, through its School of Peace and Conflict Studies, is taking a proactive approach to addressing many of the complex and divisive issues students face today. The school aims to equip students with mediation skills, enabling them to foster constructive dialogues and spark change within their communities. Focusing on training students to engage meaningfully, even with those they disagree with, is not only a key strategy of the program but also a core value of Kent State.
This initiative is particularly relevant given the current atmosphere of protests and global conflicts, like the Israel-Hamas war, which have affected college campuses nationwide. Through the work being done in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, students learn the value of open communication and how to mediate disputes – skills that are becoming increasingly important in today’s divided society. The program’s goal is to make students feel heard while also promoting understanding across differing viewpoints.
Here, Kent State Today shares an interview with R. Neil Cooper, Ph.D., director of the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, who and how this program can change students’ experiences both on and off campus during such a politically contentious time.
“One of the things we do is teach real-world skills around mediation and negotiation and peace-building, for instance,” Cooper said in the Ideastream Public Media interview. “So, a lot our work with our students – we do the book learning and the academic courses – but a lot our work is actually doing simulation exercises, role-play exercises so they are actually doing this stuff, and they are able to translate it into real-world settings and real-world context. That can be in the family, in the workplace or it can be in the international arena, and we’ve got colleagues within the school who are experts in all those different dimensions of conflict.”