The Impact Center

The Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding is located in the Student Life and Wellness Building on Bryn Mawr's campus.

Centering Community, Centering Conversations: From Conflict to Connection

The Impact Center team has developed a series of stand-alone sessions designed to foster communication in our campus community setting. We will pilot these three topics in Spring 2026, and hope to evolve outreach and participation in the following academic year.

Each session will feature an overview of content material, an opportunity to apply it to a case study scenario, and a time to close with personal and group reflections about how we can support community on campus and recognize common ground, even in the midst of disagreement and conflict.

More details will be available soon — watch Daily Digest for updates. If you have questions, please contact A.T. Ortiz, Dean for Equity, Inclusion, & Community Life, or any member of the Impact Center staff.

Spring 2026 Sessions:

“Impact vs. Intent” – Faculty Conversation

Wyndham Alumnae House

Thursday, February 26, 12:00-1:00pm

This interactive workshop will explore why good intentions don’t always yield the results we hope for in our interactions with others. We will explore how factors like unconscious bias, lived experience, and systemic dynamics can shape communication. Participants will discuss strategies for receiving feedback without defensiveness, responding with accountability, and fostering more inclusive, trust-based environments inside and outside of the classroom.

“Cooling Off Conflict” - Undergraduate Student Conversation

Intercultural Living & Learning Center (ILLC) - Rhoads Living Room

Wednesday, March 4, 7:00 – 8:00 pm

This program will offer tools for reducing conflict in moments of tension. Rather than avoiding or escalating disagreements, participants will
explore how to slow down reactions and respond with more clarity and respect. We will explore strategies for de-escalation, perspective-taking,
and constructive dialogue — especially across differences in identity, power, and communication style to navigate conflict in ways that strengthen, rather than strain, relationships.

“Listening with Care” – Staff Conversation

Dorothy Vernon Room

Thursday, March 26, 12:00-1:00pm

This session is designed to strengthen community by building listening skills that help others to feel truly heard. We will explore the difference
between listening for understanding and listening to respond, and consider how power, identity, and lived experience shape both what is shared and how it is received. We'll share tools to build empathy and create space for differing perspectives.

Explore The Impact Center

The Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding offers a number of programs and opportunities for learning covering a wide range of subjects.