Peace Studies
By 16 Blocks [1]
The future of Norris Hall as the home of Virginia Tech's new center for peace studies and violence prevention.
Professor Jocelyne Couture-Nowak was one of the 32. Her daughter's inspired reaction to a question from the press helped change the fate of Norris Hall.
"The history was very simple. Our middle daughter, Francine, arrived from the University of British Columbia. She handled the press," said Professor Couture-Nowak's husband, Dr. Jerzy Nowak of the Department of Horticulture at Virginia Tech.
"And the question came, what should be done with Norris Hall, and she said in an impromptu response that it should be the Peace Studies center. And then she came home and said, 'Dad, this is what I said, what do you think about it?'" Professor Nowak considered the unique potential of a peace studies program at Virginia Tech, which takes pride in its reputation in both applied disciplines and international outreach. His daughter's inspiration led to brainstorming sessions by a group of about a dozen close friends and colleagues. A longtime worker for peace, Stephen Darr of Blacksburg was an early guiding light in planning the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention (CPSVP). Mr. Darr is the founder of Peacework, an independent nonprofit organization concerned with sustainable international development and service. Since its inception in 1989, Peacework has created partnerships with universities in over 20 countries, helping them take on an interactive role within their own communities to combat poverty and promote prosperity.
What exactly is meant by the term Peace Studies? Dr. Nowak describes a concept of preventing and resolving conflict through addressing basic human needs. He explains, "Violence prevention is sort of a generic approach to human security. Now, that is again a term that is hard to define, but... we use this term, human security, to discuss food systems, energy systems, shelter, medicine and education. ... All this we see as a part of human security, security in the sense of not to guard people with a gun, but security in the sense of sustainability. I always link it to human dignity. That's a basic focus."
The original planning group that envisioned the CPSVP included Dr. Nowak, Dr. Marian Mollin of the Department of History, Dr. Richard Shryock of the Department of Foreign Languages, Joan M. Watson of the Department of Interdiscipinary Studies, Stephen Darr, and several family members of those lost on April 16th. Darr says, "The big issue was that the families wanted the facility to be utilitarian in terms of actual programs, but also to completely transform the structure."
Meanwhile, the University was striving to address practical concerns along with the emotional state of the campus. Tech was already coping with a facilities crunch long before the crisis of April 16th. Research projects that had depended upon the space and irreplaceable equipment in Norris had to continue, and decisions had to be made quickly.
When Virginia Tech President Charles Steger announced in June 2007 that Norris Hall was to go to Engineering and Mechanical Sciences, the plans for the Peace Studies program were put aside. However, as it turned out, a significant enough number of people who were supposed to relocate to Norris Hall remained apprehensive. This reopened the discussion of the building's future. Nowak said, "The Provost announced the possibility of opening this space for competition. So then we rejuvenated this idea of Violence Prevention and Peace Studies and I spread the news, and it was amazing, throughout the campus there were so many volunteers to work with us and then eventually ... we were selected as one of the finalists."
On December 20, 2007, Provost Mark McNamee made the public announcement that the classrooms in Norris would be used to house the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. The CPSVP will share the renovated space with a conference area and telecommunications room belonging to Engineering and Mechanical Sciences. This juxtaposition dovetails with the Center's commitment to bringing the applied sciences even further into the field of Peace Studies.
On March 28th of this year, the working group involved in the creation of the center submitted a grant proposal to the Department of Education's General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to secure funding for IT and office equipment as well as salaries for technical support staff.
According to the grant proposal, the program will emphasize student-initiated research and collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. Lecture series and seminars will be planned, and, adding another dimension to the program's commitment to academic outreach, the CPSVP will also develop certification courses and workshops for K-12 teachers.
The goal of the CPSVP is to develop young people into "leaders for this century, citizens of the world, able to contribute to, and facilitate, sustainable development of the global society." Undergraduate as well as graduate students will be encouraged to participate and apply for one of 32 fellowships and work with faculty mentors in the humanities and the applied and fundamental sciences. At this time, efforts are under way to secure endowments between $500K and $1 million total for all 32 fellowships.
The planned layout of the space is inspired by the open-studio model. Architects have designed an unpartitioned workspace with movable furniture and equipment, where students can work in teams. It is hoped that the GEPA grant will pay for the installation of a Global Technology Hub. TeamSpot and Smart software systems will allow students and faculty to create interactive virtual work environments. These state of the art learning technologies will bring the open studio to the outside world, connecting the Center's sponsored field studies and international exchange programs back to home base in Norris Hall.
The center is not an activist organization, but an integrated University program. Dr. Mollin, author of a recent book on pacifism, will facilitate the cross-disciplinary development of the new academic curriculum in Peace Studies. She says that "what really sets this new center apart from other Peace Studies programs that exist is, one, our strong commitment to integrating that field study, experiential component with the intellectual component, making those really linked; and then the other thing that really sets us apart is our goal is to include the applied sciences, engineering, horticulture, into the peace studies program."
One goal of the curriculum committee will be to establish a minor in Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. The option of a minor would be intended, as Mollin elaborates, "to bring in those students that normally wouldn't think of a peace studies degree because they would think, 'Oh, that's only something that people in Liberal Arts do.'" Although the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Sue Ott Rowlands, will chair the new Center, Mollin emphasizes, "Engineers have been involved in this discussion from its inception."
The Center will be open in its temporary location in 101 Wallace Hall as of July 1st. An official announcement is slated for the first week of May.
Nowak says, "It is a fast timeline, but then at the same time we are already working, and preparing the stage.... the opening will be just the beginning."
The move over to Norris, Phase II of the implementation, is scheduled to take place between September and the end of the calendar year.
Mollin emphasizes, "I think it's really marvelous that this is happening at this University. I think it's an amazing use of that building, a real tribute to the people who died in there, and just to turn the meaning of that building around, as something, a place where something really positive and constructive happens."