ISSUED: 11 December 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
NEW YORK, NY — The Bonnie and Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications announced the winners of the National Civility Awards, awarded this year in partnership with Newsweek.
The announcement occurred on December 10 at Newsweek’s Global Headquarters in New York.
The National Civility Awards seek to encourage productive political conversations around the country.
“The Stubblefield Institute is excited to celebrate champions of civility from across the nation,” said Ashley Horst, executive director of the Stubblefield Institute. “These Civility Award recipients model for all of us that it is possible to stand on the ideals of civility, consideration of
differing perspectives, and bipartisan collaboration through consistent daily action while we respond to long-standing and emerging difficulties and grow together as a nation.”
The 2024 award recipients include:
- Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA)
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
- Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
- Governor Spencer Cox (UT)
- Rep. Young Kim (R-CA)
- Eboo Patel, and the Kettering Foundation
Lifetime Achievement Civility Awards were presented to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D, MI) and C-SPAN.
“I’ve always believed that you don’t have to agree with someone on everything in order to work with them,” Stabenow said. “I’ve learned the importance of finding common ground rather than focusing on our differences.”
Award recipients gave brief comments via pre-recorded video during the ceremony.
The Stubblefield Institute presented the inaugural Civility Awards in 2022. This year, the Stubblefield Institute reached a broader national audience by partnering with global media organization Newsweek to present the Newsweek-Stubblefield Institute Civility Awards.
Newsweek Global Editor-in-Chief Nancy Cooper said the partnership celebrates the people and organizations who work to foster good-faith debate and bridge political and cultural divides.
“Vigorous debate is a bedrock of democracy,” Cooper said. “In this era of fierce polarization, we at Newsweek believe the public is best served by a civil national discourse that reflects diverse perspectives.”
Newsweek readers and the general public nominated individuals for the awards between February 6 and March 31.
Nominations were judged based on demonstrated leadership in promoting civil discourse, bipartisan collaboration, and honest debate.
“Civility is not about diluting our beliefs or avoiding conflict, it’s about disagreeing without disrespecting, debating without demeaning and engaging without enmity,” said Jennifer Cunningham, executive editor of Newsweek. “It’s about finding common ground and constructing an environment where constructive conversations can flourish.”
The Bonnie and Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications was founded at Shepherd University in 2019, acting as a center for the study and promotion of civil political discourse.
Newsweek is a global media organization that has earned audience time and trust for over 90 years.
The organization is dedicated to speaking to and listening to readers across the political and cultural spectrum, fair and factual journalism, and furthering good-faith debate and a search for common ground.
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