Peace andConflict Studies

Annual Report 2011-2012

We launched the Peace and Conflict Studies program at a pivotal time in history. At thestart of 2011, we witnessed historic movements towards peace and justice with the ArabSpring and the embrace of non-violent social change by millions of people across our globe.

At the same time, deep and intractable conflicts remain. Civil war has broken out inSudan and Syria, confrontation looms with Iran over nuclear weapons, the Israeli-Palestinianpeace process stays stalled and challenges to human rights exist on each continent.

But hope remains. In training our students to be vanguards for peace, we are followingEleanor Roosevelt’s exhortation that, “It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believein it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” By equipping our studentswith cross-cultural skills, non-violent strategies, and peace-building tools we are preparingthem to work for positive change.

Some of our students will bring their talents to the non-profit world where they will work to improve humanrights. Others will become public service mediators and negotiators who will resolve conflict in their communities.Still others will create pathways for corporate social responsibility. Our international students are eager to return to their homes in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America so they can lead the transformation for social justice. While our students’ interests are diverse, they share a resolute commitment to fostering this non-violenttransformation.

In the following pages you will learn about the critical work being done by our students and faculty including:

• Training Israelis and Palestinians in non-violent social change. (Page 4)

• Creating an international network of emerging women leaders to build security through economic and socialdevelopment. (Page 7)

• Partnering with United States Institute of Peace to create pathways for student internships and research. (Page 9)

• Launching a trilateral education research project on marginalized populations in troubled regions. (Page 10)

I am continually impressed by the passion of our students and the involvement of our faculty. I invite you toview the student profiles on pages 12-13 and the faculty profiles on page 14-15.

I want to thank the leadership of the Chancellor, Provost and Dean for providing the vision and support forPeace and Conflict Studies. It is an honor to lead this program towards achievements locally and globally.

Our continued success depends on you. We need to build a sustainable foundation for Peace and Conflict Studies. We welcome your support for student scholarships, faculty research, and international partnerships.

In 1989, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel asked, “Why are there no academies, universities, laboratories, institutes—or so few of them—that teach not only the virtues of peace but also the art of attaining it?” He dreamed of a daywhen, “Our sages and scholars together could resolve to infuse peace with the same energy and inspiration thatothers have put into war.” Peace and Conflict Studies answers that call. Together we can join our collective energies to advance peace and justice.

Yes we can!

Paula Rayman, Ph.D.Director, Peace and Conflict Studies

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Note from the Director

The Peace and Conflict Studies undergraduate and graduate programat UMass Lowell meets the growing in-terest of students in the issues of peaceand conflict and the expanding needfor professionals in the field. Our goal is to prepare students with the intellec-tual foundation and practical skills to be successful in graduate school and ina career.

Peace and Conflict Studies is an academic field that draws upon a variety of disciplines such as culturalstudies, criminal justice, economics, history, philosophy, political science,psychology, and sociology to addressthe central questions of the field:

• What are the causes and conditionswhich generate and sustain violent conflict?

• What are the principles and methodsfor the resolution of violent conflict?

• What are the norms, practices andinstitutions for building peace?

Within the field, “peace” is definedas more than the absence of war.Rather, it is the presence of the condi-tions necessary to build a “just peace,”

including access to education and physical necessities, societal justice, andsecurity from harm. The idea is rootedin the understanding that a just peaceis the only sustainable kind of peace.Therefore, Peace and Conflict Studiesstudents go into a wide range of careerfields such as:

• Restorative Justice

• Human Rights Advocacy

• Education

• Women’s Advancement

• Development

• Diplomacy

• Non-Profit Management

• Conflict Resolution

This is a critical global moment forpeace education as armed conflict con-tinues to be prevalent worldwide. As oflast year, there were 36 armed conflictswaged around the globe at the sametime. Since the end of the Cold War, amajority of UN member states have hada war on their territory or have hadtheir citizens in a war. Furthermore, the emergence of terrorism as a globalthreat creates an urgent need for

creative solutions to international violence. A new generation of leadersneed to be equipped to deal with thechallenges of the 21st century.

The Peace and Conflict Studies program has leading faculty who areexperts in areas such as:

• Social organizing

• Nonviolent action

• Understanding terrorism

• Religion and democracy

• Responses to genocide

• Conflict in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and other regional disputes

• Women's movements for peace

• Mass media and the role of technology in conflict resolution

• Politics of human rights

This faculty leadership, combinedwith the commitment of UMass Lowell to international education and real-world experience, makes stu-dents work-ready, life-ready, and world-ready.

www.uml.edu/pcs

About the Program

Peace and Conflict Studies advancesChancellor Meehan and Provost Abdelal’s strategic vision of preparingstudents for global citizenship. The program cultivates cross-cultural insight, international awareness, and a commitment to social justice.

In 2009, Dean Nina Coppens appointed an inter-disciplinary facultygroup to develop the academic frame-work for the program. The UMass Lowell faculty group, led by Dr. PaulaRayman, worked closely with scholarsand practitioners in the field to develop

the curriculum. Members of the UMass Lowell faculty group attendedthe Kroc Institute for Peace StudiesSummer Conference for Faculty to gain insight into setting up a top-notchprogram.

In June 2011, the MassachusettsBoard of Higher Education approved the Peace and Conflict Studies BA and MA degrees. The program officiallylaunched during Fall 2011 when it welcomed a full incoming class of graduate and undergraduate students.

Provost Ahmed Abdelal, Dean Nina Coppens,and faculty welcome the first class of Peaceand Conflict Studies students.

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Program Development

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To be peaceful does not mean to bepassive. There is power in non-violentaction. Gandhi utilized non-violence tofree India from Colonial rule. MartinLuther King Jr. employed non-violenttactics to end segregation. The protes-tors in the Arab Spring practiced non-violence to create democracy.

The Peace and Conflict Studies program trains students in methods ofnon-violence so they can lead move-ments for justice and peace. The program’s faculty are experts in non-violent action and are engaged in on-the-ground training programsthrough grants from the United StatesDepartment of State.

Professor Paula Rayman and Masterof Arts student Janet Johnson receivedthe Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitar-ian Service Award. Professor Raymanwas honored for her lifelong work inpromoting non-violent action andwomen’s advancement. Ms. Johnsonreceived the award for her journalismand advocacy for peace during theLiberian Civil war.

The United States Consulate inJerusalem awarded Prof. Rayman anda coalition of women’s organizationsin Israel with a grant to bring togetherPalestinian and Israeli women leadersto build trust and leadership capacityfor nonviolent social change.

The changing atmosphere in theMiddle East energized discussionsamong peace scholars and activistswithin Israel and Palestine. “Womenwill play a critical role in socialchange,” says Rayman. “UMass Lowell can facilitate other institutionsin building multi-dimensional partnerships.”

Three organizations are partners inthe proposal:

• Kayan, which focuses on Arabwomen in Israel;

• Shatil, which focuses on Arab-Jewish social change leadership inIsrael; and

• The Parents Circle, which links Palestinians and Israelis who havelost a family member in the conflict.

Prof. Rayman returned to Israel inSummer 2012 to train women peaceleaders and help the organizationslaunch the initiative.

ADVANCING NON-VIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE

Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Service Award

State Department Awards Non-Violence Education Grant to Peace and Conflict Studies

Professor Paula Rayman was selected to speak as part of the Distinguished American Speakerprogram at the United States Embassy in Israel. She was hostedby Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger. In her presentation,“An American Scholar Looks ‘Beyond Coexistence’ in Israel,”Prof. Rayman spoke about hownonviolent action has been instru-mental in advancing the quest fordemocracy and better social andeconomic conditions in the US andthe region, and examined how nonviolent interactions within Israelisociety between Arab and Jewishpopulations may bring about constructive change. Prof. Raymanwas in Israel on a Senior FulbrightSpecialist Award, and was workingwith the University of Haifa on thestudy “Beyond Coexistence: IsraeliArab and Jewish Relations.”

Professor RaymanPresents Non-ViolenceResearch at UnitedStates Embassy

Professor Paula Rayman, Director of Peaceand Conflict Studies, and Janet Johnson,Master of Arts student.

Prof. Paula Rayman (2nd from Right) with her husband Richard Herman (Right),Charge d’Affares Thomas Goldberger(Left) and his wife Eden.

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Professor David Cortright, Directorof Policy Studies at the Kroc Institutefor International Peace Studies at theUniversity of Notre Dame presented aseminar at UMass Lowell on the latestresearch findings on the effectivenessof non-violence.

Professor Cortright is an interna-tionally renowned scholar and practi-tioner of nonviolent activism.

“New research shows that nonvio-lence is twice as effective as force inachieving social or political goals,”said Cortright, referring to struggles inSerbia, Ukraine and Nepal, as well ashis own experiences. Nonviolenceworks by creating “loyalty shifts”—changes in attitude within the majoritypopulation, both toward entrenchedpower and nonviolent activist groups.“Governments can justify the use offorce against groups that also useforce,” said Cortright. “It is muchmore difficult to justify the use of violence against completely nonviolentprotesters.”

Reducing or ending terrorism also is more successful using nonviolentmethods, such as a combination ofpolicing andpoliticalprocesses.According to researchanalysis, military forcehas a poorrecord, lessthan 10 per-cent success,in eliminatingterrorism.

One year out from the Arab Spring, when thousands of demonstrators occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo, bringing down a government and demandingdemocratic reforms, a panel of scholars gathered to discuss Egypt’s turbulentpresent and uncertain future.

Three international experts participated on the panel: Gregory Aftandilian, former State Department Middle East analyst and an associate of the Center forMiddle East Peace, Development and Culture; Yoram Meital, chair of the ChaimHerzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University inIsrael; and Zeid, playwright and former Egyptian cultural attaché to the UnitedStates and Turkey. Provost Ahmed Abdelal moderated the discussion.

During discussion, the panelists all pointed to uncertainties in the current situation in Egypt, yet found some reasons for optimism.

“I feel more optimistic than I did six months ago. A revolution is not one event,but a series of transitions,” said Meital.” Added Abdelal, “Many Egyptians are frustrated with the transition and I would not exclude the possibility of another uprising.”

According to Zeid, “Egyptneeds education and helpfrom the outside, but peoplemust understand that Egyp-tians have their own way of doing things and are not inclined to the extremes,” he said.

Wael Kamal, program direc-tor of Journalism and MediaStudies, commented, “There isa silent majority of people sit-ting at home [in Egypt] waitingfor something to happen. Theyare a major force right nowand are looking for any solu-tion that will provide stability.”

Non-Violence More Effective Than Violence, Scholar Reports

After the Arab Spring, Now What Egypt?

Professor David Cortright

Professor Wagdi Zeid and Provost Ahmed Abdelaldiscuss Egypt’s future at a panel discussion.

This course explores the power of non-violence and the various strategies of employing non-violent action. Using Gene Sharp’s Politics of Nonviolent Action as a primary text, students discover how popular movements used nonviolent weapons tooverthrow dictators, obstruct military invaders, andsecure human rights in country after country overthe past century. Specific case studies will focus onnon-violent movements in Poland, India, Chile andthe American South.

Related CourseStrategies of Conflict Transformation

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Women are increasingly becomingleaders of movements for peace, jus-tice and development. The Peace andConflict Studies program is training anew generation of women to enterthe workforce with the strategic lead-ership skills, energy, and commitment

required to tackle today’s global challenges. Through diverse local andinternational partnerships, Peace andConflict Studies is setting itself as ahub for the advancement of women’sleadership for peace.

PROMOTING WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP

In Spring 2011, UMass Lowell hosted a delegation of outstanding women leaders from around the world to meet and learn from each other, forging friendships and building understanding about what it takes to advance securitythrough economic and social development. The delegates from Colombia, Egypt,Israel, Liberia, Northern Ireland, South Africa and the United States spent threedays together presenting on their experiences in their home nations and craftingthe Lowell Declaration, a pledge to work jointly and with others on a global network with the common goal of creating non-violent solutions to conflict.

The International Women Leaders’ Summit on Securitythrough Economic and Social Development grew out of an idea formed by the 2010 GreeleyScholar for Peace Prof. Gavriel Salomon, University of Haifa, and UMass Senior Vice PresidentMarcellette Williams.

At the Summit, the womenagreed on the importance of creating a global network ofwomen leaders to establish international bridges to promotepeace through supporting eco-nomic and social development,and fostering partnerships withwomen leaders in Massachusetts.

International Women Leaders’ Summit on Security through Economic and SocialDevelopment

2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate LeymahGbowee signs the Lowell Declaration.

At a time when the most vexingchallenges threaten world security, it is fitting to bring together other voices that hold up“half the sky” to contribute the wisdom, intellect, insight, experience, diversity, creativityand capacity to address, alongwith men, solutions to global security through social and economic development. Thewomen participating in this Summit bring perspectives unique in their knowledge, comprehensive in their scope, and practical in their execution.I applaud the leadership of thecampus for its continuing com-mitment to education for globalcitizenship.

Marcellette Gailliard-GayWilliams, Ph.D.,

Senior Vice President-AcademicAffairs, Student Affairs and

International Relations

Hearing how distinguishedwomen provided leadership in advancing their countries in economic and societal development is critical and enriches our awareness of boththe solemnity of human life and the fragility of the humancondition—necessary elements in fostering a global perspectivein our students.

Provost Ahmed Abdelal

The UMass President’s Office awarded a Creative Economy Grant to Peace and Conflict Studies to share the insights from the Summit through a series ofleadership workshops and an online network.

The first workshop was held on MLK Day in partnership with Lawrence Community Works. It brought together adult community leaders and Move-ment City youth to engage in community action planning. The event honoredMartin Luther King, Jr., focusing on the use of nonviolent action to createchange and move toward social justice.

The second program was held in partnership with Lowell Community HealthCenter to put on a day long-conference for Women Organizing for a Real Difference. It raised consciousness on social justice through bringing togetherwomen to discuss critical issues and creating a forum for participants to growand commit to active leadership in the community.

The BostonWomen’s Fundhosted the finalworkshop. The MenTake a Stand eventhonored men whoactively supportwomen’s leadership.The event promotedthe partnership between men andwomen in the fightfor equality throughnonviolent action.

The Women in PublicService Project

The Peace and Conflict Studies Program at University of Massachu-setts Lowell, supported by the entireUniversity of Massachusetts system,will serve as the public university hubin the United States Department ofState’s Women in Public Service Project. As the initial public universityhub, the University of MassachusettsLowell will further the essential role of preparing the next generation ofwomen to invest in their communitiesand countries, provide leadership ingovernment, and develop innovativeglobal solutions.

University of Massachusetts Lowellwill host a conference in Spring 2013to train a new generation of womenleaders to enter the public sector withthe strategic leadership skills necessaryto tackle global challenges. Universityof Massachusetts Lowell will invite del-egates from 4 other public universitysystems across the United States rep-resenting different geographic regionsand rising star international women toattend the conference.

Peace and Conflict students willhave a unique opportunity to engagein the planning and implementationof this high-level conference.

Women’s Leadership Exchange

“[I learned how] to makewhat you believe or hopeinto a reality... you are neveralone to start a movement.”

—Youth Participant

“I’ll keep in mind that I, agirl, am stronger than thenegative perceptions putupon me. I can do whateverI stand by because thereARE people who will support me.”

—Youth Participant

This course explores the relationship betweenhuman rights, gender and nonviolence in the 21st

century. Students examine how current and futurereality can be shaped by related policies, specificallythose on the micro and macro level concernedwith gender. Today we live in a period of globaltransition comparable to the period that followed theIndustrial Revolution. It presents us with enormous challenges andopportunities regarding factors we will address in class: economic globalization, government restructuring, work-family balancing, environmental safety at work, gender inequalities and the connectionbetween human rights and dignity at work. Students will learn aboutcourageous women who have led movements for peace such as Nobel Prize winner Leymah Gbowee.

Related CourseGender, Work and Peace

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Inter-generational women leaders share strategies for socialchange at the Women Organizing for a Real Differenceconference.

Conflict is everywhere. In our homes,workplaces, communities and nation,we are increasingly confronted withchallenging conflicts. Peace and Con-flict Studies trains students with theskills to productively handle conflicts.Conflicts do not have to be zero-sumgames with a winner and loser. By

identifying underlying interests, bothsides can achieve a satisfactory result.With courses, guest speakers andcommunity and governmental part-nerships, the Peace and ConflictStudies program equips students witha wide range of alternative disputeresolution skills.

RESOLVING CONFLICT FROM THE LOCAL TO THE GLOBAL

Mediation in a World of Conflict PresentationMelissa Brodrick, Ombudsperson at Harvard Medical School, and former

mediator for Fortune 500 companies, the State of Massachusetts and non-profit organizations, led an interactive presentation on how mediation can reduce conflict in our world.

She spoke about her experiences as a mediator and how mediation looks at conflict as an opportunity for change. She compared mediation to otherforms of dispute resolution such as arbitration and explained how mediation is different: it is voluntary, the parties have self-determination to make any decisions, it is confidential and the mediators are neutral.

Lowell High School Peer Mediation Partnership

Peace and Conflict Studies and Lowell High School’s peer mediation pro-gram have a strong partnership which includes internship placements, jointevents, and a pathway for the high school mediators to attend UMass Lowell.

Several UMass Lowell students have worked with the peer mediation program to promote advocacy campaigns, lead trainings, and provide support to the director.

Community Partnership: United Teen EqualityCenter Anti-Gang Violence

Peace and Conflict Students are in-terning with The United Teen EqualityCenter (UTEC), a youth developmentagency whose mission is to ignite andnurture the ambition of Lowell’s mostdisconnected youth to trade violenceand poverty for social and economicsuccess.

UTEC's Streetworker program in-cludes four critical components to en-gage and support young people whoare most often overlooked: intentionalstreet-based outreach, crisis interven-tion, referrals to community resources,and gang peacemaking. Youth whomay be gang involved, homeless,and/or out of school are difficult toreach because they do not seek outhelp when in crisis and are not regis-tered in school or other after-schoolprograms. Rather than wait for theseteens to seek help or become moresystem involved, Streetworkers activelyengage young people involved withyouth-on-youth violence, reaching outto youth on the streets of Lowell whilewearing their familiar bright orangejackets.

The Streetworker PeacemakingProcess reduces youth gang violenceby implementing a peace processamong rival gangs in Lowell. Street-workers facilitate peace within andbetween gang sets by first engagingthem on the streets and building trust-ing relationships. Ultimately, UTECbrokers peace between gang sets whosign peace treaties, pledging to refrainfrom conflict.

Peace and Conflict Studies undergraduate and graduate students at Lowell High Schoolfor a presentation with the peer mediators.

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Dr. Linda Bishai, Senior program offi-cer in the Academy for InternationalConflict Management and Peacebuild-ing at the United States Institute ofPeace (USIP), spoke with faculty andstudents at UMass Lowell.

United States Institute of Peace is the independent, nonpartisan con-flict management center created byCongress to prevent and mitigate in-ternational conflict without resortingto violence.

Dr. Bishai talked about her role incurriculum development and peaceeducation throughout the UnitedStates and in conflict zones, especiallythe Sudan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

She has worked as an electoralmonitor in the Sudan and describedthe challenges in creating democracy.When people think about democracy,she said, they think about freespeech—being able to say what theywant. But they need to be encouraged

to think about pluralism—being will-ing to respect other points of view.

She also outlined some of the mainlessons from her work on the ground:Planning needs to be long-term toavoid stabilizing a situation and leav-ing, interventions must be small andtargeted, the right partners need to beidentified, and you must be informed

about the culture you are workingwithin.

Bishai encouraged students to par-take in international experiences andshe offered to connect students tonon-governmental organizations onthe ground.

This course gives students an understanding of themain issues and solutions involved in communitylevel conflict resolution; e.g., in neighborhoods,workplaces, and other institutions. It develops students' skills in practicing conflict resolution and evaluating programs in the field of disputeresolution. Students practice negotiation skills, learn the effects of power imbalances on conflict and explore the challenges of cross-cultural conflict resolution.

Related CourseCommunity Conflict Resolution

Government Partnership: United States Institute of Peace

“But peace does not rest in thecharters and covenants alone.It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes onparchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, adesire for peace, a willingnessto work for peace in thehearts and minds of all ofour people. I believe that wecan. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of humanbeings.

—John F. Kennedy

St. Mary’s CollegeStudent Success in Education

Queen’s UniversityNorthern Ireland Peace Process

Faculty from UMass Lowell, Univer-sity of Haifa, and St. Mary’s UniversityCollege Belfast developed a proposedinternational study on “How MaySchools Serving Marginalized Popula-tions Respond Simultaneously to PolicyDemands for Test Performance and21st Century Learning?”

The study seeks to identify and learnfrom schools in the three nations serv-ing predominantly marginalized popu-lations that have figured out how torespond in promising ways to both thedemand for test performance and thedemand for 21st century learning.After identifying several such schoolsin each nation, researchers will developcase studies. Cases will be comparedacross schools and across nations toidentify what is universal and what isparticular among successful schoolsand to identify principles and practicesfrom which other schools may learn.The first phase of the United Statesportion of the study has recently beenfunded with a UMass Lowell SeedGrant for Research and Scholarship.

Members of the Research Collaborationpoint to their findings. (L to R) MartinHagan, St. Mary’s College, Lily Orland and Rivka Eisikovits, University of Haifa, StacySzczesiul and Jim Nehring, UMass Lowell,Frank Hennessy, St. Mary’s College.

Professor Shane O’Neill, Dean ofFine Arts, Humanities and Social Sci-ences at Queen’s University Belfastspoke about the Northern IrelandPeace Process. As a member of theQueen’s Center for the Study of EthnicConflict, he explores justice and thecritical importance of Recognition The-ory, the idea that validating the otherside’s goals and beliefs is a key step inconflict resolution.

Queen’s University Pro-Vice Chancel-lor Tony Gallagher discussed programshe developed to create more commu-nication and collaboration amongCatholic and Protestant Schools inNorthern Ireland. The Center for IrishPartnerships co-sponsored the eventand attendees included Michael Loner-gan, Consul General of Ireland.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Tony Gallagher, Queen’sUniversity Belfast, with Linda Bishai, UnitedStates Institute of Peace, and the leadershipof UMass Lowell.

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“Going beyond what each university can do by itself will create a new generationof decision makers, entrepreneurs and leaders who can compete and collaboratewith the best in the world.”

—Chancellor Marty Meehan.

Peace and Conflict Studies partners with international institutions to createpathways for student, faculty and research exchange. The initial partnershipsfocus on areas with great expertise and understanding of peace and conflict:Northern Ireland and the Middle East.

University of Haifa,IsraelPeace and Conflict Studies

UMass Lowell and University ofHaifa jointly launched Peace and Con-flict Studies degrees, as part of a 2009institutional agreement. The universi-ties are exploring joint online courseand student and faculty exchange.

Intimate Partner Violence

Prof. Zvi Eisikovits, director of theCenter for the Study of Society at theUniversity of Haifa, came to UMassLowell to discuss his research on inti-mate partner violence. Eisikovits de-scribed how couples’ behavioralpatterns can lead to the escalation ofviolence. Within the relationship, heexplained, the partners may have dif-fering perceptions of conflict andpain. Also, cultural differences in howto define and respond to verbal andphysical abuse can complicate under-standing of the escalating violence.

Ethnic Democracies and Peace

Professor Sammy Smooha of theUniversity of Haifa gave two lectureson how different types of democraciescope with ethnonational conflicts atUMass Lowell. Ethnic democracy is apolitical system that combines a struc-tured ethnic dominance with demo-cratic, political and civil rights for all.Both the dominant ethnic group andthe minority ethnic groups have citi-zenship and are able to fully partici-pate in the political process.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPSANDSCHOLARSHIP

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Greeley Scholar forPeace StudiesThe Dana McLean Greeley

Endowment for Peace Studies sup-ports an annual Greeley Scholar forPeace Studies at the University ofMassachusetts Lowell. Each year, acommittee appointed by the Univer-sity and the Greeley Foundation, se-lects a distinguished advocate forpeace, a noted humanitarian, or a faith leader to visit the campus and region to teach and engage in public discussions that advance thecause of peace and justice.

2012 Greeley Scholarfor Peace Studies

John Prendergast is Co-founder ofthe Enough Project, an initiative toend genocide and crimes against hu-manity. During the Clinton administra-tion, John was involved in a numberof peace processes in Africa while hewas director of African Affairs at theNational Security Council and specialadvisor at the Department of State.

2011 Greeley Scholarfor Peace Studies

Leymah Gbowee received the NobelPeace Prize for her work organizing apeace movement that helped end theSecond Liberian Civil War in 2003. Sheled the Women of Liberia Mass Actionfor Peace, bringing together Christianand Muslim women to pray and singfor peace and eventually forcing national leaders to create a peaceprocess. She is now the executive director of theWomen’s Peaceand SecurityNetwork Africa,based in Accra,Ghana. She isthe centralcharacter of theaward-winningdocumentary“Pray the DevilBack to Hell.”

2010 Greeley Scholarfor Peace Studies

Gavriel Salomon is the founder andformer director of the Center for Re-search on Peace Education at the Uni-versity of Haifa, Israel. His researchcenter is world-renowned for studyingcollective narratives in conflict and the

role of sports tobring togetherethnicities. Hewas the Deanof the Facultyof Educationand a professorof educationalpsychology atUniversity ofHaifa.

2009 Greeley Scholarfor Peace Studies

Padraig O’Malley is the John JosephMoakley Distinguished Professor forPeace and Reconciliation at the Mc-Cormack Graduate School of PublicPolicy at UMass Boston. He is the au-thor of the award-winning UnCivilWars: Ireland Today, Shades of Differ-ence: Mac Maharaj and the Strugglefor South Africa, and the forthcomingThe Greater Middle East: DifferentStarting Points, Different Histories.Prof. O’Malley was awarded the 2008Liberal International's Freedom Prize inrecognition of his achievement of theconflict resolution work in NorthenIreland and South Africa.

2008 Greeley Scholarfor Peace Studies

Linda Biehl co-founded and directsthe Amy Biehl Foundation. The foun-dation is rooted in her daughter’s lifeand death. After her daughter waskilled in South Africa from an act ofpolitical violence, Linda Biehl em-braced restorative justice by building arelationship with two of the youngmen convicted for the death of herdaughter. Today, those men have beentremendous social activists in theircommunity working for the Amy BiehlFoundation Trust.

2012 Greeley Scholar John Prendergastspeaks to students and faculty during theannual “Day Without Violence” lecture.

Leymah Gbowee

Gavriel Salomon

Linda with Ntobeko Peni, one of the menconvicted of her daughter’s death

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STUDENT PROFILES Vanessa Colomba studies post-

conflict peace-building in Rwanda andhow that mightbe a model forsimilar conflicts.She plans to ei-ther do directwork withRwanda, com-munity basededucation orwork with thegovernment inan ambassadorrole.

“I wanted to study Social Psychologyand Genocide and I have such aninterdisciplinary background thatPeace and Conflict Studies is theonly way I could actually tie it allin together.”

Ernest Nwachan was born inCameroon, trained as a lawyer, andserved as an election monitor for theUnited Nationsin Sierra Leone,Sudan, andAfghanistan. He was offeredanother UnitedNations positionbut is finishinghis degree so hecan expand hisknowledge ofnon-violent so-cial change.

“I’ve lost friends in Afghanistan, and that made me more focused inPCS… but I not only feel committedto do my work, I am also inspiredby the students and faculty around me.”

Janet Johnson served as Presidentof the Female Journalists Associationof Liberia reporting on political storiesand humanrights issues dur-ing the LiberianCivil War. Sheworked withNobel Prize winner LeymahGbowee tobuild a women’smovement to end the violence.

“I still believe that a society needs tobe de-traumatized, and the mindsof the youth need to be redirectedfrom violence to development. Wehave to get the people involved.People need to understand theyhave a role. Only then can you start to make progress.”

AngeliqueMugabekazilived throughthe Rwandangenocide andmoved to theUnited Stateswhen she was11. She is study-ing Peace andConflict Studiesto understand the causes of violentconflict and the methods to buildpeace. She is returning to intern withNGOs that help Rwanda with reconcil-iation and refugee status.

“The [Rwandan] culture is constructed so women are experiencing much domestic violence. I would like to create a program that helps families, especially woman and husbands, to help them understand the otherways to take care of or disciplinefamily that does not involve violence or verbal abuse.”

John Espinosa earned his J.D. fromthe University of Michigan LawSchool. He is atrained mediatorand is currentlydeveloping acourse inrestorative justice. Unsatis-fied with thelegal system’s response to juvenile justice,he has been interning with LowellHigh School’s Peer Mediation programto help resolve student conflicts be-fore they escalate to the court level.

“The legal system is inappropriate tohandle the deeper issues underlyingmany conflicts. Whenever possible,kids need to be kept in school andout of court.”

Ryan Daly studies the role ofunions in labor disputes, strikes andarbitration. Hedid an intern-ship with theTeamsters Local25 in Bostonand hopes togain the skills tomediate disputesbetween em-ployees andmanagement.

“I’ve never met a group of facultythat cared about the students somuch, not just about academics, but personal standing as well.”

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Seth Izen graduated from BrownUniversity. He served as a mediator in district courts and trained studentsin conflict resolution through a community mediation center. His thesisresearch, basedon studies ofrescuers in the Holocaust,explores the developmentalroots of moralcourage.

“The transformative teaching ofPeace and Conflict Studies is thatwhile conflict may be inevitable, violence does not have to be. Wecan learn how to deal with the afflictive emotions that arise in conflict and in doing so, create productive solutions.”

Lauren Tousignant is pursuing herthesis research on creating healthyconditions for young women. She isthe Research Assistant for the Women’sLeadership Exchange grantthat builds anactive networkof women lead-ers for economicand social development.

“I believe that our country still has along way to go in terms of genderinequality. I hope to explore therole of policy and community organizations in making genderequality a reality.”

Gordon Halm grew up in Ghana,survived the war in Liberia and cameto Lowell in 1995. He is an elder at the Eliot Church and founded the city’s African Cul-tural Festival. He plans tofind a policyjob where hecan make a difference,maybe even by working for the UnitedNations.

“So long as we are alive, conflict isgoing to happen at all times. I haveseen how disputes have hinderedprogress in my homeland and it ismy hope that with the education Iacquire, I will help bring a positivechange to others minds andhearts…Where there is life there ishope. I hope I can use my talents tobring hope and encouragement toothers.”

Tola Sok’s research focus has beenhuman rights violation and govern-ment repressionin Cambodia,his home coun-try. His goal is tocreate positivetransformationthrough devel-opment in Cam-bodia. He is a2nd Lieutenantin the UnitedStates Air Force.

“Dr. Gene Sharp’s Politics of Nonviolent Action is the best bible I have ever read so far. It explainsdifferent strategies to resolving different conflicts. There are somepeople who would prefer militarymight to solve a problem… but Ilove Dr. Sharp’s nonviolent actionrecommendations.”

INTERNSHIPSPeace and Conflict Studies

students have interned at the following organizations over the past year:

• Lowell High SchoolPeer Mediation Program

• City of Lowell Mayor’s OfficeLegislative Support

• Lowell Community Health CenterTeen Coalition

• United Teen Equality CenterStreetworkers Anti-Gang Violence Program

• Angkor Dance TroupeYouth Cultural Education

• Massachusetts Peace FundNon-Proliferation Advocacy

• City of Lowell Department ofPlanning and DevelopmentNeighborhood Planning

• International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (New York, NY)Dispute Resolution AnnualMeeting

• Marcus Graham Project (Dallas, TX)Education-created conflict resolution workshop for students

• New England Teamsters UnionOrganized Labor/Credit andPension Union

• Community of Khmer Buddhist MonksCultural/Faith-based Community Development

• Hessische International University, Marburg, GermanyIntercultural Communicationsand Education

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Deina Abdelkader’s most recentbook is Islamic Activism: The Anti-En-lightenment Democrats (Pluto Press,2011). In it she shows what Islamicleaders and activists believe and whatthey think about just governance. Indoing so, Abdelkader reveals thatdemocracy is not the sole preserve of those who support Enlightenmentvalues, offering the reader a chance to understandthe populistnon-violentside of Islamicactivism. Her article,“Coercion,Peace and theIssue of Jihadwas publishedin the Digestof Middle EastStudies.

George Chigas’ research dealswith the survivors of state-sponsoredviolence with a focus on Cambodiaand genocide in general. His currentresearch deals with second generationCambodian survivors and examinesthe potential forservice learningopportunities inCambodia andthe US to pro-vide a culturalcontext for per-sonal growthand healing inthe aftermath ofthe KhmerRouge period.

Mitra Das recently finished a book,Between Two Cultures, that docu-ments the resettlement issues experi-enced by Cambodian women whocame to thiscountry asrefugees. She isworking on anew project thatexamines the ef-fects of develop-ment on womenin the Indiansubcontinent.Dr. Das hopes toextend her studyto the experiences of other immigrantswho have migrated from her nativeIndia.

James Forest has just published anew book Confronting the TerrorismThreat of Boko Haram in Nigeria(JSOU Press, 2012) and recently completed a revised edition of his acclaimed textbook Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism (McGraw-Hill,2012). His current researchexamines terror-ist group deci-sion-making andthe intersectionsbetween crimi-nal and terroristnetworks.

FACULTY RESEARCH

FACULTY VISIONIf a reporter from the New York

Times were to write an articleabout Peace and Conflict Studiesin 2015, she would visit the pro-gram in its dedicated space witha large resource library includinga section of faculty and studentpublications. She would meetwith a diverse, international student body and conduct an interview with a RA working on a“Moral Courage Entrepreneur-ship” grant to build equity withinconflicted societies and a RAhelping a professor develop aPeace and Conflict Impact Assessment of the cultural andenvironmental ramifications of a development project. On thewalls, the reporter would seephotos of students with visitingdignitaries and she would thumbthrough a notebook with lists of PCS alumni and their careerpaths. She would pass by a recruiter from the United StatesInstitute of Peace leading an information session for futuregraduates. The reporter would sitin on a peer mediation run bystudents who had recently takena Mediation Training course. Shewould listen to students explainthe breadth and depth of the curriculum which includes courseson corporate responsibility andpeacemaking, non-profit leader-ship, and restorative justice. Thechair would recount the story ofhow Peace and Conflict Studiesreceived a multi-million dollar endowment to solidify its positionas one of the top national “Difference-Making” universityprograms.

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Whitley Kaufman’s research focuseson moral philosophy and philosophyof law, with special attention to thequestion of themoral permissi-bility of the useof force in forexample self-defense, war,and punishment.His recent bookis Justified War:The Paradox ofSelf-Defense(LexingtonBooks, 2009).

James Nehring’s research addressesthe relationship between education andsocial justice. Heis the author offive books andmany articles. His most recentbook is The Prac-tice of School Reform: Lessonsfrom Two Centuries (SUNYPress, 2009).

Paula Rayman is completing herSenior Fulbright award on the project:“Beyond Coexistence: Israeli Arab andJewish Rela-tions.” The re-search seeks tocontribute to ourknowledge andunderstanding ofthe complex situ-ation in Israeltoday regardingIsraeli Arab-Jew-ish relations.

Frank Talty is director of the Centerfor Public Opinion that helps studentsunderstand the governmental and political process while encouraging civilengagement. Heteaches courseson American Politics, AmericanCourts and Judicial Process,Law and theLegal System,Public Policy andAdministrationand Irish Politics.

David Turcotte’s research interestsfocus on community level conflicts, particularly related to housing develop-ment, land use and sustainability. Hiscurrent researchdeals with landuse and develop-ment conflictsand proactivestrategies to pro-mote more har-monious andsustainable deci-sion-making anddevelopmentpractices at thelocal level.

Jenifer Whitten-Woodring’sresearch and teaching focuses on therole of media in repression and dissentand the causes and effects of mediafreedom. Her articles have been pub-lished in International Studies Quarterlyand PoliticalCommunication.She is currentlycompleting AnHistoric Encyclo-pedia of MediaFreedom (for CQ Press/SagePublications with DouglasVan Belle).

www.uml.edu/pcs

Major Research Projects• Beyond Co-Existence: Israeli Arab and Jewish Relations

• Women’s Leadership Exchange: Building Security through Economicand Social Development

• Active Non-Violence Education Center

• Student Success in Education for Marginalized Populations in Troubled Regions

• Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment

Peace and Conflict Studies

University of Massachusetts Lowell

500 O’Leary Library

61 Wilder St

Lowell, MA 01854

978-934-4307

www.uml.edu/pcs

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.