ACERT helps to guide faculty as they facilitate meaningful, constructive dialogue in their classrooms and beyond. ACERT runs various programs throughout the academic year to encourage culturally responsive pedagogies, constructive dialogue, and pluralism and diversity at Hunter College.

For Faculty

In the 2026-2027 academic year, thanks to the support of Interfaith America (IA), ACERT is offering five (5) faculty fellowships in STEM fields to revise existing courses or develop new ones in STEM fields to meet Pluralism & Diversity designation requirements. Applications will open in September 2026. Facilitators might be interested in trying Interfaith America’s Bridgebuilder Basics and accompanying slide deck.

ACERT draws from the teaching resources at the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) to empower faculty with tools and activities they can use to cultivate a culture of belonging in the classroom. We love to warm up with Rapid Relate, which works in classrooms and even in department meetings or business meetings. We use Quickfire Questions as entry tickets in the first five minutes of class time. And we wrap up class time and discussions with The Debrief to guide students in reflecting on how a dialogue went (or you could replace “dialogue” with the word “class”).

You can earn a certificate as a facilitator by taking the asynchronous online CDI Perspectives course for faculty. Just email acert@hunter.cuny.edu with “Join CDI Perspectives” in the subject line to let us know you would like to take the course. There are six modules, which take approximately six hours to complete in total, and the course is self-paced. Meanwhile, you can join one of our Teaching Scholarship Circles (TSCs) that complement the asynchronous course with real-time conversation about the CDI toolkit and practical applications in and outside of the classroom.

For Students

Faculty who would like to have their students take the CDI Perspectives course built for students (same content, different frame for a student audience) can email us at acert@hunter.cuny.edu to inquire. Those faculty who run the Perspectives course for students in their classes will be instructors/administrators of the course and will be able to invite students and view and monitor learners’ progress.

ACERT also hosts “Real Talk” sessions with Hunter College students. If you would like to join a “Real Talk” session, please email Professor Gina Riley griley@hunter.cuny.edu.