News

Earlier this year, the Canadian Parliament declared the second week of September to be Mennonite Heritage Week – a time to “recognize the contributions that Canadian Mennonites have made to building Canadian society, their history of hope and perseverance, the richness of the Mennonite culture, their role in promoting peace and justice both at home and abroad.”

Eric Lepp, a familiar face at Conrad Grebel University College, will be returning to the University of Waterloo for a two-year appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) at Grebel. Lepp recently completed a PhD at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester. Previously he attended the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at University of Notre Dame where he earned an MA in Peace Studies, and the University of Waterloo where he earned a Bachelor of Social Work.

The creators of the Anabaptist Learning Workshop (ALW) are starting a new chapter for Anabaptist-Mennonite education in Eastern Canada. As a program offered by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada (MCEC) in cooperation with Conrad Grebel University College (Grebel), the ALW has been a strong champion of active, organized learning events at the intersection of Christian faith and contemporary life for laypeople, pastors, new Canadians, and others.

A new exhibit at the Mennonite Archives of Ontario showcases painted family trees, hand-drawn charts, and other ways Mennonites have visually remembered family. The exhibit is called Growing Family: Design & Desire in Mennonite Genealogy. 

The Grebel Gallery, located in the heart of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College, is pleased to showcase “New Fraktur,” an art exhibit by Grebel alumnus Meg Harder. Visitors will be treated to works that draw on fraktur folk art, an imaginative and densely detailed illuminated calligraphy, historically produced by early Mennonite settlers to Ontario.

It is always a delight to welcome Grebel alumni back to the College as employees. Beginning July 1, 2019, David Y. Neufeld will serve at Grebel as Visiting Assistant Professor of History for two years. He will also hold a research fellowship during his first year.

Music builds community! In an effort to strengthen relationships and connections between individuals and groups in academic and local settings, Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo is privileged to welcome an extraordinary musician as the 2019 Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Visiting Scholar. Ysaÿe M. Barnwell, Ph.D.

In April 2019, the shovels will hit the ground in front of Conrad Grebel University College’s residence building as construction on a new kitchen facility begins. This project is part of a $6.8 million undertaking to expand the kitchen and dining room capacity at the College.

On December 17, Conrad Grebel University College (Grebel) and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) formalized their partnership to advance peace through the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement (CPA) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding.

The CPA is home to peace-oriented innovators and established organizations from Waterloo region’s vibrant peacebuilding ecosystem. Over the past four years, the CPA has enabled Grebel and MCC to partner in new ways through, for example, consultations, conferences, and gallery exhibits. This agreement builds on that foundation by deepening this unique partnership over the next three years.