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Message from the Director
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Hello from the School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development! We had an eventful 2019-2020 academic year. Here are some highlights:
- We celebrated 20 years of our MS in Conflict Management program.
- Two of our faculty members, Charity Butcher and Maia Carter Hallward, edited a book in which many of our faculty and students are chapter authors. This book, Understanding International Conflict Management, offers a comprehensive view of the field and we anticipate it will be used in courses globally.
- Our Curriculum Committee, led by Darina Lepadatu, reached out to both the Analytics and Data Science Institute and the Department of Educational Leadership to create new concentrations for our PhD students.
- We finalized a Memorandum of Understanding with KSU’s Housing and Residence Life for a Graduate Residence Director program in which our students will supervise Resident Assistants and engage in mediation when conflict emerges.
This last year required considerable flexibility as we struggled with a pandemic. Here are some highlights of how our faculty, staff and students pivoted:
- For the first time, the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution has allowed us to conduct workshops virtually for trainees to become registered neutrals in the court system.
- We moved to virtual dissertation defenses. While face-to-face defenses are preferable, an unexpected benefit of conducting them remotely is greater diversity of those who attend. Our students have responded to questions from people in different parts of the globe! And attendance of people from outside our university has increased significantly.
- Offering training opportunities remotely has significantly enhanced the diversity of our trainees. In addition to Georgia, our trainees live in Washington, D.C., Texas, Florida, and Alabama. The fields of our trainees have likewise expanded. We are training employees of the National Park Service, Delta Airlines, real estate firms, and insurance companies. We trained faculty and staff from Clayton, Valdosta State and KSU. We trained Court Appointed Special Advocates, attorneys, secondary teachers, counselors, life coaches, Certified Public Accountants, financial planners and mental health workers.
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Housewarming and Welcome Picnic
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YOU'RE INVITED! RSVP HERE. http://evite.me/sHeh7ppx5f
Due to social distancing, the event will be limited to 30 available spaces. Please RSVP so we can maintain that goal. Bring your blanket, your food, and non-alcoholic beverages.
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Conflict Management Alumna and Current Student working together at United Nations
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Iye Ogbe, an M.S. in Conflict Management student, is currently working for Dr. Brittany Foutz, an alumna from the Ph.D. in International Conflict Management program, at the United Nations as part of the practicum for the last semester of her master’s program. Her fellowship with the UN is virtual and focused on the UN Regional Centre of Expertise (through UN University and UNESCO) research and events.
Using her passion for helping people, Iye intends to change the trajectory of the Nigerian history by spending her internship stint with the UN to bring awareness to the sustainability issues in Nigeria. She intends to structure her UN fellowship project to analyze the conditions conducive to achieving peace, justice, and inclusivity in the context of protracted conflict in Western Africa, specifically, Nigeria. Following her graduate studies, Iye intends to pursue a post graduate degree in conflict resolution.
Iye Ogbe is from Nigeria and has spent the last 4 years in academia and in service to her community with the end goal of devoting time to her community and trying to build on her knowledge of the marginalized populations in society. During the final year of her undergraduate study, she interned at the Cobb County Superior Court where she volunteered her time with a non-profit organization (LiveSafe Resources) focused on providing protection for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse. To further develop her interests for law studies and in service to foreign nationals like herself, she spent a year working for a renowned law firm, Hall Booth Smith, as a legal assistant for an immigration attorney.
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Dissertation Defense Announcement
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We are pleased to announce the dissertation defense of Joseph E. Osborne, PhD Candidate for International Conflict Management, which will be taking place on September 29, 2020, at 10:00am.
At that time, Mr. Osborne will present “Strategic Consequences: How Executive and Organizational Decision-Making Impacts the Outcome of Unconventional Warfare”.
His dissertation committee is comprised of Dr. Volker Franke, chair; Dr. Joseph G. Bock, and Dr. Christopher Marsh, Director of Research, Joint Special Operations University.
Meeting Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/_#/pre-join-calling/19:meeting_ZGZiNDhlYjctNzQ4MC00MDJkLTk1MWYtYzM3MDdhMGM0MDZl@thread.v2
Please join us for this presentation on September 29, 2020.
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Calling All Amateur Photographers
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The School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding, and Development is looking for original photos to grace the walls of our new house! Submit photos of your home country, international travel, conflict management, peacebuilding, development, mediation, protests, animals, landscapes, etc.
Each photo must be accompanied by the attached release form, indicating this is an original photo and you are agreeing to allow SCMPD to use the photo(s) for publicity, copyright purposes, illustration, advertising, and web content.
Those photos chosen will be printed in large format, framed, and hung throughout the house. If you are agreeable, they will also be used in our promotional literature and on our website.
The deadline for submission is September 30, 2020. Voting will take place the week of October 5th and winners announced on October 13, 2020. A photography consent release will need to accompany the photos.
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The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa is pleased to offer its Poster Presentation Competition for undergraduate students at its Thirteenth Annual Conference:
Understanding the Regions:
Politics, Identity, and History of the Middle East and Africa
November 18-20, 2020
Virtual
Presenting a poster is an excellent opportunity for young scholars to show their work in a visual format, promote discussion about their chosen subject, interact with seasoned academics, and receive feedback about their projects.
Information for Applicants:
- Applicants must be juniors or seniors in the Fall 2020 academic year.
- Interested students must submit an application via the online submission portal and include a 300-word abstract of original unpublished data.
- Topics must be related to the Middle East and/or Africa.
- Poster presentations will be held virtually.
- The deadline to submit is October 30, 2020.
Successful applicants will be required to register for the Conference. Posters will be judged by how well the presenter demonstrates understanding of their subject matter as well as by the clarity of their presentation. More submission details and guidelines for final poster projects will be made available to confirmed participants.
For more information, contact 202.429.8860 or info@asmeascholars.org.
Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa
www.asmeascholars.org
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Amanda Woomer, INCM alumna, as part of the Environmental Law Institute submitted a proposal to the United State's Institute of Peace 2019-20 Grant Competition on Environment, Conflict, and Peacebuilding that has now been accepted. Her team will be doing a review of environmental peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation to develop a handbook.
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Brittany Foutz, INCM alumna, published "From Religion and Resources to Conflict: the Yazidis and ISIS" in The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies, Volume 29, issue 2.
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Hogr Tarkhani, INCM Student, accepted an interview with The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. FDD conducts in-depth research, produces accurate and timely analyses, identifies illicit activities, and provides policy options – all with the aim of strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries and enemies of the United States and other free nations.
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Joe Back and Volker Franke are working with a team on a grant proposal to the USAID/ASHA assistance program for FY 2020. Their proposal for phase 1 was accepted and now they are moving to phase 2 of the grant process. Their proposal describes their close working relationship with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana. It is their intent to work with KAIPTC to build a Conflict Management and Early Warning Center of Excellence.
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Susan Raines worked on a Domestic Violence Implementation Committee, now known as the Domestic Violence Rules Committee, which was chosen for this year's "Moving the Work Forward" Award.
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Workshops and Trainings will be online for the Fall of 2020
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VIRTUAL From Conflict to Strength: Working with Millennials & A Multicultural Workforce
October 2, 2020
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VIRTUAL Elections & Dialogues for Peace
October 30 & November 6, 2020
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VIRTUAL Nonviolence Resistance Training
October 23, 2020
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VIRTUAL LGBTQ Communication Workshop: Can I Say That? LGBTQ’ Cultural Competency for Conflict Managers
November 13, 2020
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VIRTUAL 40-Hour General Mediation Training and Practicum
November 30 - December 4, 2020
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