John Paul 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. Previously he served as Professor of Sociology and Conflict Studies at EMU where he was the founding director of EMU’s Conflict Transformation Program and its associated institute for Justice andPeacebuilding.
At Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute, where he has taught for 13 years,Lederach also directs the Peace Accords Matrix. He is the author of 22 books, most recently When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation (with Angela Lederach). He holds two other honorary doctoral degrees from Elms College and BlufftonCollege.
An internationally recognized figure for his pioneering work in conflict transformation, Lederach is involved in conciliation work in Colombia, the Philippines, and Nepal, plus countries in East and West Africa. He has helped design and conduct training programs in 25 countries across five continents. In August 2013, Lederach was appointed director of the Peace Accords Matrix, the Kroc Institute's unique source of comparable data on all comprehensive peace agreements that have been signed since 1989. He has held guest appointments at seminaries: Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana and large research universities ranging from Oxford and Barcelona to Syracuse and Colorado.
“Lederach is an exemplary scholar and innovative peace practitioner on the world stage” said Grebel President Susan Schultz Huxman. “He is a natural fit for Grebel’s first honorary doctoral degree because he embodies the best of our signature academic areas in peace and conflict studies, religion and theological studies and music and the creative arts, emphasizes the importance of Anabaptist/Mennonite education, and is an inspiring teacher and storyteller.”
Appropriately, Lederach will offer the address at this year’s convocation ceremony as the College celebrates the first graduates from the new Master in Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) at Conrad Grebel and the University of Waterloo. Degrees will be conferred to Master of Theological Studies graduates at this ceremony and undergrads from the Grebelresidence, Music and PACS programs, who receive their degrees at the University of Waterloo convocation services, will also be recognized.
A public forum with Lederach will also be hosted at Conrad Grebel on April 12.
For more information contact:
The President’s Office
Conrad Grebel University College
140 Westmount Road, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G6
519/885-0220 x 24237
cgcpres@uwaterloo.ca