Fostering Civic Trust and Resilience: Sanda Balaban’s Visit to Elon and the PACE Conference

Executive director Sanda Balaban recently visited Elon University–a founding Periclean institution-where she engaged with faculty and students in conversations about civic identity, trust in democracy, and the role of higher education in fostering vibrant civic life and resilient communities. 

She began her visit in Professor Mat Gendle’s sophomore-year class of Periclean Scholars. The Periclean Scholars at Elon is a very special program that strives to empower students through global civic engagement both locally and internationally with emphasis on cohort-based learning and student leadership. With guidance from Faculty Mentors like our co-Program Directors Mat and Amanda Tapler, students work to create partnerships and develop a sustainable impact in their country of focus. The program echoes the mission statement of Elon University and strives to “integrate learning across the disciplines and put knowledge into practice, thus preparing students to be global citizens and informed leaders motivated by concern for the common good.” As Periclean Scholars, students challenge themselves through goal setting, both individually and for the cohort, to explore pathways for change.

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The program goals are powerful:
1) To nurture Scholars’ understanding of personal and social responsibility, equitable and just development, and the critical distinction between “giving” and “partnering”.
2) To promote innovative and sustainable partnerships that function to effectively solve local problems.
3) To foster a deep understanding of our partners’ diverse histories and needs, and engage in culturally-aware dialogues regarding these needs that are based on open-mindedness, empathy, civility, ethical integrity, and mutual respect.
4) To enhance Scholars’ knowledge of the political systems and power structures that frame global problems, as well as the political, economic, and social levers that can be used to affect meaningful change.
5) To create projects for the greater good that meet all nine commitments of The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability: https://www.corehumanitarianstandard.org/the-standard
6) To promote intellectual and personal growth in Scholars that will serve as a foundation for a lifelong journey of global citizenship. 7) To foster leadership skills in Scholars, accompanied by reflective analysis or insights about the aims and accomplishments of this leadership.
8) To effectively communicate the positive outcomes of their partnerships with local, national, and international constituencies.

Sanda enjoyed experiencing the students’ deep engagement around everything from current events to community-based organizations in Sri Lanka, where their international partner is based and where they will be visiting this summer. She was impressed by the Periclean Scholars’ investment in all aspects of the class from researching, discussing, and voting on possible local community partners, to creating a shortlist of possible white papers to write over the semester, to co-drafting a class elevator pitch to attract prospective Scholars for next year.  

Over lunch, she connected with Bob Frigo, Assistant Dean and Director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, and Danielle Lake, Director of Design Thinking, co-founder of the Power + Place Collaborative and Periclean Faculty Leader, had a great mid-afternoon meeting with Elena Kennedy, Doherty Emerging Professor of Entrepreneurship and incoming Faculty Fellow for Community-Based Learning, and a very rewarding late afternoon conversation with Elon President and Periclean Board Member Connie Book.
That evening, Sanda led the interactive session “Disrupt Distrust: Fostering Well-Being and Resilience Through Democratic Engagement.” This discussion addressed significant challenges young people face today - economic instability, environmental crises, and political polarization - which have fueled a growing distrust in institutions, the media, elected officials, and democracy. The session emphasized the urgent need to strengthen students’ sense of agency and civic identity as a pathway to rebuilding individual, interpersonal, and institutional trust and resilience.

Sanda’s visit coincided with the North Carolina Campus Engagement PACE Conference, which opened with a thought-provoking keynote by NCCE Executive Director Leslie Garvin. Garvin’s remarks addressed the pressing issue of “othering,” emphasizing the need to shift from division to belonging in civic and community engagement. 

One of the standout sessions Sanda attended focused on Democratic Civic Identity (DCI) led by Patti H. Clayton and Dr. Robert Bringle. The session explored how democratic civic identity extends civic learning and civic identity, reinforcing the interconnectedness of individuals, institutions, and society. Reflecting on this concept, Sanda shared her definition of DCI as, “being aware of the impact of systems on one’s self, of one’s self on others, and of others on one’s self and society–and being committed to change when necessary.” The discussion underscored the importance of designing civic learning experiences that acknowledge how identities evolve in different contexts. The session drew upon Parker J. Palmer’s Five Habits of the Heart from “Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit,” reinforcing the idea that civic engagement is deeply personal, evolving with lived experiences.

A highlight of the conference was Dr. Timothy K. Eatman’s plenary session, “Publicly Engaged Scholarship in the 21st-century Academe: Beware the shrinking imagination.” At a time when democracy faces unprecedented challenges, Dr. Eatman urged attendees and institutions to embrace “prophetic imagination” - envisioning bold possibilities for civic engagement, civil discourse, and community investment. He challenged higher education to go beyond rhetoric and actively serve as a catalyst for transformation, fostering environments where students and faculty drive meaningful change. 

​Sanda’s visit to Elon and participation in the PACE Conference reinforced a critical message that is core to our work at Project Pericles: higher education has a unique responsibility to equip students with the civic knowledge, skills, and confidence to engage with democracy.