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Promoting Peace through Good Governance of Organizations and Systems Delivering Services

Rod Friesen graduated from Conrad Grebel University College in 2013 from the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program. He began working with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario in May 2017, where he oversees several service delivery and restorative justice-related projects in his role as a Restorative Justice Program Coordinator.

Christian Fox graduated from Grebel’s Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program in June 2015. Before that he completed an undergraduate degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. He currently works for the Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre as a Conflict Resolution Service Facilitator. The focus of the role is to help mediate neighbour disputes.

Restorative Justice means a lot of things to Laurel Boytim, who graduated from Conrad Grebel’s Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program in 2019. After graduating, Laurel worked at the John Howard Society in Restorative Justice (RJ) diversion programs, where she developed pre-charge and post-charge programs with the federal crown, police, and Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS).

A team of PACS and MPACS students secured second place in the annual campus-wide Map the System challenge after competing in the finals on April 15, 2021.

Pandemic. Isolation. Stressful politics. Long winter. “Pancakes seem to be the obvious answer,” joked Master of Theological Studies student Christa Van Daele.

Conrad Grebel University College thrives on community, and with all the COVID restrictions in place, staff and students are always looking for creative ways to stay connected.

MPACS Alumnus, Kelsey Gallagher, was drawn to the program because he wanted to work in civil society and was interested in peace and conflict issues, specifically analyzing Canada’s role abroad. “I was also impressed by the teaching staff and that the program emphasized practical learning,” he explains.

MPACS graduate Katelynn Folkerts was recognized as one of five master’s finalists for the University of Waterloo's Alumni Gold Medal Award. The award is granted to one master's student and one doctoral student each year. Being recognized as a finalist places Folkerts among the top 12 students out of more than 1000 students graduating at UWaterloo for the year 2020.

Rebecca Chinamasa, a second-year Master of Peace and Conflict Studies student, recently became a member of The Record's Community Editorial Board for 2020-21.