News

Every year, on September 21, the world celebrates the International Day of Peace. Established by the United Nations in 1981, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to peace above all differences and to build a culture of peace. Inspired by this initiative, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College invites students, staff, and faculty at the University of Waterloo to attend peace events from September 16 to 22.

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.

The Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program has extended the deadline for Fall 2019 Canadian and Permanent Resident applications to May 1, 2019. If you are interested in pursuing a career in the field of peace and conflict by learning with a small cohort and field-experienced faculty, apply now!

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.