CR Education
Home » Policymakers & Admins »

Manual for Community Colleges Developing Programs in Peace & Conflict Studies

Collaborating institutions include: Global Issues Resource Center, Cuyahoga Community College; Greenfield Community College; Nashua Community College; Jamestown Community College; Golden West College; Allegheny Community College; Howard Community College and the United States Institute of Peace. (Note: our second edition is being developed at ConflictStudies.org.)

logos of participating projects
On June 12, 2009, community college faculty and administrators participated in a Capacity Building Seminar for Community Colleges with Peace and Conflict Studies Programs in Cleveland, Ohio hosted by Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College. Attendees included those who currently support programs in conflict resolution/management and peace and/or justice studies. They shared examples and models for capacity building for related programs. One of the expressed goals of this seminar was to create a “How to” manual on key topics as a resource for those in the development or expansion process for degree or certificate programs in conflict, peace or justice studies.

This manual is a product of a collaboration from this meeting in 2009 in which lessons learned on the process of developing programs, certificates, and degrees in the field for community colleges were shared and from the U.S. Community College Seminar: Developing Peace and Conflict Studies Programs held in 2011. It is a resource for faculty and administrators authored by faculty and administrators.

The group is pleased to now be able to share their work with others. You can download the original full manual (click here to download) as one pdf file, or or just review individual sections using the links found in the table of contents below.

Community College faculty and administrators as well as members of international colleges and universities and Ministries of Education met to address three tracks: (1) Capacity Building and Sustainability of Programs, (2) Course Development/Integration, and (3) Supplemental Programming on June 12 and 13, 2011. The “U.S. Community College Seminar: Developing Peace and Conflict Studies Programs” was co-hosted by Global Issues Resource Center and the United States Institute of Peace. Action plans were created to help move their College’s work forward in their own institutions.

Table of Contents for First Edition

The chapters submitted reflect a range of approaches and writing styles – some informal, others more rigorous. The authors generally approached topics in a generic way providing recommendations that could be used in a range of institutions. Some pieces reflect looking at one institution and its efforts in a case study approach and then focusing on lessons learned. Overall, the chapters demonstrate the range of strategies that community colleges – arguably the most diverse and varied academic institutions in the U.S. today – are taking to teaching about peace and conflict issues. As such, the writing is reflective of the topics and settings they arise from. It is the intent of the editors that chapters will continue to be edited, updated, revised, and new articles added as the field develops and community college involvement increases.

Looking for contributions to second edition!

A new edition is being developed. More information is available at ConflictStudies.org