Kroc donation funds student conference
By LIZ ZANONI
A $500,000 gift from University benefactor Joan Kroc will endow an annual student conference on public issues and policy making.
The conference, to be organized and run by students, will be accompanied by a series of briefing papers on public issues intended to shape public debate, governmental decisions and the effectiveness of foreign policy discussion in other universities and colleges, said Robert Johansen, graduate director of the Kroc Institute.
It will give students real-world experience in expressing ideas in a public arena.
"The conference will influence policy debates and encourage peace and justice value commitment more seriously," Johansen said.
By involving students directly in the policy making process, the conference organizers hope to send recommendations from students to government officials, Johansen explained.
The Kroc Institute for International Peace seeks to instruct U.S. and international representatives to stop violence and war through the promotion of peace.
Undergraduate classes focus on the fundamentals of a peaceful and just world and include such topics as human rights, prosperous economies and the global ecosystem. In addition, the Kroc Institute offers an international graduate program culminating in a Master's degree in peace studies.
The institute was established in 1985. Kroc's interest in ceasing the nuclear arms race and encouraging peace and respect for human life coincided with University president emeritus Father Theodore Hesburgh's desire to make issues such as these present in student discussion. Their joint efforts have attracted students from all over the world to study peacemaking while trying to achieve cross-cultural recognition.
The annual student conference allow students the chance to collaborate ideas and push them into the policy making arena. The conference expects to spark additional interest in policy discussion among other Notre Dame students, ultimately contributing to what Johansen called "an expression of many student's voices."
All News Stories for Friday, September 10, 1999
