Welcome to the first installment of THE PERICLEAN: our NEW newsletter delivered on the first Friday of every month. We look forward to sharing updates, resources, and uplifting stories from our network of civic champions!

A group photo of the Democracy Heroes in Times Square, where their faces were featured on a Jumbotron.

The Democracy Heroes Award Dinner was a festive night honoring each awardee and hosted by Ariana DeBose and Jessica Alba.

Project Pericles is thrilled to announce that our new Executive Director, Sanda Balaban, has been recognized as a Democracy Hero as part of an inaugural cohort of 25 trailblazers, advocates, organizers and change makers across the U.S. dedicated to ensuring marginalized voters have a voice in our democracy. This initiative is a collaboration between Headcount, “I am a Voter”, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and The Rockefeller Foundation.

In Sanda’s reflection upon receiving this award at a celebrity-filled gala last Friday night, she expressed: “Being chosen as a Democracy Hero is a force multiplier, enabling each of us to build alliances with extraordinary civic movers and shakers from all across the country in order to strengthen and fortify our fraught democracy at a time when it is too often under siege."

She also shares a call to action: “We can re-envision and work towards a democracy that works for ALL and in which the practices of democracy live up to the promises of democracy. We can and we must.”

Thank you, Sanda, for your leadership and inspiration in working towards a more inclusive and equitable democracy. We are so honored to work alongside you!

⭐Community Spotlight⭐

La Colmena and Dr. Margarita Sanchez at Wagner College

Young immigrants share their life experiences and how they are connected to voting rights through a collaboration in the course "Border Lives: The American Illusion in the XXI Century"

Each newsletter, we will spotlight changemakers in our Periclean community. This month we are excited to feature a powerful collaboration between Margarita Sanchez, Professor of Spanish and Director of Integrated Learning at Wagner College and La Colmena, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering low-wage immigrant workers in Staten Island.

As a Periclean Faculty Leader, Dr. Sanchez teaches “Border Lives: The American Illusion in the XXI Century,” a course exploring humanity, identity, and voting rights through digital storytelling. Collaboratively, Wagner students create videos featuring La Colmena’s young Dreamers as they share their life experiences and how they are connected to voting rights. After a successful launch in Fall 2023, the course is returning for Fall 2024, inviting students to continue delving into the complexities surrounding the Mexico/US border and the integral role of Latinos in shaping the future of America.

ICYMI: Explore our Voter Activation Modules

We have recently updated our Voter Activation Modules to equip students with the knowledge and motivation to vote and address challenges to voting rights, just in time for this dynamic election season.

Check out our updated modules and slide decks for:

• How to Vote
• Now including add-on slides for LGBTQ+ voters, international students/non-citizens, becoming a poll worker, and more.
• Addressing Voter Suppression
• Updated with 2024 Supreme Court cases and a faculty guide for ideas of how to implement.

Are you looking for creative ways to engage your students around the 2024 election but not sure where to start? Last Friday, September 27th Project Pericles teamed up with the Center for Artistic Activism (C4AA) for a dynamic exploration of interactive ways to incorporate creativity and election engagement in college classes this fall semester.

Speakers included our own Project Pericles Fellow Erin Mysogland, Assistant Director of the Center for Community Action and Research at Pace University.

Click here to access the full recording, key takeaways, and resources.

Pericleans in the Press

📰 Allegheny College: Presidents Corner: Why a strategic "pathway" is better than a plan, by Ron Cole in University Business

📰 Elon University: AAC&U, Elon University Launch AI Guide for Students in Inside Higher Ed

📰 Hendrix College News Release: Hendrix College Promotes Civic Engagement as ‘ALL IN’ Campus, Arkansas’ First Member of College Presidents for Civic Preparedness

📰 Pace University: What Can We Do to Build a More Well-Informed Citizenry by Marvin Krislov in Forbes

📰 Project Pericles quoted:

• Can Professors Get STEM Students To Vote in Inside Higher Ed

• Can 50 Nonprofits Build Something Together? A Hopeful Idea Begins to Spread in The Chronicle of Philanthropy 

What Staff are Reading

📚Sanda (Executive Director) is reading "Sustaining Democracy: What We Owe To The Other Side" by Robert B. Talisse, which draws upon extensive social science research on political polarization and partisan identity and argues that when we break off civil interactions with our political opponents, we imperil relations with our political allies. 

📚Arielle (Associate Director) is reading "Protected Democracy" an essay by Lawrence Lessig, about the vulnerabilities in our democratic system that AI will affect. This is part of the Digitalist Papers, a series of 12 essays that present an array of possible futures that the AI revolution might produce.

📚 Jason Vadnos (Intern) is reading Educating for Democracy: The Case for a New Civics, which provides a compelling argument for the role of educational institutions and hands-on, experiential learning in civics education in combating disillusionment with democracy, reducing political polarization, and enhancing the civic capacity of the next generation.

What are YOU reading? None of us have enough time to read all that we wish we could. We appreciate tips from readers and thinkers we admire and would love to share your suggestions in our next newsletter. Email: Sanda@projectpericles.org

Upcoming Events

🗓️ October 11: Periclean Conversations: Connecting Campuses and Civic Leaders Virtual Convening from 3-4 PM ET. Register here (for colleagues at Periclean institutions or participating in Periclean fellowships only) 

🗓️ October 23-24: Project Pericles Program Directors’ Conference at Swarthmore College (for Pericleans institutions only) 



🗓️ This just in! Project Pericles will be presenting two panels featuring representatives from 7 campuses at the 2025 AAC&U Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. in January: 

• Disrupt Distrust: Fostering Well Being and Resilience through Democratic Engagement 
• Co-Creation in Education: Strengthening Communities through Curricular Partnerships. Stay tuned for details. 

If you have a story, event, or publication you'd like us to feature, please reach out! E-mail: arielle@projectpericles.org

PROJECT PERICLES APPRECIATES THE SUPPORT OF OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SUPPORTERS INCLUDING: THE EUGENE M. LANG FOUNDATION, THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATION, THE MELLON FOUNDATION, & THE TEAGLE FOUNDATION