Metanoia
In recent months and years, we have experienced significant changes that have resulted in increased divisiveness in U.S. society and beyond. Debates on contentious topics can quickly become heated and lead to missed opportunities for productive and understanding dialogue.
To help support civil and productive discourse across the UConn community, and in accordance with University Senate Bylaws, the administrative, faculty, and student members of the University Trustee-Administrative-Faculty-Student (TAFS) Committee in spring 2024 voted to convene a Metanoia on this topic, which was kicked off in May 2024 and will continue with a series of events held throughout the 2024-2025 academic year.
UConn is a community which respects all members and strives towards inclusivity and understanding. Our community thrives when we have tools to engage in productive discourse and dialogue together. This is how we truly foster an environment of equity, inclusion, understanding, and empathy. We hope you will join us.
Upcoming Events
Please check back for an updated schedule as the semester progresses.
Past Events
Metanoia Kick-off: Pathways to Productive Civil Discourse
April 17. 2024
History of Metanoia
met·a·noi·a [met-uh-noi-uh] noun
A day of Metanoia — as described in The Connecticut Daily Campus in October of 1979 — is “a concept meaning ‘change of attitude’ that was introduced at UConn in 1970.” As an institutional tradition, programming is developed to promote University-wide reflection and engagement with a critical issue.
Metanoia is derived from a compound of the Greek μετά (meta, “after, with”) and νοέω (noeō, “to perceive, to think”). For UConn, Metanoias have been observed in an effort to reflect on themes that have held some historical relevance. For instance, the 2009 Violence Against Women Metanoia was observed as a 30-year anniversary of the 1979 Community Violence Metanoia, which was prompted by both the brutal sexual assault of a graduate student and incidents of racist violence on campus. Some metanoias have been held for a single day, such as the 1979 event; others have spanned the course of several days, up to a month. For more information on the history of UConn Metanoias, read Diversity, Race Relations, Peace Among Themes of Past Metanoias (UConn Advance).
Committee Members
| Name | Title/Department |
| Phoebe Godfrey (Co-Chair) | Sociology |
| Jennifer Lease Butts (Co-Chair) | Honors & Enrichment Programs |
| Jon Heiden (Co-Chair) | Undergraduate Student Co-Chair (2023-24 USG President) |
| Lorien Touponse | Undergraduate Student (2024-25 USG President) |
| Allison Villano | Undergraduate Student (2023-24 Speaker of the Undergraduate Student Senate) |
| Leo Gold | Undergraduate Student (Huskies for Israel President) |
| Essam Boraey | Graduate Student |
| Kristina Stevens | Mental Health, Student Health and Wellness |
| Maureen Armstrong | Dean of Students Office (Storrs) |
| Peter Tribuzio | Dean of Students (Waterbury) |
| Susan Herbst | Political Science |
| Angela Rola | Cultural Centers |
| Vicky Magley | Psychological Sciences |
| Jonelle Reynolds | Office of Diversity and Inclusion |
| Cara Workman | University Events and Conference Services |
| Kim Beardsley-Carr | Community Standards |
| Nana Amos | Dodd Human Rights Impact Program |
| Laurie McCarty | Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning |
| Stephanie Reitz | University Communications |
| Julie Bartucca | University Communications |
| Dan Schwartz | Vice Provost for Academic Operations, Provost's Office |
| Luis Ramos | Student Services (Stamford) |