Student protests. Conflicts with donors over priorities. Legislative actions to curb academic freedoms. Nightly reports on censored speech at campuses across the country. If higher education is a bellwether for the issues facing broader American civil society, it can feel as though we are standing on the precipice of division and separation that will soon be impossible to bridge. New pluralism offers one pathway forward to healing our divisions and moving forward in a vibrant multiracial, multigenerational, multifaith democracy (and university!). The New Pluralists Funders Collaborative represents a shared belief, across ideological views, in the value of difference as an essential feature of a healthy democracy, strong university, and effective philanthropy. In this panel session, leaders from the Hewlett Foundation and Stand Together, in conversation with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, will define pluralism, share the origin story of the New Pluralists as an example of bridging, and give examples of pluralism shapes and is shaped by higher education.