At the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama, the Falcon Facilitators program is demonstrating how higher education can be a catalyst for building civic infrastructure. Guided by communication faculty Dr. Sally Hardig and Dr. Sherry Ford, and supported by the David Mathews Center for Civic Life’s Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program, the program prepares students to lead conversations that matter—on campus and in the broader community. It combines classroom learning, faculty mentorship, and experiential opportunities in ways that reflect the National Issues Forums Institute’s Talk, Decide, Act framework.

Falcon Facilitators is not simply an extracurricular project or a one-time event. It is a sustained effort to teach students how to convene, moderate, and learn from structured deliberation. The program aims to cultivate habits of democratic inquiry so that graduates leave Montevallo not only as professionals in their chosen fields, but also as citizens capable of helping communities address tough issues together.

Foundations of the Program

The program’s story began with a moment of opportunity in the local community. As Dr. Hardig explained, Montevallo leaders asked for facilitation help with a public issue that had become divisive:

“We were very fortunate to be invited… to [help facilitate] a controversial conversation and host a community forum. When we saw both our own reaction and the reaction of our students, we knew [deliberation] was something we needed to be doing.”

That initial experience set the stage for what would become Falcon Facilitators. Dr. Hardig and Dr. Ford recognized that their disciplines—public communication and interpersonal communication—offered a natural pairing. By working together, they could show students how listening, framing, and moderating can turn disagreement into deeper understanding.

Dr. Ford described the intentional design of the partnership this way:

“From the very beginning of our time here, we’ve looked for ways to bring our two sides of the discipline together—mine being the interpersonal side, and Sally’s being the more public communication side.”

Learning Through Deliberation

As the program grew, new moments deepened its direction. In 2021, Dr. Hardig took a social movement rhetoric class to the Equal Justice Initiative and Legacy Museum in Montgomery. The experience was powerful, but students struggled with what to do next:

“I can remember a student saying, ‘What do we do with this? I feel so much, and I really feel like I need to do something.’ And it just kind of hit me. I said, ‘Well, we communicate.’”

That conversation reminded the faculty of the program’s central purpose: deliberation provides a way to channel strong emotions into constructive conversation and collective next steps. It showed students that processing difficult experiences together—by asking questions, sharing perspectives, and identifying values—can be the beginning of civic action.

For students, the growth is personal as much as it is academic. One Falcon Facilitator, Kain Hilyer, described the difference between learning concepts in the classroom and putting them into practice:

“The early introductory comms courses taught me a good framework and concepts, but my experience with the Falcon Facilitators and JOIP program has really made it a reality. That was my clicking moment…participating in the deliberative conversations…really unlocked that personal development for me.”

Another Falcon Facilitator and JOIP Intern Joy Cook, reflected on how the program also opened new levels of professional development:

“I have gained a lot of professional development [as a Falcon Facilitator]. Learning how to work with my peers and how to connect with people in networking, has been impactful for me.” Joy also described how giving the students “space to talk about” challenging issues has been a highlight of her experience as a Falcon Facilitator.

Peyton Glover, Falcon Facilitator and JOIP Intern, shared practical examples of how she has incorporated the deliberative concepts into her leadership role in her sorority:

“Falcon Facilitators and the JOIP program has completely shaped my perspective of how things need to go [to promote mental wellbeing within the sorority]…It has taught me how to use [campus] resources to the fullest potential and in the best way possible not just for my sorority but also the people around me in the community.”

Connecting to Civic Pathways & Civic Action

Another distinctive feature of the program is its connection to the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program (JOIP) through the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. Students who participate in Falcon Facilitators can continue their learning as JOIP interns, applying their facilitation skills in community forums, nonprofit partnerships, and civic research projects across Alabama.

Dr. Ford reflected on the importance of this pathway:

“It gives students real-world feedback loops. They see how civic conversations matter, and they begin to see themselves as part of the change.”

The Mathews Center’s support as a funding and thought partner has been essential in making these opportunities possible. By linking campus learning with statewide internships, the partnership ensures that students not only practice deliberation in academic settings but also apply it in real-world contexts where their voices and skills make a tangible difference.

What makes Falcon Facilitators a model worth noting is how clearly it embodies the Talk, Decide, Act framework that animates the work of the National Issues Forums Institute:

• Talk: Students convene forums that invite multiple perspectives, surface values, and create space for meaningful dialogue.
• Decide: Groups weigh options, examine trade-offs, and seek areas of common ground.
• Act: Recommendations are shared with campus leaders, internships extend projects into the community, and students learn how to carry forward the momentum of deliberation into action.

Looking Ahead

As Falcon Facilitators continues to expand, Montevallo is showing what it means to integrate civic learning into the heart of higher education. Students are gaining transferable skills that shape their careers and communities. Faculty are modeling how academic disciplines can serve the community and strengthen civic health. And the campus itself is becoming a place where difficult conversations are welcomed as opportunities rather than avoided as risks.

The program is still young, but its lessons are powerful. Embedding deliberation in the classroom, connecting it to campus decision-making, and linking it with opportunities like the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program creates a pipeline of civic leaders equipped to talk, decide, and act for the common good.