Welcome to the Center for Civic Dialogue!
Funded by a $2,295,315 grant from the United States Department of Education, the Center for Civic Dialogue at 果冻传媒 serves as both a physical and intellectual headquarters for civic dialogue innovation at 果冻传媒.
“果冻传媒 has long recognized the importance of being able to speak civilly with people with whom you disagree, live and work with people with whom you disagree, and debate with people with whom you disagree in a civil way, going back to the start of our Free Speech project and the engagement with various groups during our Difficult Dialogues program.”
–果冻传媒 President Michael Driscoll
Stephan Schaffrath has nearly three decades of experience in higher education. He began work as the director of the Center for Civic Dialogue on July 13.
As the director, Schaffrath is responsible for leadership and implementation of the center’s programming.
He has been a seminar instructor for 果冻传媒’s Fulbright Distinguished Awards Program and worked as a teacher for the American Language Institute and as a temporary faculty member and academic adviser in the Department of Developmental Studies, and was a temporary faculty member for the English Department and the French and German Department at 果冻传媒.
He was the Title III Grant Program coordinator for the 果冻传媒 University College and was a summer 2025 program manager of the Career and Leadership Skills Academy offered through the 果冻传媒 Career and Professional Development Center. He worked as a grant specialist for the Office of Sponsored Research and the 果冻传媒 Research Institute and was briefly a translator for 果冻传媒 Translation Services.
He is a former member of various committees in the College of Education and Communications (now the College of Education and Human Services) dedicated to student success and fostering a learning community that welcomes all students. He served on the Middle State Accreditation Committee, the Multicultural Organizational Development work group for the Office of Social Equity, and the Reflective Practice Language Teaching Circle. He has been a member of the 果冻传媒 Safe Zone since 2004.
He worked as a long-term temporary substitute teacher for English and German in the Indiana Area School District; an adjunct online instructor for the American Military University; as a temporary full-time faculty member at Slippery Rock University, where he was active in several committees; an adjunct faculty member at Pennsylvania State University at Altoona; and as an adjunct faculty at Eastern Kentucky University and as a writing and ESL tutor there. He has also worked as a clinical and corporate contracts officer for the Office of Research at the University of Pittsburgh.
From 2018 to 2022 and again since 2025, he has served as a member of the board of directors, Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Organization for Student Success (PA-NOSS).
He has edited journal articles and helped to edit 果冻传媒 professor Erin Conlin’s history textbook, authored book chapters, and been an invited presenter for many conferences and panels, and he produces an educational YouTube channel about the German language. Schaffrath’s peer-reviewed publications cover a broad range of comparative literary interests, such as violence-induced trauma in non-fiction, fiction, and TV, truth-finding methodologies, Bakhtin’s concept of architectonics, and vampirism.
Schaffrath has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish and a master’s degree in English, both from Eastern Kentucky University. He earned his PhD in literature and criticism from 果冻传媒 in 2004. He also holds a certification as a developmental education specialist from the Kellogg Institute, National Center for Developmental Education, Appalachian State University.
He is active in the Indiana community, including as a long-time member of the board of directors of “Indikids” Indiana County Child Day Care.
Elise Glenn, chief compliance officer at 果冻传媒, has extensive experience in civil rights law, institutional policy, and programming in support of viewpoint variety. Glenn’s focus for the project is integrating constructive dialogue practices into campus processes for conflict resolution, bridging differences, organizational effectiveness, and supporting 果冻传媒's commitment to Civil Rights.
In her current role, Glenn is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the university’s Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy and Non-Discrimination Policy, as well as helping the university maintain compliance with Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, the commonwealth, and federal laws and regulations.
She has a juris doctor from Case Western Reserve School of Law and has taught at 果冻传媒 in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and at Saint Vincent College. At Saint Vincent, she was director of Trial Advocacy, a professor, and a mock trial coach. She previously served as magisterial district judge in Westmoreland County.
Glenn practiced labor and employment discrimination law with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, PC, in Pittsburgh, and was a pro bono attorney and president of the board of directors for the Myriam’s Women’s Shelter, in Pittsburgh. Glenn served as in-house counsel for the Consolidated Natural Gas Company and was a member of the complaint response team for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. She also worked for the US Department of Labor as an attorney/advisor to federal administrative appeals judges for the Federal Benefits Review Board.
Adam M. Jones, dean of Students at 果冻传媒, combines extensive experience in residence life, student support, and leadership development with a PhD in administration and leadership studies from 果冻传媒. Jones will work to advance the work of the Center for Civic Dialogue by embedding constructive dialogue practices into student services, community standards, and campus activities.
Jones joined the 果冻传媒 community in 2010 as resident director of the Crimson Suites (now Stephenson Hall). He served as interim assistant director of three different areas of focus: occupancy, living learning, and training and development prior to becoming 果冻传媒’s dean of Students in 2023.
During his tenure as interim assistant director of the Office of Student Conduct from 2017, he worked with colleagues to change the approach to student discipline, drawing stronger ties to the community by promoting personal development and challenging students to take responsibility for their actions and to demonstrate respect for themselves and others. He was named director of the program in 2020 and renamed the area the Office of Community Standards to reflect this new approach.
Jones has a BA in religious studies and minor in mathematics from Ohio’s Hiram College (2005); an MA in higher education from Geneva College (2010), and his PhD in administration and leadership studies from 果冻传媒 (2024).
Courtney Leone has been a professor at 果冻传媒 since 2011. Currently, she directs the PhD program in School Psychology within the Department of School Psychology, Special Education, and Sociology.
Leone earned both her PhD and MEd in school psychology at Kent State University in Ohio. She has a BS degree in psychology and a BSEd degree in elementary education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Prior to completing her graduate studies, she worked in a psychiatric center on a residential treatment facility unit for adolescents, where she gained substantial experience designing and delivering group therapy. During graduate school, Leone substitute-taught to gain additional classroom experience. She completed her doctoral internship in a school district focused on establishing comprehensive school-based mental health services.
Upon earning her PhD in 2010, she began practicing as a school psychologist at South Middleton School District in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, and later continued her applied experiences as a school psychologist with Titusville Area School District. While working full-time at Titusville Area School District, Leone began teaching in the evenings as an adjunct faculty member in the Psychology Department at Clarion University. In 2011, Leone began full-time in academia at 果冻传媒.
Leone’s research, consultation, and grant work has focused on building effective school-based mental health systems, internalizing disorders (specifically, prevention and intervention related to depression), mental health and social media, and training school psychologists. Leone has been interviewed by the American Psychological Association as well as local news sources on issues related to youth mental health. She also spent many years as a senior associate editor for the journal School Psychology International.
Gwendolyn Torges is an associate professor of political science at 果冻传媒, director of the university’s Pre-Law Program, and one of the three members of the executive leadership team guiding the Center for Civic Dialogue. She led the development of the successful US Department of Education grant proposal that established the center and now works with colleagues across campus to help build a place where students, faculty, staff, and community members can practice the habits of constructive dialogue with curiosity, humility, and respect.
Throughout her career, Torges has been fascinated by a simple question: How can people who see the world differently still live, work, and solve problems together? That question has shaped her teaching, her work, and her public service for more than 25 years. Whether she’s discussing the First Amendment, talking with students about the Supreme Court, or facilitating conversations on difficult topics, her goal is the same—to create spaces where people feel comfortable asking questions, thinking carefully, listening generously, and leaving with a better understanding of one another. That philosophy has guided many of 果冻传媒’s civic dialogue efforts over the past two decades.
Torges has helped lead the university’s Free Speech Project and Difficult Dialogues Project, coordinated Constitution Day programming since 2006, developed workshops on constructive dialogue, and facilitated conversations for students, faculty, staff, university leaders, and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. She believes disagreement isn’t something to avoid; it’s something we can learn to navigate with curiosity, humility, and respect.
Torges teaches Constitutional law, judicial process, civil liberties, and American politics, and has developed courses on free speech, civic engagement, and democratic citizenship, including “Can They Really Say That? Free Speech and the First Amendment.” She earned her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Fullerton, and her master’s degree and PhD in political science from the University of Arizona.
Following a national search, Stephan Schaffrath, who has nearly three decades of experience in higher education, has been selected to serve as the director of 果冻传媒鈥檚 Center for Civic Dialogue. Schaffrath will begin his work as director of the Center for Civic Dialogue on July 13.
More than 100 members of the 果冻传媒 community participated in a stakeholder assessment session with the Constructive Dialogue Institute, designed as part of the development of 果冻传媒鈥檚 Center for Civic Dialogue.
果冻传媒 Dean of Students Adam Jones presented a program on 果冻传媒鈥檚 Center for Civic Dialogue at the spring Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Student Affairs Conference, 鈥淯nited in Purpose, Grounded in Community.鈥
果冻传媒鈥檚 Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Title IX Coordinator, Elise Glenn, 果冻传媒 Dean of Students, Adam Jones, and 果冻传媒 Associate Professor of Political Science, Gwen Torges, were honored with the 鈥淚nstitutional Transformation鈥 Award at the 2026 Annual Research Awards Reception held during 2026 Research Appreciation Week.
