shira Hoffer, founder and executive director of the Institute for Multipartisan Education. “Their community-building work is so inspiring, and we are so fortunate to partner with them to further curious engagement with difference and disagreement in higher education.”
About the MLTI Fellowship
The MLTI fellowship focuses on three questions: Why is it hard to have a curious approach to difference and disagreement? Why is it worthwhile and important nonetheless? How can we cultivate such an approach in student organizations and on campus?
The program begins with an all-expenses-paid retreat in the fall, led by fellow students and featuring workshops, mentorship, opportunities for reflection and individual growth, and collaborative activities focused on constructive disagreement, emotional resilience, tools for community building, narrative storytelling, networking opportunities, and more.
After the retreat, fellows will identify an aspect of the training that would benefit their student organization. With a student mentor, they will then design and lead a custom program, tailored to their organization. For instance, a newspaper editor may choose to design a workshop for her interviews team, inspired by the fellowship module on active listening and intentional questioning, to help the team produce stronger interviews and engage subjects from a wider range of perspectives. Similarly, a fraternity leader may be inspired by a workshop on narrative storytelling to create a storytelling evening event for his fraternity to strengthen their understanding of each other.
The cohort will then participate in a winter retreat, where they will reflect on their projects, learn from each other and begin to design campus-based capstone projects to engage the broader community in their learning. Institute mentors will work with students to identify an ambitious project, such as a student conference or curricular supplement, and work with them as well as key campus stakeholders to make it a reality in the spring.
Fellowship Eligibility Requirements
Ideal candidates for the fellowship program are sophomores or juniors in the 2025-26 academic year who serve as student organization leaders and possess a desire to improve leadership skills and constructive dialogue on campus.
Fellows will receive a $1,000 stipend for their participation and may return as trainers the following year.
Students are invited to apply for the MLTI fellowship before the application deadline of March 1. Fellows will be notified of their selection in April. Apply via the Google form and/or email [email protected] with your questions.
About The Institute for Multipartisan Education:
Founded by Harvard senior Shira Hoffer, the Institute for Multipartisan Education is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to sustainably increasing and improving capacity for curious approaches to difference and disagreement in educational settings. We believe that curiosity is the antidote to polarization, especially in educational institutions, and that it is constrained by well-intentioned layers of protection from challenging ideas. With consulting and resource development services and our flagship collegiate Multipartisan Leaders Training Initiative, we are the only student-run, train-the-trainer-based organization working to reduce polarization and strengthen our democracy.
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