About the GRACE Project
Growing through Respectful and Civil Exchange (GRACE) is a four-year initiative at Hope College made possible by a $1.43 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
The GRACE Project builds on Hope College's long-standing commitment to civil dialogue, grounded in the Virtues of Public Discourse, a framework originally developed by the late Dr. James Herrick, Guy Vander Jagt '53 Professor of Communication. Through structured student cohorts, lecture series, faculty development and public scholarship, GRACE cultivates a campus culture where we argue well, discerning truth and respectfully engaging with each other.
This initiative addresses one of the most pressing challenges in higher education today: the erosion of civic education and democratic deliberation in public and academic life. At Hope, we believe students who learn to reason, speak and listen well, across difference and conviction, are better prepared to lead, to serve and to contribute to a flourishing democracy.
GRACE Project
Dr. Sarah Kornfield
Martha Miller Center
257 Columbia Avenue
Holland, MI 49423
616.395.7596