6 This chapter briely overviews the Principles and Practices of the Circle of Trust approach and shares an example of how those ideals informed how an instructor team facilitated a multiculturalism in higher education and student affairs course. Courage in Multicultural Initiatives Sherry K. Watt, Margaret Golden, Lisa A. P. Schumacher, Luis S. Moreno If the goal of multicultural initiatives is to transform our institutional struc- tures to allow for more equitable opportunities and outcomes, providing a safe space that encourages authentic participation and honest exploration is essential. The Principles and Practices of the Circle of Trust approach provides a framework for creating such a space. This space is particularly important when discussing, for example, race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and outlook because issues such as these touch on the very no- tion of who we are and what we value. These are issues of the heart. In Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit, Parker Palmer (2011, p. 10) describes the heart this way: [T]he heart is where everything begins: that grounded place in us where we can overcome fear, rediscover that we are members of one another, and em- brace the conlicts that threaten democracy as openings to new life for us and for our nation. The Principles and Practices of the Circle of Trust approach were de- veloped by Parker Palmer and others at the Center for Courage & Renewal to “invite groups into a communal process . . . through which we engage our deepest questions in a way that welcomes our inwardness even as it connects us to the gifts and challenges of community and to the larger world” (Chadsey and Jackson, 2012, p. 4). What follows is a discussion of the principles and practices that have particular salience for the explo- ration within multicultural initiatives. Authors share insights gained from teaching a course entitled Multiculturalism in Higher Education and Stu- dent Affairs using the Circle of Trust approach. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, no. 144, Winter 2013  2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ss.20069 57