Marquette University’s Center for Peacemaking celebrates a milestone
It’s been 10 years since the founding of the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking, and its impact is crystal clear for Marquette students, researchers and the people it serves both in Milwaukee and worldwide.
“Peace education has transformed the lives of Marquette students, and Marquette peacemaking initiatives have addressed indignities and communities locally and around the globe,” said Patrick Kennelly, director of the center.
Has it ever. The center operates several programs to educate students, supports research that promotes peace and explores the power of nonviolence.
The Center for Peacemaking works closely with Near West Side Partners, Inc. — a nonprofit organization funded through the support of five anchor institutions — through the Promoting Assets and Reducing Crime initiative to improve housing conditions, strengthen commercial corridors, reduce violence and change perceptions of Milwaukee’s Near West Side.
It also operates the Marquette University Peace Works program in seven Milwaukee schools to help students focus on conflict resolution, peer mediation, peace-building, social-emotional learning and cognitive restructuring. In Catholic schools, this program introduces students to Gospel nonviolence.
In addition, the center partners with Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. This partnership gives students and faculty access to the agency’s international projects, experts and resources.
Marquette offers a major and a minor in peace studies, and the center works to recruit students and build curriculum for the major in the Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. Graduates of the peace studies program are working around the globe using nonviolence to address indignities and solve pressing social problems.
The center was founded in 2008 by Dr. Terry Rynne, and his wife, Sally. It is the only such center on a Catholic university campus in the United States.
Through May 2019 the center is embarking on a 10-year anniversary campaign, asking people to attend events, share stories, connect with others interested in peacemaking and donate.
The anniversary celebration at the Haggerty Museum of Art was sponsored by Aurora Health Care, Harley-Davidson Motor Co., MillerCoors, Cervantes Group, the Jesuit community at Marquette and Catholic Financial Life.
Near West Side Partners was recognized for its contributions to Milwaukee’s near west side at the ceremony.
Meanwhile, the center will work closely with Near West Side Partners on a new $1.3 million federal grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to revitalize an apartment complex and continue economic development efforts on Milwaukee’s near west side.
