Abstract
Wicked problems have multiple causes, require multifaceted solutions, and have no clear ending point at which the problem is truly solved. Encouraging respectful discourse on campus presented itself as a wicked problem at [institution name removed for the purposes of blind review] when, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. unity march in January 2018, several bystanders hurled racial epithets at the march's participants. In response, the Faculty Senate resolved that the university's Liberal Studies (general education) program create an Inclusive Excellence course requirement for students, with specific emphases on diversity, inclusion, equity, empathy, multicultural understanding, and civil discourse. The intent behind this request stressed the need to strengthen democratic norms by helping students develop stronger civic engagement skills for serving diverse communities. To that end, this article employs a case study approach in examining the efforts of the Liberal Studies program to create an Inclusive Excellence course requirement within its general education curriculum. The attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, but the process underlying the attempt suggested that considerations of scale and unanticipated consequences, clearly defined terms, and the articulation of a cohesive vision for student learning are centrally important to the effective resolution of a curricular wicked problem.
