About the Allies Institute

The Allies Institute is a four-day retreat filled with honest, no-holds-barred dialogue about tough issues like ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, class, and religion. Created in collaboration with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, the Allies Institute includes interactive workshops, intense small group discussions, and experiential exercises designed to allow participants to think deeply about prejudice and discrimination. Participants explore questions like:

• Who am I and how have my beliefs about difference been shaped by my various identities (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion/belief system etc.)?
• In what ways am I pressured to conform?  How can I live a more authentic life?
• What is prejudice?
• What is the experience of others who are unlike me?  What inequalities exist?
• In what ways do I currently support or interrupt incidents of bias?
• How can I build stronger relationships across lines of difference?
• What opportunities exist for me to take action to build a more inclusive community?

The Allies Institute is not just about talk. It's about action. Participants strive to grow personally, build relationships across lines of difference, and brainstorm ways to take action once they return to the University of Richmond campus.

“I feel like a completely different person, and a much better person.”
-- 2005 Institute Participant

“I see things through a whole new light.  I feel less of a victim and more as a source to a solution.” -- 2004 Institute Participant