For the last five years, the Higgins School of Humanities has worked to develop a culture of dialogue at Clark University through its Difficult Dialogues Initiative. People know that genuine communication, creative collaboration, and effective problem solving are necessary to address the challenges they face as a nation and world; a renewed appreciation of democracy--its privileges, responsibilities, and necessary skills--is critical as well. Dialogue is a fundamental means for encouraging these capacities and insights. They further people's abilities to work across difference, challenge assumptions, and develop new insights; they offer access to collective creativity and build momentum for effective action. This article describes the Difficult Dialogues Initiative, which the authors launched in November 2006 after a yearlong planning phase. This initiative works to foster a culture of dialogue on the campus--raising awareness of discourse itself and encouraging skills and attitudes of responsible citizenship across the community. The authors describe the core principles that animate their work and outline the range of activities by which they encourage this awareness and practice. (Contains 1 note.)