Advancing Peace is What We Do
One Child can Change the World
I have a Name
The Community that Reads Together
Student Life
Sound in the Land
Music News
Advancing Peace Together
Tools for Change
The Groundwork for Building Peace
Lebold Endowment reaches $1 Million
Discovering the Secrets of Tomorrow
Sixties Era Reunion
The Results are in
The Music of Life - Carol Ann Weaver
Lighting of a Fire - Jim Pankratz
The Dean’s Pick Essay contest
A Shameful Wound of our Time
Disability Discourse in South Asia
A Positive Public Image in Crises
The Beginnings of Snapchat
Closing the Next Chapter Campaign
Growing your Gifts
Grebel Team wins at MEDA
Deepening Community
Peace Challenge Winners
Graduate Studies
Faculty Activities
Mennonite Studies
Online Lectures
Calendar of Events
Advancing Peace is What We Do
When I first arrived at Conrad Grebel three years ago and made the rounds in the wider community to introduce myself and the College, I often heard this refrain: “Oh, so, you’re with the Peace College.” If people know only one thing about Grebel, it is that we do peace. I soon came to embrace this label enthusiastically.
At a time when marketing gurus say it’s a rare and precious thing for universities to have a distinctive and attractive niche, we are lucky indeed to “have a corner” on peace education and community building in a cluttered university marketplace. Recently, we completed extensive survey research for strategic planning purposes and our consultants reinforced this distinctive quality about Grebel with numbers and testimony from folks far and wide. Their take-away? Grebel has “a golden brand” in “the golden horseshoe” and beyond, around active peacemaking, community-building, and compassionate service - intersecting core values we have long championed.
As a friend of Grebel, I know this peace edge is not news to you. And yet it’s easy to take these vital signs for granted. Here’s an illustrative story: There are two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way. He nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” The two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and asks “What the heck is water?”
Lest we take our basic sustenance—our peace message—for granted, I’d like to share with you a top ten list of ways we’ve been awash in innovative and exciting streams of peace:
1. The MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement, our new, beautiful 6,000 square foot entire fourth floor was made possible by a transformative gift of $1 million from the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union, and another half million by a lot of Grebel supporters. The Centre hosted a grand open house on September 21 with 250 people taking part in family-friendly activities to advance peace at home and around the world. The Centre’s inaugural director, Dr. Paul Heidebrecht (B.A. Engineering, Waterloo; M.A. AMBS; Ph.D. Theology & Ethics, Marquette; previously MCC Ontario Director, Ottawa) was on hand to explain the special community engagement mission of the Centre, introduce our peace partners, agencies, and start-up peace entrepreneurs and take part in a creative array of “peace offering” activities which included making art, music, media, stories, and food to advance peace!
2. Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, is in discussion with Grebel on leveraging a peace partnership between Canada and Pakistan to develop curriculum for peace education in schools where conflict is an ever-present reality. With the recent news that seventeen year old Malala Yousafzai is the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace prize, her story, along with that of her father’s story, shines a brighter light on important peace initiatives for children. The connection between the Malala Foundation and Grebel would not have been possible
3. Lisa Schirch (BA 1990), Research Professor, Centre for Justice & Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, received Grebel’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Service Award. A former Fulbright Fellow in East and West Africa, Lisa has conducted conflict assessments in over 20 countries, published dozens of articles and 5 books, including her most recent book: Conflict Assessment and Peacebuilding Planning: toward a Participatory Approach to Human Security (2013). Her current work takes her to the Pentagon each week to teach peacebuilding to military generals. She told students at Community Supper that life and learning at Grebel and UWaterloo was formative to the person she has become today. And that while her image has changed (from tie dye and combat boots at Grebel to suits and heels at the Pentagon,) her message has stayed the same: “Peace is both a moral and strategic necessity in our world today.”
4. We celebrated four decades of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Conrad Grebel in August. We invited all faculty and administrators who were involved in the launch and management of PACS from 1977 until now to discuss, reflect, debate and share stories of its trajectory for an oral history project. The PACS program at Grebel was the first of its kind in Canada and is now one of the largest peace studies programs in North America, averaging 1200 undergraduate course enrollments per year, with over 200 students pursuing a PACS undergraduate academic plan, a graduate program admitting 15-20 new students a year, a highly regarded Certificate Program in Conflict Management with over 500 annual enrollments, as well as the sponsor of a Peace Camp, and other periodic annual events such as the International Day of Peace.
5. We honoured our first graduating class of Master of Peace and Conflict Studies students in April. Eleven graduates walked across the stage in a milestone event in the life of graduate education at Grebel (MPACS is our second graduate program after Theological Studies), and in the reputational growth of the PACS department at Grebel and the University of Waterloo.
6. We conferred our first honorary Doctorate of Divinity to John Paul Lederach of the University of Notre Dame at Convocation. Dr. Lederach is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work in peace and justice from a Mennonite perspective.
7. Jody Williams, the 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate known for getting governments around the world to eradicate landmines, was the keynote speaker at the international Peace & Justice Society Association conference that Grebel hosted last October. In her brazen rhetorical style, she reminded us that: “Peace work is not for wimps!”
8. The performance of Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” was our largest 50th anniversary event of the year, and beautifully combined impressive music with artistic peace education. Over 900 concert goers came to Kitchener to hear four choirs and an orchestra, directed by new Grebel Music Professor, Mark Vuorinen. This was a momentous collaboration of PACS and Music on a large public stage for the Waterloo Region community.
9. The Grebel Gallery in the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement opened in May, featuring the story of Bertha von Suttner, the first female recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. That exhibit was made possible by the contacts of Project Ploughshares, our partners in the Centre for Peace Advancement, and Canada’s largest ecumenical research agency, with the Austrian Embassy. An Austrian duo performed commissioned classical pieces that supported the von Suttner story and the Austrian Ambassador, Arno Riedel, came to this special peace and music program to bring greetings and congratulations.
10. A new student peace club, “Rotaract,”—a junior Rotary Chapter devoted to peace issues from a business perspective, is up and running at Grebel this year under the direction of student Tim Souza, with two dozen members. This club joins the long established undergraduate Peace Club, graduate level Peace Society, and Waterloo’s Public Interest Research Group. Several of these groups interface with the Centre for Peace Advancement.
Rotary Scholarship winners Shinjita Alum and Marg Van Herk-Paradis, Rotary
Member and Grebel Donor George Schroeder, Grebel’s PACS Rotary Rep
Lowell Ewert, Rotaract Members Jesse Yantzi and Tim Souza
I invite you to read other inspiring stories of our mission “to seek wisdom, nurture faith and pursue peace” from faculty, staff, and students in this, our inaugural issue of the new in-depth magazine style, Grebel Now! And please stay in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you!
I am reminded of the precious gift “free speech” is to us—a gift we sometimes take for granted. Not so for peace activists, such as the brave and articulate Malala. After being shot by Taliban extremists on a school bus for insisting that girls be educated like boys in Pakistan, she took no revenge. She said simply:
“I don’t hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him. This is the forgiveness that I have learned from my father and my mother. My soul tells me: Be peaceful and love everyone…. I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to speak up!”
Emily Mininger and Jamie Swift are starting a PeaceQuest affiliate in Waterloo - a grassroots organization dedicated to stimulating conversation about peace and Canada’s role in peacemaking during the WW I centenaries
One Child can Change the World
A large framed picture of Malala has long been displayed in the Peace and Conflict Studies Department office at Conrad Grebel University College. If people didn’t notice it before, they certainly are noticing it today. The 2014 Nobel Peace prize winners, Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, one Muslim and the other Hindu, exemplify the mission of peace education, demonstrating that individuals can make the world a better place. Both Yousafzai and Satyarthi are brave visionaries struggling against the suppression of children and young people, and are fighting for the right of all children to education.
“I’m excited about the fact that Malala was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize,” said Lowell Ewert, Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies program. “She deserves the award because of her inspiring commitment to peace. She also is proof that young people can have an enormous impact. Secondly, over the last few months, we have been working with Malala’s father, Ziauddin. He’s a genuine peace advocate who has been talking with us about developing some collaborative work together. It’s inspiring to work with him and to be engaged in these conversations.”
Conrad Grebel is pleased to have connected with Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala’s father, on a number of occasions, including as part of a large public address in November. Ewert is currently teaching a graduate course in “Building Civil Society.” In an effort to apply their skills in a tangible way, his students are working on a major project to prepare the primary background documents necessary for possibly establishing an NGO called Global Peace Council of Canada (GPCC). This is an initiative of Ziauddin Yousafzai’s and will be affiliated with Global Peace Council of Pakistan. They anticipate that the proposed NGO will be involved in promoting peace education, primarily for schools in regions of conflict.
Recent Master of Peace and Conflict Studies graduate, Jahan Zeb has been the catalyst in bringing the GPCC project to Grebel, fully utilizing Grebel’s peace background and infrastructure. With the establishment of the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement this year, Conrad Grebel has worked towards creating a hub of entrepreneurial and interdisciplinary collaboration, fostering new ways to advance peace in a conflict-filled world. Zeb has a desk in the Epp Peace Incubator, a vital part of the Centre for Peace Advancement that provides an open and collaborative space for peace practitioners. With the goal of bringing occupants of the floor together in an incubator space for discussion and a cross-fertilization of peace, this model is already showing fruitfulness as the GPCC begins to take shape.
Lowell Ewert, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Jahan Zeb, Susan Schultz Huxman
“Malala’s Nobel Peace award means a new world of peace and hope to me, my family and our people,” remarked Jahan Zeb. “Our families in Canada and Pakistan are celebrating this historic moment of our lifetime by sharing congratulatory messages and praying for peace. This award has reinforced confidence in young people and in women and will make our world more peaceful and stable. Insha’Allah!”
“The MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement is well-positioned to incubate practical applications of Malala’s vision,” explained Paul Heidebrecht, Director of the Centre. “We look forward to helping the Global Peace Council Canada build on its connections with Ziauddin to enhance peacebuilding efforts in the Swat Valley of Pakistan.”
Conrad Grebel celebrates with Malala and her mission of peace and education for all. As Malala has said, “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” She has shown this to be true.
On November 12, Mr. Yousafzai addressed a full house at the Theatre of the Arts on the topic "Teaching Peace in the Face of Danger." You can see this presentation on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-I_i7J-UtQ
I Have a Name...
By Lowell Ewert
The kidnapping by the Nigerian militant group, Boko Haram, of 276 young women on April 14, 2014 remains horrifying, even if ongoing negotiations eventually result in their release. I cannot imagine the fear and helplessness that Amina, Deborah, Awa, Naomi and Esther, just five of these kidnapped young women, felt as they were forced from their families, not knowing their fate or whether they would see their loved ones or homes again.
It is inconceivable not just that this kind of thing could happen in 2014, but that it was publicly justified by the leader of the Boko Haram who unapologetically threatened, when talking about Saraya, Hauwa, Ruth, Grace and Deborah – “I will marry out a female at [age] 12. I will do the same for a nine-year old girl like it was done on my own mother…. I am the one that captured your girls and I will sell them in the market. I have my own market of selling people; it is the owner that instructed me to sell. Yes, I will sell the girls, people, I am selling the girls like Allah said, until we soak the ground of Nigeria with infidel’s blood.”1
The sheer number of young women kidnapped is as hard to comprehend as the coldness of the act. Numbers are impersonal. Numbers mask the fact that behind each numeral is a person - a daughter or sister - who was raised in a family, loved by parents, relatives and friends, and whose absence is the cause of unbearable anguish. We can be forgiven to think that the accomplishments of visionary pioneers such as Bertha Von Suttner whose landmark book Lay Down Your Arms in 1889 inspired the peace movement and led to her being named the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905, have come to naught.
But something profoundly hopeful has occurred over the past century. Unlike over a hundred years ago, today the Boko Haram is not only on the wrong side of history, but is generating world-wide condemnation. The revulsion against the inhumanity of kidnapping and selling girls for $12 has crossed political divisions, national borders, ethnic, racial and religious boundaries. The growing clamor we hear today from all quarters around the world is demanding respect for the rights of these innocent girls. It was not always this way.
Early in the 20th century in Canada, Emily Murphy was repeatedly challenged as she tried to carry out the duties of being a judge in a court of law. She could not be a judge, it was argued, because only “persons” could be judges, and women were not “persons.” The Canada Supreme Court on April 24, 1928 affirmed this proposition that women were indeed not persons.2 It wasn’t until over a year later on October 18, 1929, that women were finally determined by the British Privy Council to be persons under Canadian law. 3
During the Nuremberg war crimes trials following World War II in which Nazi atrocities were prosecuted, Hermann Goering complained that his rights were violated as he alleged that he was being charged with offenses that were in fact not a crime when committed. When called to account for the abuses against civilians he participated in fostering, he stated “But that was our right! We were a sovereign State and that was strictly our business.” Although his claims were repugnant, he was technically correct as under prevailing written international law at the time, the individual was deemed to be an object, or essentially property of the country of citizenship.
The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, turned this notion that people were considered to be property on its head, and placed the humanity and dignity of all human kind into the center of political discourse. “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law,” Article 6 of the Declaration reads. No longer are human beings considered to be property. They are people, “entitled to inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” Human rights treaties, with their goal to turn the peace ideals of persons like Bertha Von Suttner into reality, enshrined into international law, for the first time in international legal history, the principle that everyone, with no exceptions, is entitled to be treated with dignity. And dignity always begins with a name.
One of the most searing memories I have from the international development work I have done over the years took place in June 1999 when I visited Kosovo, following the end of the Kosovo war. During the refugee crisis that was precipitated by the war, as Kosovar refugees were fleeing Serbian controlled areas, the authorities confiscated every piece of paper that the refugees were carrying that had a name on it – passports, birth certificates, school grade reports, drivers licenses, insurance forms, etc. – and destroyed these papers. When refugees returned home following the end of the war, many returned with not one official piece of paper with their name on it.
While sitting in the Human Rights Office in Pristina, Kosovo, one day, I overheard a father explaining to a human rights worker that his son had been killed while fleeing Kosovo. The father had buried his son and now wanted to have him legally declared to be dead. The problem was that all the father had to prove his son had lived was a single photo that he showed to the human rights worker. All documentation that had his son’s name on it had been confiscated and destroyed by the authorities. How do you declare that someone is legally dead when you can’t prove that they have ever lived? How do you prove a life when you can’t prove that they ever had a name?
When we celebrate the accomplishments of Nobel Peace prize winners like Bertha von Suttner, and more recently by Malala Yousafzai, let us not forget that the work of peace is unfinished. The conflicts in the Ukraine, Syria, Nigeria, Congo, Sudan and even with our own Aboriginal communities in Canada should challenge us not to get too smug about how civilized as a global society we have become. But let us not get discouraged either. Where you stand determines what you see. If our vision is simply looking around at the violations of human rights that still happen today, we can lose heart. Too many people still suffer from violence, conflict and injustice not of their own doing. If however, we stand with history, and take the long view, the change is breathtaking. In 1905, in 1928, and in 1948, people were understood under international law to essentially be property. Today, anyone who tries to make this claim is globally condemned, and denounced as a criminal, not as a patriot. These changes in how people are viewed politically over the last 60 years have been more profound than anything that happened in the previous 600 years. This is inspiring.
And it all begins with a name – by humanizing conflicts, war, injustice – something that Von Suttner did in the early 1900s and that Malala Yousafzai has done more recently. “I am Malala,” was her response to those who tried to silence her. I would like to conclude these comments by shamelessly adapting the words of the Prophet Isaiah.
Take heart, even if you are in fear, Mary, Awa, Asabe, Tabitha, Kume and your over 200 other friends who have been taken by the Boko Haram. Because the global community knows your name. When you pass through these outrageous violations of human rights you are now experiencing, you will not be alone. The fires of evil and injustice will not erase your dignity, your humanity or memory. Your name will be remembered.
In this, there is hope. In this act of saying a name, something sacred happens.
1 “To end global poverty, educate girls,” by Maria Arana, writer-at-large for The Washington Post, Waterloo Region Record, Saturday, May 17, 2014, page A15. 2 http://canadaonline.about.com/cs/women/a/personscase.htm 3 http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/rights-freedoms/general-2/women-become-persons.html viewed May 17, 2014.
The Austrian Ambassador Arno Riedel (right) visited Grebel this past May, to view the “Life of Peace” exhibit and listen to a commissioned concert by Austrian musicians. Over one hundred years ago, Bertha von Suttner, an avid Austrian pacifist, became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in 1843, Suttner was in many ways ahead of her time as the figurehead of a world-wide peace movement. As a writer and lecturer, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for her most famous novel Lay Down your Arms.
The Community that Reads Together
By Ally Siebert, 3rd year English Student
We can all acknowledge that reading has benefit unto itself, even though many university students lament the amount of reading we do for school. But the ever-growing movement of shared reading, in which a small group, school, neighbourhood, or nation is involved in reading and discussing the same book, carries with it the ability to transport a diverse group of people into a singular, shared story.
In November of last year, a committee was formed with the task of finding a book that could act as a part of the Grebel community’s story for the 2014-2015 school year. The idea? To select a book, send it out to all residents, associates, faculty, and staff to read over the summer, and use it to reconnect when gathering again in September.
The goal of the Grebel Reads program is to provide a connection point for people at the beginning of the school year and to continue building community throughout the year by discussing larger issues reflected in the book. The selection committee, headed by Student Services, included four students, a faculty member, three staff members, and a veritable diversity of opinions. We solicited and received countless submissions of favourite novels and inspiring stories from first year and upper year students, from students on co-op (even some at placements halfway around the world), and from staff and faculty as well.
Logistically, we were looking for a book of medium length, and something accessible to many different reading and interest levels. Beyond that, we debated fiction vs. non-fiction, classics vs. new releases, and which of Grebel’s values we were interested in discussing further through the book: Peace? Social Justice? Spirituality?
In January 2014, after much discussion and review of our hopes for the book, the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese was chosen for the inaugural Grebel Reads program.
Indian Horse tells the story of Saul Indian Horse, an Ojibway man reliving his traumatic childhood experience of being removed from his family and traditional way of life and taken to a Canadian Indian residential school. Between the abuse and the loneliness, Saul struggles to make it through those early years. However, in fast-moving descriptive scenes and detailed narrative, he vividly explains the moment of his salvation: not from the assimilation attempts of the school, but from the ice hockey he learns to play on the school’s outdoor rink. Hockey serves as an escape from his everyday neglect and abuse but also acts as a release for the anger built up in Saul because of his disconnectedness from family, home, and identity. It proves to be something at which he excels, and he makes it as far as an NHL team. But while hockey may be used to stave off the anger, it can’t take it away. Eventually, he winds up in a rehab treatment program working through an alcohol addiction; this is where the novel begins.
The Grebel community has really soaked it in. First year science and business student Sarah Wright says, “Though at times it was a heavy read, I enjoyed Indian Horse and the insight it gave to a dark, but very real, part of Canadian history.” It is a powerful story, but does not leave a reader feeling hopeless. As Sarah puts it, “The message of true healing being found in community was also very relevant and provided hope even in the midst of all his adversaries.” Other students have said that it was the first time they had been able to put a face to the history that has only recently started to be understood.
And it’s true. The importance of storytelling cannot be underestimated. In the past few years, accounts have been emerging from the survivors of Canadian Indian residential schools and what we are hearing is often unspeakable. Saul Indian Horse may be a fictional character, but the story is full of truth. Even as far as the connection to hockey goes, famous NHL players like Fred Sasakamoose learned the game in a residential school, as did Willie Littlechild, commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that is responsible for much of the work in bringing countless testimonies into public consciousness. We hope that in reading Indian Horse, the Grebel community can also share in the experience of reconciling Canada’s shameful past with what we hope will be a very different future.
Already this year, the Grebel community has had time for shared reading and some introductory conversation about the novel and about the issues that surround it. These conversations will continue in the next few months with a dessert night hosted by
It is our hope that the community that reads together not only sticks together, but also learns to enter the story and become part of its next chapter.
Music News
Tim Corlis
New to Grebel’s Music faculty, Tim Corlis was invited as a guest artist to compose and direct a commissioned work for the Songs of the Soul Concert in New York City. The commission celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the (1) Gandharva Loka World Music Stores. The performing ensemble was the Gandharva Loka Orchestra, a consortium of professional musicians from all over the world who come together to perform music honouring the life and legacy of peace visionary, composer, musician, and spiritual leader, Sri Chinmoy.
Tim also anticipates an interesting bicultural collaboration on November 15 where his commissioned piece for the Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba’s 50th celebration will feature the Faith & Life Men’s and Women’s choirs and a First Nations group called the Buffalo Gals.
Maisie Sum
In her second year as a Music faculty member, Maisie Sum has continued to showcase the Grebel Gamelan, introducing it to many new audiences. The crowds that gather after each concert indicate a strong desire to know more about this Balinese set of instruments, and audience members are always welcome to test it out. With great success, Maisie has also taken over the task of arranging free Noon Hour Concerts held in the chapel throughout the year (2).
Mark Vuorinen
Also in his second year as Assistant Music Professor at Grebel, Mark Vuorinen has expertly seized the baton and consistently shows his proficiency at conducting. As director of the Chamber Choir, he most recently took the group to Toronto where they performed at Church of the Redeemer with the Cardinal Consort of Viols. (4) Mark also led a group of 300 high school students for their region wide Choral Day.(3)
For music students and alumni who graduated 3 years ago or less, Mark is running a Trio Prize contest, which entails setting to music a suite of sonnets from the forthcoming collection Trio by Sarah Tolmie.
Discovering the Secrets of Tomorrow
“May you dream and may you live now by way of the dream,” commissioned John Paul Lederach, keynote speaker at Grebel’s 2014 Convocation. His inspiring words encouraged over 100 graduating students to live in the here and now. “So here you are, ending and commencing,” he continued. “Before you the choice: To beautify and soften, to touch the moral imagination of the poet dreamer, to live into the here and now, surrounded by a cloud of witness. To bring into existence that which does not yet exist. To be true to yourself, to let the dream fly, to live the eternal now, the moment where you see and touch the human character you have been gifted.”
John Paul Lederach was the recipient of Grebel’s first honorary doctorate, given in the 50th year of the College’s existence. Lederach is Professor of International Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, and concurrently Distinguished Scholar at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, VA. “Lederach is an exemplary scholar and innovative peace practitioner on the world stage,” said Grebel President Susan Schultz
As always, Convocation was a joyous event, as the Grebel community celebrated the achievements of undergraduate resident students, Peace and Conflict Studies students, and Music students. The beloved tradition of sharing each student’s future plans brought laughter and accolades, with students getting married, traveling, returning to school, starting careers, or job hunting. Music grad, Jane Honek represented the class as valediction, asking her fellow graduates to “Think about what Grebel has taught you over your years here.” She continued, “Things that Grebel has taught us will help us on this next journey we take as young adults. We may be moving on but that doesn’t mean Grebel has to be left
Degrees were conferred upon students graduating with a Master of Theological Studies and the first graduates from the Master in Peace and Conflict Studies were acknowledged. Rachel Reist represented the grad students as valedictorian, describing our “community of love, friendship, intellectual discussion, mutual growth, and shared experiences. This is the spirit of studying at Grebel,” she continued, “and it models a paradigm for engaging with the communities that we might find ourselves in, in the future. I have learned more from my classmates than any book we read, and I am constantly in awe of the wisdom, experience, fire, passion, and beauty of my colleagues – my colleagues who are now more family than anything. And now, as this chapter ends – I am truly inspired and excited to see what we will become, where we will go, the challenges we will take on, the impact we will have, and the world that we will create.”
The Music of Life
“She goes deeper....functioning as an artistic grand connector,” described President Susan Schultz Huxman. “She brings disparate disciplines together - musicians, scientists, environmentalists, peace scholars, sonic artists, theologians, historians, poets, and writers from far-flung places, to fuse unique sounds and to form a new trans-disciplinary community that explores the role of music in human life from new perspectives. Thank you, Carol Ann, for your commitment to community building in the life of the College. And for the shear breadth and boldness of your musical career in both substance and style.”
2004 Music and Culture trip to South Africa
“Carol Ann’s style is inimitable,” remarked Nathan Funk. “One might say that she takes Mennonite non-conformism to new and surprising heights. She is truly one of a kind.”
According to Reina Neufeldt, “Carol’s willingness to stand out, take risks, play piano furiously, and be herself is always apparent and something I appreciate since, like good spice, it made things more flavorful, created contrasts and packed a zing.”
“I have been inspired by how she uses music to express underlying and overarching values of peace, justice and dignity for all,” explained Lowell Ewert. “When exposed to the make poverty history movement, she wrote a song lamenting the fact that every three seconds a child dies from a preventable cause. When the loss of hope impacted a family member, she responded with music. Her enthusiasm for music as a source of reconciliation was evident in what students told me about the trips Carol Ann led to South Africa. They told me that they found her, as well as the South African musicians, to be a source of inspiration. Where there is hope there is music. Carol fostered both.”
“We have all been fortunate to have worked with you, learned with you, laughed with you and have been transformed by you,” mentioned Maisie Sum.
As Grebel faculty reflected on their relationships with Carol Ann, it became clear that she has touched each person in the Grebel community. In the words of Ken Hull (and in the style of Carol Ann): “Surely we wish you and Lyle the longest and happiest retirement in the world!”
Carol Ann has been named Professor Emerita.
Lighting of a Fire
This summer, Conrad Grebel University College celebrated Jim Pankratz’s career as he completed 8.5 years as a gracious and encouraging Dean.
At his retirement dinner, faculty expressed their deep appreciation for Jim’s very thoughtful counsel. “He is unflappable and is willing to spend the time needed to sort through various issues. He is supportive by nature, and has been committed to the vitality and integrity of the College.”
Many words of affirmation were offered for Jim’s excellence as a profoundly committed and relational leader. Jim cared deeply about both his colleagues and the institutional mission. His daily practices embodied community and connection, as well as conviction and willingness to stretch himself to address whatever he determined to be the overriding priority of the moment. His tenacity and endurance during a time of transition were indispensable to the well-being of the Grebel community.
When Jim arrived at Grebel in 2006, he took on many responsibilities in addition to his regular duties. He led Grebel’s Theological Studies program in to a full conjoint-degree partnership with the University of Waterloo. He supported four major program reviews - in PACS, Music, Mennonite Studies and Theological Studies. And in the past three years alone he led the faculty searches that resulted in six new hires. In fact, in his career at Grebel, Jim hired and supported more than 40 faculty and senior academic and administrative staff, supervising, mentoring, encouraging, and evaluating them.
Prior to his service at Grebel, Jim served as dean or president at 3 other colleges and universities spanning 28 years before that: Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno, California, Concord College in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Mennonite Brethren Bible College in Winnipeg. Clearly, Jim was destined for successful senior administration!
Beyond academic posts at universities in Manitoba and California, Jim served as Director of Mennonite Central Committee in Bangladesh, and Regional Personnel and Program Advisor for MCC, South Asia, India, and Nepal.
He’s also served as dean of students, boys basketball coach, officiated at many weddings of college students, wrote a bimonthly column for 20 years for the MB Herald, started a mini church for children, taught Sunday School, built houses for Habitat for Humanity, presented former President Jimmy Carter with a peace award, hiked in New Zealand, climbed Half dome in Yosemite park, developed the Outtatown program for Canadian Mennonite University, and preached regularly in churches across Canada.
“Jim you have been a wonderful colleague, a valued administrator and mentor, and have become a very good friend,” wrote Professor Emeritus Len Enns. “I expect much will be said about your gifts, and the way you have returned those gifts through your generous and seemingly tireless contributions as le
The Dean’s Pick
Kenny Hildebrand, Trevor Bechtel, Sandrine Uwimana, Anna Cullar
The Dean’s Pick is an essay contest open to all Grebel students. The winners are chosen by Trevor Bechtel, Dean, who also writes the introductions to the papers and edits them for Grebel Now. These papers showcase the student work that happens at Grebel across the University’s many disciplines.
This issue’s essays were difficult to choose from among the many worthy entries. Especially notable were essays on Introversion, Pastoral Idioms in Music, Standards in Science, Environment Justice and the Cheran in Mexico. Originally I had intended to select one graduate essay and one undergraduate essay but two very strong short pieces demanded inclusion and so I now have four pieces of writing to share with you. For concerns of space in print all scholarly apparatus has been removed. The essays are edited for length but not for writing or content. The papers appear in full on the Grebel Now website.
The graduate winners
are a powerful short piece on the plight of refugees and an introduction to disability studies in Nepal. Both are excerpted here. Disability studies is currently a very active field across numerous disciplines in Western thought. This essay is particularly compelling owing to its strong counter-intuitive argument about the reality of disability in places like Nepal.
Disability Discourse in South Asia & Global Disability Governance
Brief disability overview:
Disability studies, although an emerging discipline, has already advanced in the West compared to the Global South in that the discourses pertaining to the disability movement and scholarship have shifted their focus from mere survival debates of the disabled people to more subtle and nuanced forms and manifestations of disability existence. This paradigm shift from the corporeal to the ontological dominates much of the disability discourse in the West. In this connection, Anita Ghai observes that “the discourse in the developed world has progressed from the issues of service delivery and rehabilitation to an engagement with the multiple nuances/meanings of disabled existence”. In the present article, I am interested in exploring some of the pressing issues confronted by the people with disabilities in South Asia in general and Nepal in particular. While doing so, I try to situate the locus of the disability praxis in South Asia in the light of the global disability governance and the Western disability discourse that underlies the governance …
Disability is a global phenomenon affecting the entirety of the world. It is not specific to any one particular country, creed, color, age, or race. Anyone can become bodily or mentally dysfunctional at any point of time in life. In the present industrially and technologically driven society, people are far more likely to succumb to disabilities. Moreover, when people advance in age, the chances of being disabled remain high. According to one report, most people are not born disabled; they acquire disability at some point in life as only 15 percent of the people with disabilities were actually born with a disability. That means the remaining 85 percent of the disabled population comprises of those people who acquire disability later in life.
People with disabilities in any part of the world are made scapegoats and have to bear the brunt. However, the situation of the people with disabilities in the developing countries has become further complicated and compounded due to pervasive poverty, discriminatory legal and institutional apparatuses, lack of awareness, lack of accessible infrastructures, and the unavailability of proper and timely health care facilities. 85-90 percent of the global population of persons with disabilities is estimated to be residing in the developing countries. The United Nations estimated that more than 1.3 billion people live in abject poverty in the Global South, 600 million of which are disabled. The fact that such a large segment of the disabled population resides in the developing world implies that they are living their lives in a vicious circle of disability and poverty.
My understanding of the status of the disabled people partly emanates from my own lived experiences back in Nepal – I witnessed how the people with disabilities, especially in the remote parts of Nepal, were dehumanized and stigmatized as “wretched,” “worthless” and “sinful” lot both in their families and in society at large. I myself had to live through the stigma of being disabled in my childhood when people would jeer at me when seeing me walking with a limp. In my view, the way the people with disabilities are stigmatized, humiliated and stereotyped engenders far-reaching wider psychological ramifications and repercussions that are far beyond the gaze of the States, activists and even civil society organizations working in the areas of disability. My passion for the disability issues became further robust when I was working for the BBC World Service Trust in Kathmandu for a radio-cum-television program called Sajha Sawal (The Common Question) that aimed to bring about a transformative change through exposing and exploring the hidden issues and grievances of the voiceless marginalized and minoritized vulnerable sections of society. In one of its episodes on the state of disability in Nepal, Indra Maya Gurung - even though she was a Member of Parliament then – revealed how she has to fight against myriads of prejudices and discriminations for being disabled, poor and a woman - triply jeopardized. What could the situation of the uneducated, poor women be like in remote areas of the country if an educated female parliamentarian herself is victimized and discriminated against?
When I familiarize myself with the Western disability discourse in academia and its praxis as manifested on the governments’ actions of taking full cognizance of the rights of the people with disabilities here in the North, I realize that a huge gap exists between the South and the North. The issues pertinent to the disabled people in the developed world may not be the concerns of paramount importance to the disabled people in the developing world. When researchers, activists and scholars in the West are raising the issue of the disabled people as a “human rights” issue, the people with disabilities in the South are still struggling for mere survival with their deteriorating physical and mental deformities and impairments in the absence of timely proper medical interventions…
Growing Your Gifts
“If I make a gift to Grebel to an endowment how is it invested?” This is a question that Development Director, Fred Martin loves to answer. First of all it means that a donor is ready to make a substantial gift and secondly it means that students or programs will receive financial support for years to come.
The annual report shows that Grebel’s endowment portfolio was just shy of a Fair Market Value of $6 million as of April 2014. These are almost evenly split between award endowments and progr
John Good with Ingira Reimer and Rachel Trites, winners of the Good Foundation Scholarship
There are over 40 award funds and 15 program endowments invested by Grebel’s Finance and Development committee. These gifts are pooled and invested according to policy guidelines that require 40% of the funds to be in fixed income investment tools (i.e. Guaranteed Investment Certificates) and 60% in equities.
The policy also states that “The College gives priority to Socially Responsible Investments (SRI).”
Rick Shantz, who recently served as chair of this committee, noted “The Board of Governors sees SRI investments as an important part of our investment portfolio. With an investment policy that has a 60% equity target, we want to ensure we seek opportunities for financial return that are aligned with our values as board members of a Mennonite college.”
For many years Grebel has turned to Meritas (now a part of OceanRock) for its equity investment needs. Director of Finance, Sara Cressman says, “Meritas has provided good service, reasonable returns, and aligns with our mission to pursue justice and peace in service to church and society.” Meritas uses a variety of ethical screens including the Jantzi Social Index which is now part of Sustainalytics to select companies in which to invest.
Winners of the Robin Coupland Jutzi Award: Robyn Gossen,
Tim Souza, Jesse Yantzi with Calvin Jutzi and Judy Gascho-Jutzi
Once a year, Gary Hawton, President of OceanRock Investments, visits with the Finance and Development committee to report and provide advice on investment strategies. He also updates the committee on Meritas’ Shareholder activism. This means that through Meritas, Grebel’s voice for justice is heard on issues like executive compensation packages, worker safety issues or environmental concerns at the Annual General Meetings of large corporations.
So how do our annual earnings compare? For the last 3 years we have been generating returns of 3.5% which has compared well to other universities that have been lower. Sara Cressman is anticipating a 4% draw in 2015-16 which means that an endowment of $100,000 will generate $4,000 for award or program revenue.
Using a lower draw in recent years has also meant that there are some deferred funds that can be used if there is are low investment returns.
In addition to endowments the college also provides budget resources for student awards and bursaries. This year we anticipate giving out 250 awards and bursaries to 200 students totaling $350,000. A large portion of this budgetary support comes from revenue for the Master of Theological Studies and Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies programs.
New programs also create new needs and opportunities. The Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies has many applicants from overseas who have significant financial needs with travel expenses and international tuition.
Director of Student Services, Mary Brubaker-Zehr observes that “While we have a good variety of upper year residential scholarships, we do need more entrance awards.”
“Endowed award funds a
Alumnus Ed Penner (BASc ‘86) (left) established a new award for engineering students called the Marpeck Leadership Award. The inaugural recipient was Trevor Kuepfer (right).
2014 Grads Head out into the World
Master of Peace and Conflict Studies
Preparing students with the knowledge and practical skills needed to contribute to nonviolent peace building efforts is the goal of the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program. Our first group of graduates is already making their mark on the world! Ellen Sikorksi and Melody Chen are pursuing further education, Melody is attending the Singapore Management University School of Law Juris Doctor programme and Ellen is begun a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba. Rachel Reist and Kelly Brown both recently started working in the PACS office at Grebel. Rod Friesen is the Network Manager for Community Action Program for Children at the Carizon Family and Community Services. Noe Gonzalia is a peace building consultant. Ben Bauman is farming and Brent Charette is the Church Engagement Minister at Mennonite Church Canada. Patty Dorsey is the co-founder of Unity Canadian International School, Pakistan. Jahan Zeb is working on building a Canadian branch of the Global Peace Council Pakistan.
Theological Studies
The Graduate Theological Studies program focuses on the study of Christianity and the mission of the Christian church in the world from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective within an ecumenical context. Students usually pursue this degree for personal enrichment, to prepare for church ministry, or to go on to doctoral studies. The 2014 graduating class represents all of these areas of interest and we’ve gathered current activities of some of these recent grads. Kyle Wijnands is working at a personal care home, Ben Cassels is pastoring at Waterloo North Mennonite Church, and Chris Brnjas will be Grebel’s interim Chaplain for 7 months starting in January. Sean East is the pastor at West Hills Mennonite Fellowship and Kevin Guenther Trautwein is the associate pastor at Lendrum Mennonite Brethren Church in Edmonton. Melanie Kampen will be pursuing a PhD next year.
The Conrad Grebel community congratulates each of our graduates on their achievements and wishes them all the best as they pursue their vocation.
Faculty Activities
All faculty and administrators who were involved in the launch and management of the Peace and Conflict Studies program from 1977 to today, were invited to discuss, reflect, debate and share stories of its trajectory for an oral history project. Guests included Lowell Ewert, Tom Yoder Neufeld, Mary Lou Klassen, Dean Peachy, Ron Mathies, Hildi Froese Tiessen, Conrad Brunk, and Ernie Regehr. youtube.com/ConradGrebelUC
Reina Neufeldt was a feature speaker for the Network for Peacebuilding Evaluation’s Thursday Talk webinar series, speaking on “Better Strategies for Analyzing Narrative Data.” The maxed-out audience was a mix of field-based peacebuilding personnel, NGO members, students, and people who do evaluation for a living. Watch it at
dmeforpeace.org/discuss/better-strategies-analyzing-narrative-data
Derek Suderman was the 2014 Benjamin Eby Lecturer, speaking on “Seeking Peace as the End of Lament.” In this lecture, he explained that “the Christian tradition has long been uncomfortable with the articulation of lament. For some, Jesus’ call to love enemies is even seen as a rejection of this genre, given the prominence of violent wishes or imprecations against enemies found within it. Over time praise and confession have come to dominate the liturgical experience of many worshiping communities, while lament has largely disappeared.” Watch the lecture at grebel.ca/eby
Carol Ann Weaver, Professor Emerita traveled to Kinshasa, Congo this fall with medical Doctor Margaret Loewen. They attended the first graduation of the class of medical students at Congo Protestant University in Kinshasa. As well, Margaret and Carol visited rural and urban health clinics, visited classes and met professors and students at the university, explored Kinshasa, and heard as much live music as possible. Carol worked on an electroacoustic composition based on field recordings and spoken word, which will serve as part of a longer piece to be premiered at Mennonite/s Writing in Fresno, California, March 2015. To the right she is pictured with Mama Swana and Mama Kadi at the MCC office in Kinshasa.
Tom Yoder Neufeld, Professor Emeritus from Conrad Grebel, spent two months this fall in the United Kingdom on a peace tour sponsored by The Anabaptist Network. He and his wife Rebecca are spoke at numerous events and interacted with many communities linked to the Network. As a final event called ‘Who would Jesus shoot?’ Tom debated Professor Nigel Biggar on the theological ethics of war.
As is our pattern, this has been a busy fall for Grebel faculty. We have been involved in attending conferences and lectures, conducting concerts, writing essays and of course in teaching our courses. We have preached in area congregations and been involved in supporting the academic and communal life of our college and the university. Of particular note are new compositions by Tim Corlis, highlighted elsewhere in this issue of Grebel Now, and new books by Alicia Batten and Derek Suderman.
Alicia Batten is the co-editor of Dressing Judeans and Christians in Antiquity which was released in August. The connection between dress and identity has advanced significantly in the past two decades. This volume considers the religious aspects and use of dress. Alicia’s essay, “The Paradoxical Pearl: Signifying the Pearl East and West” considers the significance of pearls in relation to the places where pearls were harvested, valued and traded.
Alicia has also just published a book entitled James, 1 & 2 Peter, and Early Jesus Traditions with John S. Kloppenborg. This book studies comparisons and possible trajectories between three ‘catholic’ epistles, and traditions associated with Jesus. The book is an important contribution to scholarship on source criticism, ancient rhetoric, and the influence of Hellenistic, Judean and Roman traditions on early Christianity.
Derek Suderman’s commentary on the book of Psalms appears in The Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha which was released in October. The pattern of this commentary considers the text in its ancient context, in interpretive tradition and in contemporary discussion.
People
In honour of the International Day of Peace, Grebel hosted “The Art of Peace” as an enrichment day for high school students. Led by Johnny Wideman (BA ‘09) and Kimberlee Walker (BA ‘12) from The
As a top contender in the interactive television series, Canada’s Smartest Person, Victoria Leenders-Cheng (BA ‘04) is a mother to two children, the full time editor of McGill Law School’s Alumni magazine, a classically trained musician and an accomplished athlete. Victoria won the fourth round of the show this fall, and will participate in the series finale w
Jan Brubacher who lived at Grebel back in 1983, is currently living in Tofino, BC. She stopped by with her parents and daughter Lucy to visit and see the new Grebel building.
Brad Simpson (BSc ‘78) changed jobs this year after 34 years at KW Habilitation. He now works at KidsAbility Centre for Child Development where, as a pediatric kinesiologist, he provides service to preschool aged children who have issues with movement. Since kinesiology is now a regulated health profession in Ontario, he is a member of a team that provides a variety of services to help children optimize their functioning level. Brad still has ties to the University of Waterloo as he supervises students for Dr. Eric Roy’s Kin 493 practicum. Liz and Brad live in Waterloo and have 2 adult children.
This summer, an am
Former Vice President Administration at Conrad Grebel during the 1990s, Ronald Sawatsky passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at his home on June 28th, 2014, at the age of 64. His curiosity, ability to engage with people, and commitment to education has been an inspiration not only to his children, but to the many others whose lives he has touched.
Diana Burrowes (BA ‘10) graduated from Grebel’s music program. Since then she has spent her time traveling and teaching. After graduating, she spent four months teaching music to under-privileged kids in Guyana with the Tina Insanally Foundation, and continues to do so for
On November 12, 2013, the Japan Tennou Emperor Akihito conferred on Dr. King Yasuyuki Horiguchi (BASc ‘69), the Fifth Grade Order of Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays at Shunju-no-ma Room of Spring and Fall at Imperial Palace, Tokyo with his wife Yoshiko.
Alumni "Coming Home"
This year, Grebel has welcomed quite a number of new faculty, staff, and administrators to the College. It it particularly gratifying to note so many Grebel alumni and former students among the new hires.
|
 Trevor Bechtel (lived at Grebel in the 80s) |
 Chris Brnjas (BA ‘12, MTS ‘14) |
 Kelly Brown (BA ‘12, MPACS ‘14) PACS Admin Officer, Grad Studies Coordinator |
|---|---|---|
|
 Tim Corlis (BSc ‘98) |
 Paul Heidebrecht (BASc ‘94) |
 Caleb (BA ‘10) & Michelle Jackett |
|
 Michelle Jackett |
 Rachel Reist (BA ‘12, MPACS ‘14) PACS Undergrad Academic & Admin Officer & Field Studies Coordinator |
 Jessica Scott (BA ‘13) |
