THE TROJAN CONVERSATION: Introducing the USC Open Dialogue Project

Event details Date: Friday, October 30, 2026 Time: 2:30 PM to 3:20 PM Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center (TCC) - Grand Ballroom - Los Angeles, CA 90089 Type: Lecture / Talk / Workshop, Event Highlights Campus: University Park Campus Department: Campus Humanities, Price School of Public Policy Audience: Students, Alumni, Faculty/Staff About this event What does it mean to disagree well at USC? Join Founding Director Neeraj Sood for an introduction to the USC Open Dialogue Project and its work to foster thoughtful conversations across differences. Meet members of the project’s Student Advisory Board and learn how you—or your student—can get involved. Together, we will explore how letting go of winning, remaining curious, and focusing on ideas rather than people can turn disagreement into an opportunity to learn. Come learn all about the Open Dialogue Project with Director Neeraj Sood and Director of Programs Kamy Akhavan on Friday, October 30 from 2:30 pm to 3:20 pm in Ronald Tutor Campus Center (RTCC) Grand Ballroom. In Fall 2025, USC President Beong-Soo Kim launched an innovative new program called the USC Open Dialogue Project driven by a mission to cultivate intellectual courage, curiosity, critical thinking, respectful engagement across difference, and genuine interest in understanding opposing views. To serve that mission, the Open Dialogue Project offers student workshops, faculty trainings, speaker series, and panel discussions. It also invites students, staff, faculty, and YOU to share ideas for bringing Trojans together across their many differences, stoking critical thinking, and promoting respectful conversations. Open Dialogue Project Director Neeraj Sood is a Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy who also holds joint appointments at the Keck School of Medicine, Marshall School of Business, and Viterbi School of Engineering. Director of Programs Kamy Akhavan is the former Managing Director of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future and lecturer in USC Distinguished Leaders Program, USC Dornsife Toolkit Program, and USC Political Science Department. More about Trojan Family Weekend at https://web.cvent.com/event/64e81f1a-a423-42be-bd6f-83752f640fee/summary. Official event details: https://calendar.usc.edu/event/the-trojan-conversation-introducing-the-usc-open-dialogue-project