George A. Lopez, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies for the Kroc Institute, was honored with the PEACE Distinguished Scholar award on Feb. 22, 2017 during a special ceremony at the International Studies Association (ISA) 58th Annual Convention in Baltimore. This annual award, given by the Peace Studies Section of ISA, honors two to three individuals in the peace and conflict studies field who, ideally, also have a record of service to the ISA. Lopez has served in a variety of ISA administrative and scholarly roles in his four decades of membership.
Lopez joins previous Kroc Institute faculty honorees including John Paul Lederach (2014), Robert Johansen (2013), and John Darby (2013-in memoriam). Also awarded this year were Eileen Babbitt, Professor of Practice of International Conflict Management at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Ron Fisher, Professor of Conflict Resolution Emeritus at the School of International Service, American University.
“I am very grateful for this honor from my peers, and particularly humbled to be named with two fine colleagues whose teaching, applied work in conflict zones, and research I admire,” stated Lopez.
Kroc Institute Visiting Research Fellow Tanya Schwartz was also honored at the convention. Her Ph.D. dissertation, "Instruments of the Divine? Faith-Based Organizations in International Politics,” won the 2nd Annual Peace Dissertation Prize awarded by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
“Tanya’s selection by the USIP award committee reflects both her sterling work among a number of very fine dissertations and how scholarly study of religious civil society actors has a central place in contemporary peace research,” stated Lopez.
Representing over 100 countries, ISA has more than 6,500 members worldwide and is the most respected and widely known scholarly association in this field.
Contact: George Lopez, lopez.1@nd.edu