The Commons Project is a research-led initiative that explores how graduate learning environments can better adapt to students’ diverse cultural perspectives to foster more reciprocal, trust-based relationships between students and faculty.

Born out of a deep recognition that academic spaces often operate through dominant cultural frameworks, this project interrogates the often-unspoken gaps in trust, inclusion, and relational equity within higher education—particularly among international students and their instructors.

Through interviews, workshops, and collaborative reflection, our team investigated how cultural dynamics influence learning, connection, and care in higher education.
We asked: How might we build, sustain, and repair trust in student–faculty relationships - especially in culturally diverse spaces?

Our findings highlight both structural and relational barriers, and the need for intentional, co-created practices that make room for difference.