Cynthia Mahmood
Director of Graduate Studies

Twenty-four students comprised the final class of the one-year master’s program in peace studies. They proved to be among the most academically motivated of our graduate students, yet also devoted themselves to community building with passion. When the class of 2003-04 graduated June 30, its members promised each other and the Kroc faculty to continue their enthusiasm as they join the growing alumni network.

The year started with a remarkable visit by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, followed by peace studies pioneer Professor Johann Galtung. Both were on campus for the “Peacebuilding After Peace Accords” conference organized by Kroc’s Research Initiative on the Resolution of Ethnic Conflict. Both met privately with our peace students. Up until the year’s end, marked by a Hesburgh Lecture given by Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth, a stellar succession of guests enhanced the classroom education of the M.A. students.

A three-day field trip to Chicago in the spring brought the group to the MacArthur Foundation, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Christian Peacemaker Teams, and other relevant organizations. Students discussed issues ranging from grantmaking to nonviolent confrontation. They stayed at a downtown hostel that is home to nonprofit agencies. There, they rubbed shoulders with activists, social workers and others in the Chicago service community.

Students actively participated in special events at the institute, including the annual peace conference led by the undergraduates, a conference on mitigating trauma and stress faced by international aid workers, and the first major Catholic Peacebuilding Network conference. Others made use of the institute’s student travel stipends to go to symposia, conferences, and similar functions in cities around North America.

This year’s class displayed noteworthy initiative. On the ten-year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, some members of the group put together an excellent public event of commemoration. Students organized their own end-of-year retreat, and some held weekly reflective sessions on spiritual growth. Two are writing books. Several chose post-M.A. internships in areas that extend their range of expertise.

A year-long class on Conflict Transformation and Strategic Peacebuilding, co-taught by John Paul Lederach and Cynthia Mahmood, provided a forum for intensive small-group work on global conflicts and possible avenues toward peace. Students also took courses from Bob Johansen (on international politics and peacebuilding) and George Lopez (on political economy and peacebuilding) as part of the required curriculum. Many enjoyed elective courses from John Darby, Scott Appleby, and others within and outside of the Kroc Institute.

The year’s most poignant moment came with the death of Mrs. Joan Kroc, in whose memory the class of 2004 planted a tree outside the Hesburgh Center. They honored her for a lifetime of generosity and service that contributed significantly to positive social change and intellectual growth, aspiring to live up to the model she provided. With Father Theodore Hesburgh, students celebrated Mrs. Kroc’s life and mourned her passing.

Service to the South Bend community was of particular moment to the M.A. class of 2003-04. Students served as interns at St. Margaret’s House (a women’s day shelter), the Center for the Homeless, and in new positions in mediation and conflict resolution. Other students worked with faculty as teaching or research assistants. Graduate student Brenda Fitzpatrick received an award from the University of Notre Dame for assisting with the Introduction to Peace Studies class. Students did primary research with faculty on ethnic conflict, religious militancy, sovereignty and self-determination, and other academic topics.

If there was a theme for the year, it was “How to be a scholar-practitioner.” This is a phrase used frequently at the Kroc Institute, but it became a serious focus of discussion and thought for the 2003-04 program. Making the institute’s pedagogical motto a reality is the challenge these students faced as they prepared themselves for a lifetime of peace studies and peacebuilding.

The year saw a significant change in graduate program personnel, with Justin Shelton joining the staff as graduate program coordinator at midyear. As Justin moved fully into the position, Anne Hayner began focusing on alumni, eventually assuming her new job as director of alumni affairs.

Having completed my first year as graduate studies director, and I greatly look forward to the challenge of the expanded M.A. program.

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