Montgomery College-Germantown to Host National Peacebuilding Seminar on Teaching About Global Conflict, Oct. 12-15

What happens when a 20-year-old college student studies abroad and experiences first-hand the post-effects of war? Sometimes nothing more than memories and a few lessons learned, but in Jennifer Haydel's case, a year in Berlin, Germany set off a lifelong passion that would, in many ways, shape her career. While in Berlin, she worked with Bosnian refugees at the German Red Cross, and remembers clearly the five children from her apartment complex who were severely injured when they uncovered an unexploded grenade from World War II.

"Working with people who were suffering a current war, and living next door to children injured from a weapon left over from a previous war made me want to understand the dynamics of war and the potentials for conflict resolution and peacebuilding," she explains.

Haydel, who today serves as assistant professor of political science at Montgomery College, is turning her passion into action as she partners with a leading expert in peace education and the American Red Cross to offer for the first time at the College a national seminar that focuses on exploring methods and resources for teaching about global conflict and peacebuilding. The Teaching about Global Conflict and Peacebuilding Seminar meets October 12-14, 2013 in the Paul Peck Innovation Center and in Washington, D.C. on October 15.

Professor Haydel recently co-authored a chapter on diversity and global peace education in this year's volume of Peacebuilding in Community Colleges: A Teaching Resource, published by the United States Institute of Peace. In doing so, she developed a partnership with the publication's editor, David Smith, and Laurie Fisher of the American Red Cross to create the four-day seminar.

The seminar will bring together faculty members from colleges as far away as California and Washington State, and as close as right here--faculty from all three College campuses will participate as well as the College's Peace and Justice Studies Community and the Global Humanities Institute--to hear speakers from the American Red Cross, the State Department, George Mason University, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Organization of American States. The seminar is modeled after two workshops that have been offered at the United States Institute of Peace and the American Red Cross in previous years, with the common goal of bringing together a small group of educators to engage in deep discussions and develop tangible products from the experience.

"The seminar is an opportunity for faculty to develop teaching resources and programs at Montgomery College and other institutions from around the country," says Professor Haydel. "When our students ask us what they can do to make a difference, we need to be able to provide them with ideas and resources they can use to find their own answers. A seminar like this helps us tackle this exciting and challenging task."

Dr. Sanjay Rai, vice president and provost of the Germantown Campus, adds, "It is so important for community college students, who are often first generation college students and from underrepresented populations, to have access to resources like this and to fantastic faculty members like Professor Haydel to broaden their perspectives on global peace."

Professor Haydel and her partners have received wide support for their efforts from the Montgomery College community and from external agencies. The seminar is funded through a number of sources, including the American Red Cross Exploring Humanitarian Law Project, the Democracy Commitment, the Street Law Project, and from the College's Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia (featured lecturer Arun Gandhi's talk is part of the seminar). Many seminar speakers are participating without charge. The College's Germantown library carries multiple copies of the Peacebuilding in Community Colleges publication to meet the community's demand for the material.

Dr. Norma Goldstein, instructional dean of humanities, social sciences and education at Germantown, speaks for many when she says, "It is amazing to see the passion of one gifted professor like Professor Haydel impact others across the country with her efforts. As we look at our world today, we know that peacebuilding starts here in our own homes and communities and colleges. Jennifer Haydel's scholarship on this topic and her coordination of the Peace Conference make us all proud here at the College. The impact of such efforts will be national in scope at the very least."

For further information, contact Professor Haydel at 240-567-7756 or visit http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/Department2.aspx?id=54972.

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