Looking Back at 2023
Building Pathways to Peace
At the Center for Peacemaking, 2023 started with a surprise — we were announced as a finalist for the “Best Place to Work for Social Justice” in the Shepherd Express’ annual “Best of Milwaukee” awards. This recognition turned out to be an acknowledgement of 2022 as much as it was a preview of what would come in 2023.
As we look back at another year, that famous Margaret Mead quote comes to mind: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
We never cease to be amazed by what our mighty and growing community accomplishes. This is a tribute to the entire and remarkable community of students, faculty, community partners, alumni, donors, friends, and staff that make up the Center for Peacemaking.
Immersion Programs Impact Student Values
A few years ago, alumni helped us recognize the unique impact that immersion programs have on shaping student’s values and worldview. At that time, we committed to expanding the number and types of immersion experiences the Center for Peacemaking offers. This year is the best example yet.
In January, students studied interreligious peacebuilding in India and strategies to heal generational trauma in El Salvador.
“I would recommend this program to others because it was challenging; it led to so much reflection on my own life that I wasn’t expecting at all. It gave me a better understanding of other cultures and the culture that I’m living in.”
Over spring break, a Marquette caravan traversed the south on another Civil Rights Pilgrimage. This year’s trip focused heavily on the grassroots organizing tradition in Mississippi.
Over fall break, the CAMPus Impact and MARDI GRAS student organizations partnered with the Center for Peacemaking and Near West Side Partners to offer a service-based fall break immersion in Milwaukee’s Near West Side.
In late October, we launched an inaugural cultural immersion program focused on tribal sovereignty and indigenous solidarity. This group of students, faculty, and staff visited the Stockbridge-Munsee Community and Menominee Nation — two of the 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin. With tribal elders as our hosts and guides, we visited historic and cultural sites, business enterprises, community health organizations, educational institutions, and governmental offices.
Community-based Peacemaking
Near West Side
The April edition of Connections, the magazine of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), featured signature examples of Jesuit university partnerships with local community and civic organizations. The Promoting Assets, Reducing Crime (PARC) initiative and broader Marquette-Near West Side Partners collaboration was one of the signature projects.
Marquette students continued their extensive engagement with PARC and the Near West Side Partners. Students conducted a resident survey, completed a commercial corridor audit, and organized neighborhood cleanups.
Near West Side Week returned this year, with the RevUp MKE business plan competition at the heart of it. This is one of the many ways we’ve supported small and locally owned businesses. It has also been a year of transition, especially with the Concordia 27 redevelopment project inching closer to completion.
In part for his extensive engagement in the Near West Side, Pat Kennelly was recognized by the University as a “Difference Maker”.
Peace Works
The MPS Success Center continues to be a model of how to holistically serve the needs of students and families, as was featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In partnership with MPS schools in the 53206 zip code, Peace Works has implemented programming to address mental health, academic, and/or behavioral challenges among students. We also work closely with a number of community partners who delivered psychoeducational and clinical mental health services to support student resiliency.
Peace Works also trained and assisted with a peer mediation program at Alexander Mitchell Integrated Arts School. The program was an empowering way for 5th - 8th graders to mediate conflicts among their peers.
Across all of the Peace Works programs — and in collaboration with five community partners — we served more than 750 students at 13 schools.
Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee (SWIM)
In the fall, the Center for Peacemaking began a partnership with Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee (SWIM), a nonprofit organization formed to address generational trauma in Milwaukee.
We hired Barbara Pierson as the new SWIM program coordinator. She previously served as a peace education specialist with the Peace Works program and is a 2019 graduate of Marquette.
The SWIM Hub will soon be located in the renovated Concordia 27 development, providing a larger location for SWIM to offer training programs and wellness services that include counseling, yoga, reiki massage, and acupuncture.
Student and Faculty Fellows Work for Peace
Peacemakers work in almost every academic discipline and professional field. Our student and faculty fellows once again reflect the many ways one can be a peacemaker.
Students created summer projects to address food insecurity through developing a community garden, researching the influence of soft power in international politics, facilitating a community dialogue series in suburban Milwaukee, completing internships with social justice organizations based in Chicago and El Salvador, and participating in a delegation with Witness for Peace to Cuba.
One of the projects featured Peace Studies student Lucy O’Brien partnering with Psychology faculty member Dr. Ed de St. Aubin on a research initiative with Project RETURN’s Circles of Support program. Lucy received a student fellowship. Dr. de St. Aubin received a Rynne Faculty Research Fellowship.
Two graduate students were recipients of the Bud Frankel Memorial Fellowship — Fr. Thomas Mbatna Taiwe, S.J., and Ann Tsvetkova. Both were placed with the International Institute of Wisconsin (IIW). Through their projects, Fr. Thomas and Ann have directly supported refugee resettlement efforts and learned how to facilitate community peacemaking programs.
Speakers Visit, Inspire Campus
Our speaker series returned with a flourish last year. In collaboration with the University’s Mission Week celebration, we heard from Ignatian Peacemaking Lecturer Molly Burhans on environmental justice and her spiritual journey. Dr. Yohuru Williams delivered the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Lecture in which he challenged us all to work for justice.
Peacemaker in Residence Nicolas Lampert led a series on art and activism for students that built on the Center’s long tradition of exploring the connections between creativity and peacemaking. This theme continued again with an International Day of Human Rights performance by Playback Theatre actors on Kindness. Among the performers was Raphael Engel (screen name Zandor Vorkov, star of the 1971 cult-classic Dracula vs. Frankenstein) who initiated an annual Global Playback Theatre program focused on spreading kindness.
“We seek to address challenges in a personal, heart-centered way, bringing human concerns to the stage, and to the surface, to promote empathetic, healing dialogue among people from all walks of life.”
— Raphael Engel, Global Playback Theatre
Peace Studies
2023 was our largest yet graduating class of Peace Studies students — 22 combined majors and minors! With three regular offerings of the Introduction to Peace Studies class, we continue to engage more and students each year.
The Peace Studies program is truly interdisciplinary. The program includes classes from most colleges and disciplines Marquette offers. This is also reflected in our students. Students pursue unique major and minor combinations, meaning that our graduates will be working for peace in a wide variety of professional fields.
Dr. Louise Cainkar, program director for Peace Studies, was recognized at the Marquette vs. Notre Dame men’s basketball game as the “Faculty All-Star” for her outstanding teaching, research, and advising. Earlier in the year she was received the AMUW Nora Finnigan Werra Faculty Achievement Award. Two of our Peace Works Research Team members, Dr. Gabe Velez and Dr. Lucas Torres, also received awards. Dr. Velez, the Way Klingler Early Career Award. Dr. Torres, the Way Klingler Fellowship.
Two Peace Studies alumni received Fulbright fellowships. Alumna and former staff member, Parisa Shirazi-Chavoya was featured on the Our Roots Say We’re Sisters podcast.
We’re so proud of all these successes. And we’re so excited about what the Pathways to Peace fundraising campaign will mean for the future of the Center for Peacemaking and generations of Marquette students to come.
We wish you a blessed new year, and look forward to all the ways the coming year invites us to continue building a culture of peace, faith, and nonviolence!
