After a decade of service at 草莓社区 and the , Professor Carl Stauffer has accepted a new position as senior expert in reconciliation at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The Washington D.C.-based organization is funded by Congress and works globally with country partners to reduce violence and advance peaceful resolutions to conflict.聽

鈥淲e are grateful for Carl鈥檚 teaching and mentoring within our CJP community over the years and his significant legacy that is embodied in the work and contributions of his students around the world,鈥� said CJP Executive Director Jayne Docherty. 鈥淲e are so proud that USIP has tapped one of our faculty for this important position and look forward to a continuing relationship with Carl as he shares what he is learning and doing in Washington.鈥�

Stauffer joined the faculty of CJP in 2010, teaching graduate-level courses in restorative and transitional justice. He also taught a range of courses, including peacebuilding theory and practice, nonviolence, international development, and faith formation for justice and peace.

Stauffer helped to launch the in 2012 and served as co-director first with Howard Zehr and then with his colleague, Professor Johonna Turner. 

Among his contributions to CJP, he developed the prospectus for the MA in Restorative Justice program. The second graduate degree offered at CJP, the MARJ was accredited in fall 2015.

From 2015-17, Stauffer secured and worked with CJP staff to implement a 3-year grant from the Porticus Foundation. As a result of this funding, the Zehr Institute was able to host a high-level international consultation, a public conference, and a bi-national listening project exploring the potential for restorative justice as a social justice movement. 

A product of this funding is a forthcoming anthology, , co-edited by Stauffer and Ted Lewis (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2021).听

Stan Maclin GC ’01 (ministry studies), the community organizer, pastor, educator, and tireless advocate for racial and social justice in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and beyond, died Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2021, at age 67.聽

Today [Sunday] and Monday, 草莓社区 honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an that Maclin played an influential role in helping to create and sustain.

鈥淗e was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon in this struggle for Justice and Truth,鈥� said planning committee chair Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services and senior advisor to the president on diversity and inclusion, who worked with Maclin on several events over the years. 鈥�To loosely quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he was definitely 鈥榓 drum major for change.鈥� He will be sorely missed especially during this time of the year. He would be with us on Monday if he were still among us.鈥�

Maclin鈥檚 many achievements include , creating the People’s Equality Commission of the Shenandoah Valley, and leading the charge to . He was dedicated to preserving . This summer, he organized , and to facilitate dialogue between local residents and authorities in the criminal justice system. Just last month, he spoke of in Harrisonburg.

Maclin was a well-known and respected community leader: His passing has been covered in the and .

He was also a great friend to EMU. To local media, he mentioned moving to the area to attend the seminary. Professor Lonnie Yoder recalls that shortly after his arrival, Maclin requested a tour to help him get to know the community. The two men spent some hours driving around Harrisonburg, with Yoder 鈥渢elling stories, pointing out key institutions and landmarks, sharing my take on the historical, cultural, and religious dynamics of this community.鈥�

Yoder calls the experience a 鈥渉oly moment鈥� for him, and it鈥檚 a story that is particularly poignant because it captures a moment of deep witness of who Stan Maclin was, how he valued learning and knowing a community, seeing with clear eyes and an open heart, and moved toward change with a deep devotion to involving and sharing with others in that radical work.

In the years since, Maclin helped to provide the same experience to EMU students. He helped to start the first Martin Luther King Day Celebration on campus in 2013, and continued to open the minds of students and other EMU community members in attendance at  MLK Day talks and tours each year. 

In 2018 and 2019, Maclin worked with second-year graduate students at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding on their 鈥淐ommunity Grounding Day鈥� orientation for new students. He hosted a day-long tour that explored the social, historical, economic, cultural and environmental realities of the city from a social justice perspective, said Amy Knorr, practice director at CJP.

He invited many graduate students to connect to and join organizations, movements and gatherings for social justice. In his leadership positions with Faith in Action and Virginia Organizing, particularly, Knorr says Maclin encouraged and opened doors to CJP student engagement and collaboration.

“A hero for justice has fallen,” said Professor Carl Stauffer, who first met Maclin in 1991 when they pastored and worked together in Richmond. Stauffer later worked with Maclin in the Martin Luther King Jr. Way Coalition and spoke at a number of local peace rallies Maclin organized. 

“As I often say, it was Stan who raised me up in the ministry of the Church, and the work of racial justice, reconciliation, and community development,” Stauffer said. “He was a brother, mentor and friend. He will be sorely missed by so many people around the world, in the Church nationally, and right here in the City of Harrisonburg. Stan was always focused on the local — he was a man of action, committed to social justice and community organizing wherever he found himself. Stan was determined to work for, and live into a better world. He made Harrisonburg a better place. He has left us an important legacy of justice, reconciliation, and bridge-building across all divisions in our society. May we carry on his mantle with grace and integrity.”

Below, we’ve collected a few memories from other EMU faculty and staff who worked with Maclin over the years. 

I first got to know Stan when he invited me to contribute to the advocacy for the street renaming effort and I served gladly under his leadership. He invited my contributions toward this effort out of his deep respect for what he experienced at EMU. I, in turn, invited his involvement with planning and facilitating MLK Day of Service and Learning at EMU. It was a good partnership for many years. 

鈥� Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor

Stan was not only a community activist but I would count him as a friend. He was a member of the MLK Jr. Committee and unselfishly gave of his time and talent to the students, myself and EMU. He conducted tours of the Harriet Tubman museum and co-lead the Barbershop Talks during the MLK Jr. Celebration. He was dedicated to and passionate about making sure that the next generation was aware of the activists from slavery through civil rights and present day that paved the way for us to have the liberties that we have in this country. He was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon in this struggle for Justice and Truth. To loosely quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “He was definitely a drum major for change.” He will be sorely missed especially during this time of the year. He would be with us on Monday if he were still among us.

鈥� Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services and senior adviser to the president for diversity and inclusion

When he moved to Harrisonburg many years ago, he expressed a need to be introduced to the Harrisonburg community. I remember taking an entire afternoon to literally drive Stan around the city of Harrisonburg telling stories, pointing out key institutions and landmarks, sharing my take on the historical, cultural, and religious dynamics of this community, etc. It was a holy moment for me and I hope it was as well for Stan.

鈥� Professor Lonnie Yoder, Eastern Mennonite Seminary

Stan was committed to and especially active in being a bridge builder between the so-called campus and community, more broadly. He not only engaged students, but has also invited faculty and staff in various community events and initiatives as well – including the King street renaming taskforce, annual celebrations of Dr. King, and other community events. I benefited from his outreach, hospitality and bridge building within six months of my move to Harrisonburg, and know that there are others of us for whom he served as a mentor in many respects, and who have connections that predate their time in/at Harrrisonburg, EMU and CJP.

鈥� Professor Johonna Turner, co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice

More MLK Day media coverage

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For four weeks in August, the congregation of was welcomed into discussions about racial justice. The format was a healing circle, with the concepts of restorative justice at their foundation and with committed participants who wanted to work together towards knowledge and understanding.

Called 鈥淩estorative Justice Healing Circles,鈥� the process included four circlekeepers and congregation members with professional and/or educational ties to 草莓社区鈥檚 (EMU) Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP): current student Isaiah Dottin-Carter, alum David Nyiringabo MA ’20 (conflict transformation), alum Barbara Robbins MA ’11 (conflict transformation), and Carl Stauffer, professor and co-director of the .

The circles were part of a longer six-week study on race, injustice and discipleship, facilitated by Pastor Chris Johnson MDiv ’10 and his ministry team.

Johnson extended that work into the EMU community when he visited virtually last month as part of a webinar of local pastors speaking on racial justice, systemic white supremacy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other equity issues our world is facing today.

The CJP contingent leading circles at Divine Unity was joined by four other circle keepers, who are currently employed by JMU, Gemeinschaft Home, and the Department of Corrections, who facilitated the circles in pairs.

“The eight of us represent the multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-generational make-up of our church,” Stauffer explained.

The circles were held online, with a maximum of 15 participants in each. Facilitators opened each session with welcomes, opening meditations, warm-up exercises, and ground rules of respect, relationship, and responsibility. They would then break into focus groups and mull over questions such as, “what do you need personally for healing and restoration and to feel greater safety and connection across racial relationships?”

“I was surprised and grateful for people’s honesty in this setting,” one facilitator said. “I could imagine many people experienced some fear in participating and speaking up, but they overcame that.”

The circles were “open to all church members, with the goal of providing a safe space for education, dialogue, and relationship-building around the issues of racial injustice/justice currently surfacing in the U.S. right now,” Stauffer said. “We are also holding space for healing and further action planning as a church for the future.”

One facilitator reflected that the most valuable part of the circles “was providing the opportunity for people of different and similar backgrounds to come together and speak about their perspectives, feelings, emotions, and thoughts on racial justice,” especially when many of them  probably wouldn’t have had those conversations elsewhere 鈥� or at least not “in a safe and productive environment.鈥�

The facilitators shared some of their reflections about this process anonymously, which we’ve included below.

Q: What were the most important themes that came up?

A: Lack of awareness among whites regarding the lived experiences of Black people.

A: The vital importance of having Christ at the center of racial and social justice issues and resolutions.

A: Community impacts of racial injustices, systemic issues, and what we can do as individuals and as a church to enact change.

Q: What were the most challenging aspects of the facilitation process?

A: As a facilitator it was difficult not being able to experience it as a participant.

A: Virtual circles don’t always feel as authentic as an in-person circle.

A: Time constraints: as a group we were just getting to know and be comfortable with others in the circle. Honoring time was difficult as conversations could have continued.

Q: Do you feel like the circles were “successful” or effective in fostering understanding and promoting racial healing?

A: I think the circles were successful in promoting racial healing. I believe some understanding of Black oppression in the past and present was created, but I am unsure of the depth of that understanding.

A: These circles are only the beginning – this kind of work takes a long time.

For a more streamlined read, note the following:

–links to each CJP program are omitted. To learn more about the specific programs named here, please visit the .

— a faculty or staff member’s title is listed once, on first reference. To learn more about individual faculty and staff members, visit the .

Our alumni are accomplished people and a wonderful resource, which is why we include a link to each personal profile on the . This information is provided and updated voluntarily.

September 2019

• A class of 22 new graduate students begin their first semester of studies.
• The new graduate students participate in CJP鈥檚 Grounding Day: an opportunity to begin to ground students in the history and current social, political, economic and environmental justice realities in Harrisonburg.
• Fidele Ayu Lumeya MA 鈥�00 returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo to direct the Congo Ubuntu Peacebuilding Center.
• Talibah Aquil MA ’19 performs “Ghana, remember me鈥�,” a multimedia production that sprung from her 2019 travels in Ghana as part of her capstone project on the themes of identity, race, trauma and healing.
• Twenty-one participants join STAR 1 on campus with Lead Trainer Katie Mansfield and Ayman Kerols MA ’16.

October 2019

• CJP鈥檚 25th anniversary year kicks off with a 鈥淭enTalks鈥� event at 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Homecoming and Family Weekend featuring Tammy Krause MA 鈥�99, Darsheel Kaur MA 鈥�17, and John E. Sharp, father of Michael J. Sharp ’05.
• Donna Minter, founder and executive director of the Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute and STAR Trainer, is honored with the Melanie Greenberg U.S. Peacebuilding Award of Excellence.
• Professor Johonna Turner, co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, gives the keynote address at a symposium on restorative justice hosted by the University of Richmond Public Interest Law Review. Attorney Brenda Waugh MA 鈥�09 provides a talk on restorative lawyering and Suzanne Praill MA 鈥�10, director of restorative justice at the Fairfield Center, contributes to a panel discussion.
• In collaboration with , CJP hosts Community Criminal Justice Days conference, bringing together community stakeholders for discussions and planning around reducing incarceration and recidivism in the local area.
• Howard Zehr, distinguished professor of restorative justice, is the featured speaker at the 2019 Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Lecture at George Mason University.

November 2019

• CJP co-sponsors a conference in Mexico City on the intersection of gender and peacebuilding: 鈥淐onstrucci贸n de Paz con Perspectiva de G茅nero鈥� at the University Iberoamericana, a Jesuit-affiliated institution. Alena Yoder, CJP鈥檚 program development associate, was a panel moderator. Vernon Jantzi, emeritus professor, and Jayne Docherty, CJP executive director, presented papers. 
• STAR trainers facilitate a workshop for the Grand Canyon National Park鈥檚 Public Lands for all Inclusion Summit to explore principles of restorative justice, trauma awareness, resilience, and truth and reconciliation and how those principles might be applied in the organizations and the workplaces. Read about STAR’s ongoing relationship with the National Park Service.
• Kajungu Mturi MA 鈥�18 facilitates a day of trauma and resilience training for 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Intensive English Program staff and instructors.
• Gilberto P茅rez Jr. ’94 GC ’99, vice president for student life at Goshen College, wins his bid for a city council seat in Goshen, Indiana. He will be the first Latino council member in a city that is 33-34% Latino.
• A Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice features multiple speakers on engaging communities of faith in promoting restorative justice, along with specific avenues and resources for collaborating with Catholic parishes and ministries.
• Eighteen people participate in STAR 2 with Katie Mansfield and Lisa Collins.

December 2019

• Katie Mansfield and Jon Swartz MA 鈥�14 facilitate three days of STAR-based training for the Department of the Interior鈥檚 Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution, including Sigal Shoham MA ’13.
• EMU recognizes Dawn Curtis-Thames MA ’20 and David Nyiringabo MA ’20, then second-year CJP students,  for their outstanding contributions to CJP and the larger university community. Read about their practicum studies.

January 2020

• Wayne Marriott MA ’18, a conflict coach and mediator based in Christchurch, New Zealand, receives the Resolution Institute’s 2019 Michael Klug Award for his support to the local community after the mosque shootings there last year.
• The 10-episode Peacebuilder podcast launches, featuring faculty and staff members reflecting on the program鈥檚 history and their own peacebuilding work.
• Twenty-two people, including 11 CJP MA students, participate in STAR 1 on campus with Katie Mansfield and Johonna Turner.

February 2020

• The fifth annual SPI Community Day welcomes about 100 participants to get a taste of Summer Peacebuilding Institute classes and hear from speakers on racial justice, including Chief Kenneth Branham of the Monacan nation and Frank Dukes, a professor at the University of Virginia.
• Professor Emeritus Barry Hart is the keynote speaker at a seminar organized by Initiatives of Change Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, discussing the role restorative justice could play in restoring and healing wounded people to create a more just society.
• The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice hosts a webinar on Equal Justice USA鈥檚 approach to the relationship between community and police in Newark, N.J., and how trauma-informed responses to violence that are community-driven can reduce harm for those most vulnerable and marginalized.
• Ten people join Kajungu Mturi MA 鈥�18 and Katie Mansfield at a STAR 1 training on campus.
• Katie Mansfield presents on a panel titled 鈥淗ealing and Resilience: Taking a trauma-informed approach to delivering assistance鈥� sponsored by the Peace and Security Workgroup of the Society for International Development-Washington Chapter. 

March 2020

• CJP staff and faculty start working remotely and moving academic classes online due to COVID-19.
• STAR provides three days of training for the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
• The 25th Anniversary Celebration, planned for the summer, is postponed for a year. The new dates are June 4-6, 2021. Alicia Garza, John Paul Lederach and sujatha baliga are among the scheduled speakers who plan to attend.
• Katie Mansfield launches the virtual community Dancing Resilience, through which participants all over the world meet via video conference multiple times a day to dance together. 
• The Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice hosts a virtual book launch for (Skyhorse Publishing, 2020), by Lindsey Pointer, Kathleen McGoey, and Haley Farrar.

April 2020

• SPI announces its move to an all-online format.
• Donors help to meet two $35,000 matching grants set up by two couples and gave generously during LovEMU Day in honor of CJP鈥檚 25th anniversary.
• Cole Parke MA ’12 and Emmanuel Bombande MA ’02 are named as 2020 Peacebuilder of the Year honorees.
• STAR releases the Care 鈥淭ogether鈥� video series: conversations between Katie Mansfield, STAR trainers and practitioners. 

May 2020

• SPI 2020 marks the 26th year of gathering peacebuilders for mutual learning and support 鈥� online this year using video conferencing and other digital tools. Eleven courses are offered to more than 180 people across 60% of the world鈥檚 time zones. Read general news coverage here, and more specific articles about creating community online and the digital peacebuilding class.                       
• Sixteen CJP graduates representing nine countries receive their degrees. 
• Johonna Turner is one of the three faculty presented with EMU’s annual Excellence in Teaching Awards.
• Christine Kindler MA ’17 receives the Berlin Fellowship from Humanity in Action.
• The new Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership is launched earlier than expected as CJP moves online. The degree with online, hybrid and residential options for working professionals includes courses in business and leadership and will continue to add courses from other programs at EMU as electives.

June 2020

• SkyHorse Publishing releases a new edition of Carolyn Yoder‘s Little Book of Trauma Healing.
• STAR provides a webinar for Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency鈥檚 Service Coordinators and Case Managers on trauma and resilience.

July 2020

• STAR trains campus ministry professionals at the National Association of Campus Ministers virtual conference.
• An advisory group of STAR trainers and practitioners work with Katie Mansfield to recreate STAR for online delivery. The group includes Donna Minter, Crixell Shell, Ram Bhagat GC ’19, Lisa Collins, Meenakshi Chhabra, and Johonna Turner. Elaine Zook Barge MA ’03, Vernon Jantzi, and Carolyn Yoder provide additional input and insight.
• STAR announces registration for STAR online.
• Johonna Turner contributes a chapter to Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing Our Realities (Living Justice Press, 2020), a collection of 18 essays penned by practitioners and scholars of color.

August  2020

• STAR wraps up four webinars for National Park Service staff.
• CJP welcomes 30 new students for orientation. This includes nine students in the new MA in Transformational Leadership program, with online, hybrid and residential options.
• Planning continues for the CJP “25+1” anniversary celebration.

Stauffer worked in South Africa with Mennonite Central Committee from 1994-2009 on issues of transitional justice. He shares more of his personal and professional journey in an episode of CJP鈥檚 own Peacebuilder podcast and in this remembrance of Nelson Mandela after his death in 2013.

Ford鈥檚 podcast takes the title of his recent book 鈥溾�� (Penguin Random House, 2020). He is director of the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding at BYU-Hawaii, where he helped to create a major and certificate program in intercultural peacebuilding, mediation and facilitation. 

Ford is a senior consultant with the Arbiter Institute, and an executive board member of PeacePlayers, a global organization that combines youth involvement with sports.

Alumnus Andrew Daniels MA 鈥�16 spent two years as an international fellow with the Belfast-based program of PeacePlayers. PeacePlayers also has programs in Cyprus, the Middle East, South Africa, and the United States. Read more about his experience.

The third episode of the Peacebuilder podcast features Center for Justice and Peacebuilding professor Carl Stauffer, who speaks on transitional justice from the perspective of growing up in the Vietnam War, to doing peace and justice work in South Africa, to confronting polarization in the United States today.

The podcast is just one of the ways the center is celebrating its 25-year anniversary. Hosted by CJP executive assistant and anniversary celebration committee chair Patience Kamau MA 鈥�17, the 10-episode series features faculty and staff members reflecting on the history of CJP and their own peacebuilding work. A new episode drops every other week on the Peacebuilder website.

Stauffer鈥檚 parents were doing church and development work in Vietnam when the war broke out. They decided to stay, and Stauffer was born there in 1964.

鈥淭hat has affected my life and work significantly,鈥� Stauffer said. He remembers one night that the fighting came within a half mile of their home in Saigon, 鈥渃limbing under the bed with my mother and singing and praying, and the house shaking.鈥�

Following in his parents鈥� footsteps, he and his wife, Carolyn Stauffer, joined the Mennonite Central Committee in South Africa in the 鈥渉istoric鈥� moment of 1994 鈥� only months before Nelson Mandela was elected. It was from South Africa that Stauffer completed his master鈥檚 degree at CJP, known then as the Conflict Transformation Program. After 16 years in South Africa, Carl joined the CJP faculty [Carolyn is also a faculty member at EMU and has worked with CJP programs].

In recounting his experiences through the episode, Stauffer weaves a story of the development of transitional justice, which he defines as an umbrella term that came about in the 1990s which describes structures and processes that are built to contain violence while a country moves from war to peace.

In 2007, Stauffer鈥檚 commitment to transitional justice blossomed in a refugee camp in Sierra Leone, where he supported a 鈥渏ustice movement from the grassroots鈥� that implemented indigenous ways of addressing conflict on a macro level.

Today, Stauffer says, we have a 鈥渟teep learning curve鈥� to apply these concepts and practices to our own society in the U.S.

鈥淚ssues of healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation remain really divisive concepts right now in the polarization of our current political setting,鈥� Stauffer said. But throughout all of the difficult work he鈥檚 done, and the violence he鈥檚 seen in the world, Stauffer retains hope.

鈥淢y interpretation, which is Anabaptist, is that Christ鈥檚 teaching and Christ鈥檚 way of living was not something just for us to imagine, but for us to do,鈥� he explained.

A time capsule of 草莓社区鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) is in the works 鈥� not to be buried, but uploaded. The artifact in question is a podcast, which will feature ten CJP faculty and staff members reflecting on the history of CJP and their own peacebuilding work. The 10-episode series is set to launch on Wednesday Jan. 22, 2020, with a new episode dropping every other week on the Peacebuilder website.

The podcast is the creation of Patience Kamau, a 2017 graduate of the program and also chair of CJP鈥檚 25th anniversary committee, who wanted to give students, alumni, friends and supporters of the graduate program an in-depth look at where CJP has been, where it is now, and where it hopes to go.

鈥淔or the sake of posterity, this is emerging as a gem,鈥� Kamau said. 鈥淭hese voices are here right now, many of them were here 25 years ago, and given the simple trajectory of life, are unlikely to be here 25 years from now.鈥�

But why a podcast, specifically?

鈥淚t鈥檚 a way that a lot of people are consuming information these days. I think it鈥檚 a necessary long-form method of connecting with the audience,鈥� Kamau explained, in contrast to the 鈥渇ragmented鈥� nature of social media posts. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e doing it on podcasts, you can go into more depth, and you can connect with an audience in a different, more meaningful way.鈥�

While the exact episode order is yet to be determined, Kamau said the pilot will feature Barry Hart. His interview acts as a primer to CJP, touching on elements like the Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding series and curriculum design, which other interviewees then dive into more deeply. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like passing on a baton,鈥� Kamau said. 

She asked each interviewee the same questions, based on the 25th anniversary鈥檚 theme of 鈥渃elebrate, reflect, dream,鈥� but of course 鈥渆ach one of them goes down a very unique path based on their own careers and life experiences.鈥�

Kamau is an avid podcast consumer 鈥� she subscribes to at least eight, and regularly listens to others beyond those. That gave her an ear for what makes for a good listening experience, as she went into the project having to teach herself about audio production by looking up internet guides and tutorials.

Alumni Michaela Mast 鈥�18 and 鈥�19 have also helped breathe life into the podcast. Mast, co-host of the climate justice podcast , which is sponsored by the housed at EMU, has lent technical assistance. Mullet, whose scores have been featured in recent documentaries and video games, is composing original music for the episodes.The podcast鈥檚 audio mixing engineer is Steve Angello who works closely with Mullet.  

鈥淭here鈥檚 something organic about it, just doing the work in anticipation of what will emerge. It鈥檚 a work of art, where the overall beauty lies in paying attention to the details鈥� Kamau said.

The episodes will be also available on Apple Podcasts on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.

Featured voices

Each episode presents an interview with the following CJP affiliates, listed alphabetically by last name as the exact episode order is yet to be determined.

• David Brubaker, dean of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 School of Social Sciences and Professions and longtime CJP professor,
• Jayne Docherty, executive director,
• Bill Goldberg, director of the Summer Peacebuilding Institute,
• Barry Hart, professor of trauma, identity and conflict studies,
• Katie Mansfield, Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program lead trainer,
• Janelle Myers-Benner, academic program coordinator,
• Gloria Rhodes, professor of peacebuilding and conflict studies,
• Carl Stauffer, professor of restorative and transitional justice and co-director of the ,
• Johonna Turner, professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding and co-director of the , and
• Howard Zehr, distinguished professor of restorative justice.

The , planned by Harvard law students with the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, is sponsored by Harvard Law School鈥檚 program on negotiation. The 2019 theme was 鈥淩edressing Harm Through Restorative Justice.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 encouraging to see law students wanting to put restorative justice at the center of this discussion around redressing harm, and exploring alternatives to how criminal and transitional law could be practiced in the future,鈥� Stauffer said.

This was his second time at the event. In 2015, he participated as a panelist on transitional justice.

In his keynote, Stauffer discussed transitional and transformative critiques of the restorative justice field.

From the transitional justice frame, he suggested 鈥渢he need for decolonization of the global justice fraternity and the call for ground-up formations of justice that transform historical harms and cultural hegemony. To accomplish sustainable ‘war-to-peace’ transitions, mechanisms for participatory truth-telling, political narrative reconstruction, social power relations and economic redistribution, reparations, and collective healing must be enabled.鈥�

From the transformative justice frame, drawing from critical race theory and anti-oppression practice, Stauffer highlighted the critique as 鈥渢he need for holding together relational and structural transformation at all levels of society with an equal emphasis on the ‘safety’ of those most affected by personal and structural violence, and ‘accountability’ for those causing the harm. This process requires that we ‘center’ the voice of the harmed, and build up the assets and resources of the community to change oppressive structures in order to prevent future harm and to establish a healing justice at the local, contextual level.”

Stauffer also moderated a panel on the integration of restorative justice in the U.S. criminal context, with Erin Freeborn, executive director of Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ); Kaia Stern, co-founder and director of the Prison Studies Project; Pierre Berastain, director of Harvard University鈥檚 Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response; and Chris Moser, Of Counsel to Henrichsen Siegel.

Andudu had been working on issues related to trauma and resilience and restorative justice among the Sudanese refugee community in the years before coming to study at CJP. His travels in his role as bishop of the have taken him to 35 states.

He has found that the journeys of Sudanese refugees are rarely the same: approximately 50,000 are living in communities across the United States, many arriving by way of other countries, such as Kenya, Uganda and Egypt. But they also have much in common.

The families of many 鈥� including his own 鈥� are often dispersed to distant lands, and many have little hope of returning to their homeland.

They also face similar 聽difficulties as they try to recover and adjust to a new life and culture.

鈥淢ost of them have trauma, fear and aggression when they come here, which causes divisions in their family, in church and in the community,鈥� he said in a recent presentation at EMU explaining his work and future efforts.

For his capstone project, Andudu organized and facilitated a series of workshops in communities of the diaspora in Dallas, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; and Denver, Colorado. The workshops were designed to educate and build awareness among Sudanese immigrants, church and community leaders about the concepts of trauma healing, restorative justice, mediation and negotiation. Fellow CJP graduate Kajungu Maturi MA ’18, of Tanzania, was among the instructors he asked to join these efforts.

鈥淲e come from a culture of violence and a culture of war,鈥� Andudu said. 鈥淲e need to change this culture, and these are the skills that will help us to do that.鈥�

In exile

Andudu first came to the United States in 2011 for medical care 鈥� a need that may have saved his life. Shortly after he left, Kadugli鈥檚 All Saints Cathedral, the rest of the church complex and his own home were attacked by government of Sudan militia forces. He later learned he had been placed on a death list.

Granted asylum in the United States, Andudu now works from the United States and a liaison office in Juba, South Sudan, to pastor his dispersed congregation. Church leaders and congregants of the Kadugli Diocese are residing in exile, mostly in refugee camps in six different countries: Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Egypt.

Meanwhile, the people of the Nuba Mountains, along with areas of Abyei, Blue Nile and Darfur are caught between the governments of North and South Sudan and suffer from raids, bombing and starvation.

Andudu has filled varying roles with his peacebuilding and advocacy work. He chairs the Episcopal Interfaith Committee for the South Kordofan region and for all Sudan, as well as the Committee of Peace Experts. In 2012, he spoke at a Council on Foreign Relations event in Washington D.C.

He鈥檚 also been a participant in peace talks between the Government of Sudan and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in 2012-2014, as one of of negotiating team.

Cross-cultural challenges

Diaspora communities are challenged in many ways, he said. One common conflict shared across all the refugee communities Andudu visited is the significant challenges of negotiating traditional Sudanese cultural beliefs in the new American culture. For example, men traditionally hold power but this status is challenged by women who have observed more equality between the sexes and desire more power in decision-making. Those who are parents also are challenged by different cultural expectations for their children.

Learning new ways to resolve conflict and how to choose between violent and nonviolent actions are important lessons for Sudanese, whose culture is tribally oriented and highly patriarchal. Neutrality, he added, is a difficult concept to introduce, as loyalty to family and tribe is a high priority in Sudanese and South Sudanese culture.

With his master鈥檚 degree finished, Andudu can now focus wholly on his church leadership role. In that capacity, he plans to work with CJP to host more workshops and to encourage Sudanese and south Sudanese community leaders to gain more training at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute.

鈥淭his is the right place for Sudanese and south Sudanese,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is a place where we can heal.鈥�

The same blessing might be said of his own work.

鈥淵ou are like an apostle moving in the world,鈥� said Professor Carl Stauffer, offering thanks for Andudu鈥檚 work at the end of his capstone presentation. 鈥淵ou model deep commitment to your family and the needs of your church and your nation. Your work is valuable to the Sudanese and south Sudanese community and to the Anglican Church. We are honored to accompany you in this work, because you are helping us all.鈥�

Read more

• His 2015 to the four co-chairs of the U.S. House of Representatives Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan

Turner will lead the organization with Carl Stauffer, also a CJP professor, who has co-directed the institute since its founding in 2012. She succeeds Howard Zehr, a well-known professor of restorative justice for whom the institute was named, who will continue advising the institute as a director emeritus. Turner, previously a faculty associate, is well-acquainted with the Zehr Institute. Her responsibilities in that role included planning and co-leading the regular webinar series as well as developing strategic partnerships in support of the institute鈥檚 mission to facilitate connection and exchange between restorative justice practitioners and students around the world.

As co-director, Turner looks forward to greater involvement in the Zehr Institute鈥檚 organizational development and big-picture strategy. One of its strengths to date, she says, has been 鈥渂ringing different groups of people together to learn from each other.鈥�

At the same time, she hopes to widen the institute鈥檚 reach by including people and groups 鈥� particularly young people of color involved in grassroots activism 鈥� whose important contributions to restorative justice have not received the attention they deserve.

鈥淲e can play a role in amplifying the voices of young people of color involved in organizing, because their views and theories are not being heard,鈥� Turner says.

Turner is also eager to see the institute鈥檚 profile grow on 贰惭鲍鈥檚 campus as it has around the world in recent years, during which time it has hosted delegations from several countries for restorative justice seminars and trainings. An upcoming example of such on-campus work is a partnership with 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Office of Student Life to host a training for faculty, staff and students on using restorative justice to address harm and build community at the university. The training is on Oct. 27.

A third priority of Turner鈥檚 involves her recent academic work examining the relationship of faith and spirituality to the practice of peacebuilding and justice. Last year, she taught a new class 鈥淧eacebuilding Through Biblical Narrative,鈥� as well as a Summer Peacebuilding Institute course called 鈥淐hristian Spirituality for Social Action.鈥�

Such passing on of leadership is what Zehr hoped for when the institute began, he said.

鈥淚t is time for me as a first-generation developer and practitioner to make room for others of this new generation,鈥� Zehr said. 鈥淛ohonna is in that second generation of restorative justice practitioners who is empowering a third generation, and that opening of the space for new voices and emerging themes is important to the movement.鈥�

Turner and Stauffer recently addressed that very topic in a book chapter, 鈥淭he New Generation of Restorative Justice,鈥� they co-wrote for a recently published book, The Routledge International Handbook of Restorative Justice.

Stauffer welcomed Turner鈥檚 appointment to jointly lead the Zehr Institute, saying her visionary power, gift for networking and organizational skills will serve the organization well.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a pleasure and an honor to be able to co-direct with Johonna,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 look forward to a strong partnership and an excellent opportunity to grow and expand the vision of the Zehr Institute with [her].鈥�

Throughout the fall, Turner and Stauffer will conduct a strategic visioning process to both evaluate the Zehr Institute鈥檚 past and plan its future programming. Turner will also continue teaching graduate-level courses on restorative justice and other topics.

A campus culture that 鈥渞espects students鈥� right to protest鈥� 鈥� that nurtures both students and the social movements they create, and embraces student activism as being the result of new knowledge at the core of liberation 鈥� benefits the entire community, said Hinojosa, a professor of history at Texas A & M. In their activism, students think critically, lead outside the classroom, practice civic engagement, and develop a greater sense of social responsibility.

Hinojosa鈥檚 August 14 address on the conference theme of 鈥淏eing or Becoming a Third Way University鈥� began the two-day event鈥檚 broader discussions around campus engagement, civic collaboration and diversity and inclusion, goals that are articulated in the university鈥檚 strategic plan.

鈥淒r. Hinojosa鈥檚 address was a helpful invitation as we anticipate the return of students to campus,鈥� said Provost Fred Kniss. 鈥淐ultivating students鈥� abilities to engage with the world is central to our mission, and as an institution we can also learn from their desires for change.鈥�

Conferences an annual tradition

贰惭鲍鈥檚 faculty-staff conferences bookend each academic year, with the fall event providing gathering in fellowship and renewal of the community鈥檚 common purpose and goals.

Braydon Hoover, director of development and annual giving and frequent conference emcee, pointed out that common vision in his welcome: 鈥淲e鈥檙e all here for the exact same purpose 鈥� to prepare every single one of our students to distinctively serve and lead in a global context,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hether you coach on the grass or you cut it, whether you teach 18-year-olds or students a little older, whether you work remotely or right here on campus, whether you took a break this summer or work diligently all year round, and even whether you hail from the titular religious tradition or another completely different, we 鈥� all of us 鈥� are EMU.鈥�

The event included workshop sessions, worship and fellowship opportunities, and what鈥檚 become an annual favorite, 鈥淪torytelling,鈥� featuring members of the campus community sharing about their journeys to, towards or within the EMU community. Fall storytellers included professors Johonna Turner and Esther Tian; Jasmine Hardesty, director of development and planned giving; and Scott Barge, vice president of institutional effectiveness.

The event was also a forum for announcements about the upcoming academic year, including the observance of MLK Day with extensive service and learning opportunities replacing scheduled classes.

Keynote speaker calls for empowering synergy

Hinojosa knows what it means to envision a different university. While a student at Fresno Pacific University in California, he joined student movements to encourage the hiring of more diverse faculty and expansion of the curriculum and academic programs.

鈥淗ow could a university in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, surrounded by a large Latinx population and located in an area that gave birth to the greatest and most successful farm workers civil rights movement, not teach a course on this?鈥� he said.

The synergy between his own student activism and intellectual engagement 鈥� the 鈥済rowth of political consciousness and understanding of history,鈥� his own and his people鈥檚 鈥� was both personally empowering and beneficial to the campus community.

Now a tenured professor of history at Texas A&M University, Hinojosa also directs the history department鈥檚 undergraduate studies and is co-founder and co-director of the Latina/o Studies Working Group sponsored by the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research.

Sharing his pedagogical philosophy that asks 鈥淪o what? Now what?鈥� with his students in courses about social movements, Latinx history, gender, comparative race and ethnicity, Hinojosa has become a resource, guide and mentor to diverse student activists.

This role 鈥� and the work of activism itself 鈥� is 鈥渕essy鈥� and 鈥渃haotic,鈥� but 鈥渕ore important than ever,鈥� he said.

In considering the role of the 鈥渢hird way university,鈥� Hinojosa noted the history of socially progressive Christians. While 鈥渄istorted forms of Christianity got the most play,鈥� they quietly went to work in communities around the world.

鈥淎 third way university must build on this radical tradition,鈥� he said.

In response to a question from Director of Multicultural Services Celeste Thomas, Hinojosa elaborated on additional ways of supporting black and brown students in the predominantly white university setting: listening to the voices and perspectives of marginalized students, hiring diverse and/or culturally competent faculty and staff, providing safe community spaces for these students, and prioritizing issues and the history of diverse communities in curriculum and academic programs.

Beyond the keynote

Afternoon breakout sessions offered faculty and staff opportunities to learn more about distinctive programs that link to core values of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 mission and vision. 聽

Various restorative justice initiatives and programs were highlighted in a special session hosted by professors Johonna Turner and Carl Stauffer, who co-direct the housed in the . Jon Swartz, associate dean of students, talked about restorative justice as it relates to the campus community and highlighted the growth, and growing interest, in RJ-related trainings. Meg Sanders, director of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Graduate Teacher Education program, spoke about the new master鈥檚 degree and graduate certificate in restorative justice, as well as the integration of RJ principles and practices into professional training courses offered by the university.

Director Kimberly Schmidt presented on the , 贰惭鲍鈥檚 Washington D.C.-based program offering cross-cultural urban studies, internship and community living experience. She was joined by Associate Director Ryan Good and Program Assistant Karlyn Gehring.

Doug Graber Neufeld presented on the , a collaborative initiative of 草莓社区, Goshen College and Mennonite Central Committee to lead Anabaptist efforts to respond to the challenges of climate change. Neufeld, a biology professor at EMU, directs the center.

The forum, which takes place in the Caux Palace overlooking Lake Geneva above the city of Montreux, began in post World War II Switzerland. It welcomes approximately 1,500 people to its annual events from across civil society, government and business sectors to be inspired, equipped and connected, and promotes building bridges across societal and other divides with the aim of building 鈥渁 just, sustainable and peaceful world,鈥� its website says.

Its approach includes reflection and storytelling 鈥� and inviting participants to serve the community by helping with tasks at the center. The sharing of menial tasks at the Caux Forum gives participants 鈥渁 unique way to connect with each other 鈥�, places everyone on equal footing and breaks down silos,鈥� its website says.

The forum鈥檚 conferences, which took place between June 28 and August 11, included titles such as 鈥淎ddressing Europe鈥檚 Unfinished Business,鈥� 鈥淭owards an Inclusive Peace鈥� (TIPS), 鈥淛ust Governance for Human Security,鈥� and 鈥淓thical Leadership in Business.鈥�

CJP professor and Caux Scholars Program academic director Carl Stauffer was the restorative justice keynote speaker for TIPS.

Other CJP staff and alumni who participated in this summer鈥檚 Caux Forum conferences and programs included:

• Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a former Summer Peacebuilding Institute instructor and a professor at the School of International Service at American University and founder of the , also spoke at the TIPS conference.
• Aaron Oda MA 鈥�16 was a lead facilitator for the Peace and Leadership Program, which offers training and experience for addressing global change.
• Jonathan Rudy GC 鈥�01, SEM 鈥�01, senior advisory of human security for the Alliance for Peacebuilding, was a speaker during the 鈥淛ust Governance for Human Security鈥� conference, for which Ferdinand Vaweka Djayerombe MA 鈥�06, president of Pax Christi Montr茅al, served as a technical liaison.
• Diana Tovar Rojas MA 鈥�17, CJP鈥檚 peacebuilding network coordinator, led a circle processes training in the TIPS conference and represented CJP at a peace fair.

Professor Barry Hart previously served as academic director of the Caux Scholars Program and is a current member of the International Council of (IofCI), a worldwide movement seeking the transformation of society. The Swiss IofC organizes the forum.

At least eight other CJP graduates have participated in past Caux events, according to Stauffer and Hart.

In her practicum at the Restorative Justice Clinic (RJC) at Campbell Law School in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jang saw her theory of change 鈥� that increased understanding builds trust, which fosters relationships, which in turn enable better ways of dealing with conflict to make communities more healthy and sustainable 鈥� play out in a variety of practicum settings: the legal system, a prison and local schools.

There, she participated in victim-offender dialogue in a ground-breaking felony case in the state, and facilitated both restorative circles in Butner prison and restorative dialogue in school settings.

The collaborative placement at RJC grew out of years of connection between Howard Zehr of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 and his co-director professor Carl Stauffer and RJC director Jon Powell, who with another RJC staff member Joia Caron traveled to attend Jang鈥檚 presentation in Harrisonburg from North Carolina.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very important for us to have that kind of relationship with this program,鈥� Powell said, adding that Jang 鈥渋s going to do great things鈥� in restorative justice.

鈥淭his type of cross-institutional collaboration is key to the efficacy of restorative justice practice,鈥� Zehr said. 鈥淣ot only do students benefit, but so do the institutions and communities in which they work.鈥�

Read about other聽research, practicum learnings by CJP’s 2018 graduates.

RJC and Jang were involved in facilitated dialogue in a high-profile felony case involving a shooting that injured a child but ended in restitution for the victim and her family and community service 鈥� but also forgiveness, 鈥渢ears of happiness鈥� and hugs.

In March 2017, a bullet fired by James Scott Berish struck a 10-year-old sleeping girl in a lower apartment in Durham. Berish initially fled the scene, but later turned himself in to police. The prosecuting attorney assigned to the case had attended an RJC restorative justice training, and realized this case was suited to the process, said Powell.

鈥淲hat I see in Mr. Berish is a man taking full responsibility, a man who made a mistake and owns it,鈥� said assistant district attorney . 鈥淲hat I see in Deisy and her family is a family who was wounded physically and emotionally, a family who asked for healing, a family who got answers to their questions and a family who found peace and forgiveness.鈥�

Jang remembered the words of the judge following Berish鈥檚 sentencing hearing: 鈥淲hat does justice look like? Each of the people in this room might have different idea about what it looks like. However, this morning we know what it feels like.鈥�

In the federal correctional complex at Butner, Jang facilitated restorative circles of inmates and community members who met to tell each other their stories as a means of restoration. In different grade levels in schools, she helped students to resolve conflicts and to learn alternative ways of dealing with future conflicts.

鈥淭his work is building relationships based on really good understanding and hearing stories,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you share, and if you鈥檝e heard somebody鈥檚 story, then you might not judge them then at all, because you know then truly who they are.鈥�

Jang plans to attend law school and promote the use of restorative justice in her home country of South Korea, following additional practical training in the U.S.

He also noted the personal transformations that many graduates experienced while at CJP, and shared hopes that that dynamic would continue in their future work. [Read more about practicum experiences here.]

In his 30 years of peacebuilding, he said, 鈥渧arious peacebuilding worlds I have inhabited have changed me more than I have changed systems that cause harm. Peacebuilding is our journey towards minimizing the harm we cause and maximizing the healing we can contribute.鈥�

CJP conferred a total of 29 degrees. Graduates came from nine states and the District of Columbia, as well as 12 countries: Spain, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Sudan, South Africa, New Zealand, Colombia, Taiwan, Tanzania, Brazil, Iran and Kenya.

Fourteen degrees were conferred in and three in restorative justice. Additionally, three students earned graduate certificates in conflict transformation, and one in restorative justice.

Eight members of the Women鈥檚 Peacebuilding Leadership Program, all from Kenya, earned graduate certificates in peacebuilding leadership. [Read more about this cohort here.]

These graduates are particularly significant, as Commencement speaker Leymah Gbowee MA 鈥�07 was instrumental in the founding of the program in 2011. This cohort鈥檚 successful completion brings the total number of WPLP graduates from Africa and the South Pacific to 42 women.

CJP grad awarded university鈥檚 first honorary doctorate

Earlier in the day, Gbowee became the recipient of the university鈥檚 first honorary Doctor of Justice degree 鈥渇or her extraordinary achievements in peacebuilding or social justice work,鈥� according to Provost Fred Kniss, who ceremonially made the recommendation to President Susan Schultz Huxman.

Read Leymah Gbowee’s 2018 Commencement address.

鈥淚n one hundred years of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 existence, who would have told anyone that a girl from West Africa, a tiny village, a tiny country, who came here to validate and to justify her inclusion in peacebuilding work at the community level would come back several years later as the first honorary degree awardee?鈥� Gbowee said, after giving thanks for the award.

Gbowee鈥檚 address, titled 鈥淯rgently Needed! Defenders of Peace and Justice,鈥� offered statistics about the rising numbers of global conflicts, armed and insurgent groups, drug cartels, terror attacks and deaths. 鈥淏eyond these numbers, when we look around our world, especially in places people never think about, you have issues of housing crisis, you have rape and exploitation of women in different parts of the world, the threat to the environment and many other vices.鈥�

The 鈥渂urning鈥� question, she said, is 鈥淲ho is going to fix our world? Who is going to give hope or the hopeless? Who is going solve the problems of the world?鈥�

鈥淪tep out,鈥� she urged. 鈥淲hatever your calling may be, defend peace and justice with your actions, your interactions and your attitude. Most especially, when issues are not longer trending and the hashtags are no longer hashing, and the lights and the cameras are off, defend peace, defend justice. You can never go wrong.鈥�

Mturi, Lee speak for graduates

Kajungu Mturi, of Tanzania, and Jennifer Chi Lee, of South Africa, were selected to address their classmates, faculty and friends at the afternoon reception.

Mturi assured the faculty, who had invested so much in them, that dividends would be repaid. 鈥�We promise we will use every single opportunity we have to stand for justice, invisible or visible. We will do our best,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know my friends, and my friends will do what they can when they see injustice. This is a heavy burden, but we will carry it.鈥�

Lee passed around a spindle of red yarn, replicating a process that had been shared in a reflective circle among graduates and CJP community a few days before.

鈥�There is a thread that connects the dots of our lives,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭his thread may be difficult to see, and it鈥檚 not always easy to explain how we came to this little town in the Shenandoah Valley studying something called conflict transformation and passing things around in circles.鈥�

She urged her classmates to find the threads, 鈥渟leep with the bread that makes us feel safe,鈥� and embrace the mystery, the risk, and the unknown of the promise of peace.

A tradition of the reception is for professors to give short speeches about each graduate. In his welcoming introduction to this part of the reception, Professor Carl Stauffer highlighted how close the community becomes.

鈥淲e danced together, sung together, sat on the floor together, had long hard conversations in offices, sat in circle and sat and ate together, 聽walked through the anxiety of com exams, and all of this is how we become a learning community. It鈥檚 not about the degree, it鈥檚 about you and the gift we see you as in the world.”

Graduates

Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation

• Silvia Menendez Alcalde, Madrid, Spain
• Nourah Abdullah M. Alhasawi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Brenna Case, North Canton, Ohio
• Matthew Ryan Fehse, Redding, Calif.
• Liana Rose Hershey, Mount Laurel, N.J.
• Youngji Jang, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
• Andudu Adam Elnail Kuku, Kadugli, Sudan
• Jennifer Chi Lee, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Wayne Francis Marriott, Christchurch, New Zealand
• Ian Steele Pulz, Cranbury, N.J.
• Brian McLauchlin, SVD, Washington D.C.
• Matthew Michael Tibbles, Harrisonburg, Va.
• Andrea Carolina Moya Urue帽a, Ibague, Colombia
• Chihchun Yuan, Taipei, Taiwan

Master of Arts in Restorative Justice

• Deborah M. Bayless, Raytown, Mo.
• Mturi Kajungu Samson, Mugumu, Tanzania
• Boris Alejandro Ozuna Urueta, Sincelejo, Colombia

Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation

• Jesse No毛l Morales, Greensboro, N.C.
• Claudia Costa Moreira, Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Maryam Shahmoradi, Tehran, Iran

Graduate Certificate in Peacebuilding Leadership

• Maryam Sheikh Abdikadir, Nairobi, Kenya
• Judith Nasimiyu Mandillah, Nairobi, Kenya
• Rachel C. Mutai, Nairobi, Kenya
• Violet W. Muthiga, Mombasa, Kenya
• Sarah Chelimo Naibei, Kitale, Kenya
• Catherine Gaku Njeru, Nairobi, Kenya
• Beatrice Kizi Nzovu, Nairobi, Kenya
• Shamsa Hassan Sheikh, Nairobi, Kenya

Graduate Certificate in Restorative Justice

• Lyle D. Seger, Lawrence, Kan.

Capstone coverage

• Read about 2018 capstones presented by MA candidates (now graduates!)

More Commencement coverage

• 鈥榃e Made It!鈥� EMU confers 540 degrees, and one honorary doctorate, at 100th Commencement
• Leymah Gbowee鈥檚 2018 Commencement Address, 草莓社区
• Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduates 22 鈥榖etter Christ-followers鈥� to many callings

鈥淲e wanted to learn deeply about the roots of this movement,鈥� the husband-wife duo wrote in an email 鈥� and to 鈥渕eet people who were walking toward the same way that we wanted to go.鈥�

The group of 21 teachers, students, community leaders and legal professionals was hosted by 贰惭鲍鈥檚 and the Jan. 16-17 during an 11-day east coast tour organized with the (KOPI). Since 2000, KOPI has educated and trained individuals and organizations in various domestic and international peace education programs.

The participants on this trip had already learned from restorative justice (RJ) and discipline workshops in Korea, said KOPI director Jae Young Lee. The purpose of this trip was to learn about the 鈥渟piritual, cultural, and historical backgrounds鈥� of the restorative justice movement.

鈥淚f we believe RJ is a paradigm and not a program, it is important to know the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition emphasizing peace and justice as a center of their faith,鈥� he said.

To that end, Zehr Institute co-directors and co-facilitated a session on restorative justice in Anabaptist tradition and Christian theology. Other sessions led by professors and provided overview and discussion of such varying topics as the implications of RJ and historical harms for educators. The group also experienced a one-day Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) training led by Katie Mansfield.

A 2003 CJP graduate whose work has been featured in Peacebuilder magazine, Lee said that the RJ education such as he experienced at EMU doesn鈥檛 impact only enrolled students.

鈥淲hen you transform one person鈥檚 life through education, it can [create] transforming power for hundreds and thousands of people in the future,鈥� he said, adding that KOPI held nearly 1,500 workshops and lectures on RJ and peacebuilding during 2017 alone.

The visit was also an opportunity for 鈥渢wo-way鈥� learning, said CJP executive director Daryl Byler 鈥� for both CJP staff and graduates like Lee and fellow delegation participant Yoonseo Park, who earned his masters in conflict transformation in 2016.

鈥淭hey and others have taken the restorative justice training they received at CJP and expanded its application to a variety of Korean contexts 鈥� including the criminal justice, educational and health systems, as well as in housing and church conflicts,鈥� Byler said.

Although preparing for such delegations requires a major commitment of time and resources at CJP, Byler said that 鈥渢he payoff is priceless.鈥�

Following their two days at EMU, the delegation also visited the Mennonite Central Committee headquarters and Material Resources Center in Akron, Pennsylvania; met with shooting victims and family members in the Nickel Mines Amish community; toured Belleville, Pennsylvania; and visited two Washington D.C. schools that practice restorative discipline.