Training and Workshops
Butler University offers a variety of training and workshops to equip campus members with knowledge and skills to create more inclusive, safe, and equitable classrooms, living spaces, workplaces, and communities.
Peer Education Program
You can request a workshop for our student Peer Educators to present to your classroom, residence hall group, student organization, academic or staff department, or alumni group. View the list of available workshops for more information and to request a workshop. Workshop content can be tailored to fit your group’s unique needs. If you’d like a staff member to facilitate your workshop based on the context of your groups or for other reasons, please state this preference in the form.
DEI at Butler: Past, Present, and Future (45 min): This 60-minute session educates participants on Butler’s founding mission and the efforts taken to forward our mission. Participants will learn how they can be active participants in creating a sense of belonging and inclusivity within their respective areas of work and study.
Active Listening (30 min): Active listening promotes empathy and understanding between humans. This workshop allows participants to learn key components of active listening and provides the opportunity to practice these skills in real-time.
Debate versus Dialogue (30 min): This workshop will provide foundational knowledge on the differences between dialogue and debate. Participants will learn the benefits of and when to engage in both forms of communication. This presentation will equip participants with skills and knowledge to engage in dialogue in a polarized environment.
Comfort versus Safety (30 min): Getting out of our comfort zone will help us grow intellectually and socially. This workshop will differentiate between one’s comfort, safety, and danger zones and how to navigate each zone, especially when engaging with those who do not hold the same identities, beliefs, or perspectives.
Navigating Triggers (30 min): Emotional responses are normal when engaging in uncomfortable conversations. This 30-minute workshop will help participants identify potential triggers and ways to respond to them in a manner that encourages effective conversation and engagement.
Microaggressions (45 min): These small comments have large implications for people. Participants will learn the definition of microaggressions, examples of microaggressions, and how to effectively respond to microaggressions.
Bias (45 min): We all hold unconscious biases. This workshop will provide a general definition of unconscious bias, help participants realize the root of their biases, and provide ways to unlearn biases.
How to Be a Boundaries Badass (60 minutes): Students will learn and practice a variety of skills related to understanding the importance of creating and practicing healthy boundaries in all of their relationships, whether platonic, familial, or romantic.
Stop Spinning Your Wheels: Developing a Self-Care Plan for Overall Wellness (60 minutes): Students will explore multiple facets to their personal wellness and develop a plan for maintaining or improving their self-care strategies.
How to Help a Friend (60 minutes): This workshop includes training on how to recognize when someone has experienced a trauma and needs assistance, how to assist them in a trauma-informed and supportive manner, and educates students about the resources available to help on and off campus.
Changemakers: A Crash Course in Social Advocacy & Activism (60 minutes): Students will discover the difference between advocacy and activism, as well as discuss how they can apply advocacy and activism skills to the causes about which they are most passionate to affect positive change in their communities.
Additional DEI & Student Affairs Workshops
Additional offices within the Division of DEI & Student Affairs can also facilitate a requested workshop or training for your classroom, residence hall groups, student organization, academic or staff department, or alumni group. View the list of available workshops for more information and to request a workshop.
Counseling and Consultation Services trainings are listed below. Please request their workshops using this link.
Safe Space (2 or 3 hours): Safe Space is a LGBTQIA+ ally training aimed at heterosexual and/or cisgender students, staff, and faculty who want to increase their knowledge base and develop skills in advocating for LGBTQIA+ peers on campus. The training can be offered in a 2-hour or 3-hour format and includes didactic, video, activities, and discussion intended to improve participants’ empathy for this population and identify resources for supporting peers on campus.
Campus Connect (2 hours or 3 hours): Campus Connect is suicide prevention training aimed at students, staff, faculty who would like to understand more about the prevalence of suicidal behavior, the factors which contribute to suicide, and who is at risk for suicide. Additionally, participants will develop communication and relationship building skills to facilitate successful support, intervention, and referral of distressed students. Content includes didactic, video, activities, discussion, and role play.
Office of Student Advocacy workshops are below. Please contact Jules Grable (jearthur@butler.edu) to request a workshop.
Educating the Traumatized Brain: Bringing Trauma-Informed Practices into Higher Education (90 minutes): Trauma is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in our society and one that impacts a significant number of our students before and during their time at Butler University. When a person experiences trauma, it can greatly impact their ability to learn and retain new information, complicating their success as a student. In this session, we will explorehow faculty and staff can develop a trauma-informed educational experience to support young adults who have experienced trauma and help them thrive.
Fight, Flight, Freeze: The Neurobiology of Trauma (60 minutes): This workshop examines the physiological response to trauma within the body and what it means for the physical and emotional body of survivors. By understanding what’s going on “behind the scenes,” we can better understand how to help support survivors of trauma.
Hack Your Nervous System: Understanding Your Own Stress Response (60 minutes): Students will learn about how stress affects the brain and body in order to better understand how to regulate their own nervous system, as well as develop awareness of on campus mental health resources.