Fifty-five faculty from 19 colleges and universities are on campus this week attending the Kroc Institute’s 5th annual Summer Institute for Faculty, "Teaching Peace in the 21st Century."
The Summer Institute guides teams of faculty seeking to launch or expand peace studies programs at colleges and universities.
This year’s participants include faculty teams from a wide range of institutions — large and small, private and public, faith-based and secular, research and teaching — serving diverse student populations.
Faculty and administrators at these institutions are committed to exploring and strengthening interdisciplinary peace studies programs, which have been shown to enhance student learning, faculty teaching and research, and community and world engagement.
- Bethel College (Kansas)
- California State University-Sacramento
- Castleton State College (Vermont)
- College of Charleston (South Carolina)
- Delta College (Michigan)
- DePaul University (Illinois)
- Kansas State University
- Leeds Metropolitan University (United Kingdom)
- Loyola University-Chicago
- Monmouth College (Illinois)
- Pasco-Hernando Community College (Florida)
- Radford University (Virginia)
- Saint Mary’s College (Indiana)
- Uganda Martyrs University
- University of Massachusetts-Lowell
- University of Notre Dame (Indiana)
- University of Wisconsin-Stout
- Valencia College (Florida)
- Wartburg College (Iowa)
George A. Lopez, an internationally recognized authority on peace studies program development, created and leads the Institute, which draws on about a dozen Kroc Institute faculty and staff who serve as plenary speakers and curriculum advisors.
Lopez says he is inspired by the growing number, diversity and quality of colleges and universities seeking to build first-rate programs in restorative justice, conflict transformation, and strategic peacebuilding.
"Faculty are creating new and challenging courses that enhance their social work, criminal justice, international relations and professional education courses," he said. "In a world of complex violence and challenges to human rights and justice, it is encouraging to see smart and dedicated faculty from diverse fields create new programs to study, and help solve, these difficult problems."
Since the Summer Institute was created in 2009, 219 faculty from 75 institutions have attended the Kroc Institute's weeklong event.
Contact: George A. Lopez, 574-631-6972, lopez.1@nd.edu