Institute for Peace Studies

As part of the Center for Civic Engagement and in advancement of its mission and strategy, the Institute for Peace Studies (IPS) enables Hofstra University to be a key player in constructively transforming local, national, and transnational conflicts ranging from hate crimes and gang violence to terrorism and warfare. The institute also provides our students and communities with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to handle disputes arising in a variety of organizational settings. Our faculty partners specializing in peace and conflict studies come from numerous disciplines and schools including the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Health Professions and Human Services, School of Education, The Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, and Maurice A. Deane School of Law.

For additional information, please contact IPS@hofstra.edu.

Institute for Peace Studies Programming

Includes:

• Course offerings such as “Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies” and “War, Peace, and the Media.”
• The Peace Fellows Program administered by the Center for Civic Engagement in partnership with the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives.
• Professor Michael D’Innocenzo’s work with the Kettering Foundation, the National Issues Forums Institute, and the Herman Goldman Foundation to deepen democracy through participatory deliberation.
• Developing a study abroad program affiliated with the United Nations University in Costa Rica, a Paths to Peace study abroad program run by Hofstra faculty where students visit conflict and post-conflict zones, and internships that address direct and structural violence locally, nationally, and globally.
• Offering mentoring and networking opportunities for our students through the International Institute for Peace Education, the International Peace Research Association, and the Peace, War, and Social Conflict section of the American Sociological Association.
• Collaborating with the Center for Civic Engagement and its community partners to link local and international community partnerships so as to exchange best practices; and producing a series of action-oriented research projects focusing on human rights and social justice issues.
• Working with the Hofstra Cultural Center to organize conferences that will assist scholars and practitioners with networking and identifying best practices (e.g., a conference on responses to spoiler violence in peace processes).

Institutional Support

• The Harry H. Wachtel Distinguished Professorship for the Study of Nonviolent Social Change (endowment already exists)
• Annual program budget through the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
• Office suite to be shared with the Center for Civic Engagement

Community Support

In spring 2018, the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives contributed funds toward stipends for 12 fellows and a coordinator for the student Peace Fellows program – a community partnership with the Center for Civic Engagement.