Since the initiation of the Peace Education Initiative at The University of Toledo, the city has become a hub for peace education.
To supplement the growth, Dr. Betty A. Reardon will visit Toledo Tuesday, April 12, through Thursday, April 14, for three public events.
As the founder and director of the International Institute on Peace Education, a weeklong residential experience for educators facilitating the exchange of ideas surrounding peace education, Reardon is known as the “Mother of Peace Education.” She will host conversations with students, faculty and community members about peace education, how it’s being implemented in Toledo, and ideas on how to further utilize it in the community.
“My belief is peace studies and peace education are the most significant issues for universities to address,” Reardon said. “We need to start looking at these fields and how [they] can address major crises.”
The events will be:
• Public Dialogue — Tuesday, April 12, at 7 p.m. in Health and Human Services Building Room 1711; light refreshments will be served.
• Lunchtime Dialogue — Wednesday, April 13, at 12:30 p.m. in Health and Human Services Building Room 1711; this event is geared toward students. Lunch will be served.
• Faculty and Staff Dialogue — Thursday, April 14, at 1 p.m. in Student Union Room 2591.
The free, public platforms are meant to be informal conversations about how peace education works and how it can be used effectively, Reardon explained. The events are sponsored and coordinated by the Graduate Student Association with the support of the Peace Education Initiative.
Reardon also founded the Peace Education Center at Columbia University, taught at universities around the world, and has experience both in formal school settings and community-based education programs. Throughout her career, she has advanced peace and global citizenship education through a focus on human security, human rights, sustainable development, ecology and gender.
Additionally, she received special honorary mention from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Peace Education Prize for establishing the International Institute on Peace Education. She also received the 2010 Sean McBride Peace Prize and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.
The Peace Education Initiative in UT’s Judith Herb College of Education was established to help the University become a global leader in peace education. Last month, UT’s Faculty Senate approved a new peace studies major and minor. The minor is tentatively set to launch this fall.
“I’m very excited about what’s happening in Toledo,” Reardon said. “UT is poised to be a new leading peace learning institution for the country and internationally.”
The Peace Education Initiative also oversees the Betty A. Reardon Archives, which is housed in UT’s Canaday Center for Special Collections. The collection consists of Reardon’s extensive publications, unpublished manuscripts, curriculum, reports, scholarly presentations, and correspondence from the 1960s to the present about peace studies. Her archives have been in the Canaday Center since 2009.
Individuals can RSVP at utoledo.edu/education/peace/RSVP.html.
To learn more about the Peace Education Initiative and its programs, visit utoledo.edu/education/peace.
For more information, contact Dr. Tony Jenkins, director of the UT Peace Education Initiative, at tony.jenkins@utoledo.edu.
