2008 Woodie Awards
MU gives peace a chance
New center to encourage nonviolence
By Lizzie Mytty
A proposal to establish a Center for Peacemaking at Marquette was approved by the Academic Senate last week.
The center intends to encourage nonviolent conflict resolution through faculty research, scholarly work and community skill-building, according to Michael Duffey, an associate professor of theology who helped get the center started.
The center will promote nonviolent conflict resolution through 22 specific action plans that will be phased in over a course of two years, Duffey said.
Plans include funding for faculty research projects, funding for a student internship with a peacemaking group, two forums per semester on peacemaking, at least one retreat annually and the formation of circle communities, also known as nonviolence support groups.
The center will launch activities with a full-day retreat on Sept. 15 that will focus on nonviolence in relation to the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
The center is currently funded through a $500,000 four-year grant by the Sally and Terry Rynne Foundation.
Duffey said the plan for the center originated two years ago through conversations among faculty.
He said the idea also came from a major donor who was inspired by the nonviolence of the Gospel, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
While conceiving the Center for Peacemaking, the Rev. G. Simon Harak, the center's director, said there was a shared vision of a nonviolent community.
"We are really committed to listening to everyone to insist on the truth and to promote community," Harak said.
Harak said the center will pursue nonviolence through community and he said he hopes to engage as many people as possible at Marquette and in the Milwaukee community.
"The center will be open for everybody - nonviolence is all-inclusive," Harak said.
He said he also aims for the center to support those involved in nonviolence activities of all forms, from within personal relationships to peaceful opposition of war and other conflicts.
The center intends to encourage nonviolent conflict resolution through faculty research, scholarly work and community skill-building, according to Michael Duffey, an associate professor of theology who helped get the center started.
The center will promote nonviolent conflict resolution through 22 specific action plans that will be phased in over a course of two years, Duffey said.
Plans include funding for faculty research projects, funding for a student internship with a peacemaking group, two forums per semester on peacemaking, at least one retreat annually and the formation of circle communities, also known as nonviolence support groups.
The center will launch activities with a full-day retreat on Sept. 15 that will focus on nonviolence in relation to the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
The center is currently funded through a $500,000 four-year grant by the Sally and Terry Rynne Foundation.
Duffey said the plan for the center originated two years ago through conversations among faculty.
He said the idea also came from a major donor who was inspired by the nonviolence of the Gospel, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
While conceiving the Center for Peacemaking, the Rev. G. Simon Harak, the center's director, said there was a shared vision of a nonviolent community.
"We are really committed to listening to everyone to insist on the truth and to promote community," Harak said.
Harak said the center will pursue nonviolence through community and he said he hopes to engage as many people as possible at Marquette and in the Milwaukee community.
"The center will be open for everybody - nonviolence is all-inclusive," Harak said.
He said he also aims for the center to support those involved in nonviolence activities of all forms, from within personal relationships to peaceful opposition of war and other conflicts.
Published: 9/4/07 Section: News
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