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The University of Louisville strives to maintain a diverse campus and cater to the differing needs of its students. At least that’s what the mission statement says. But the diversity scorecard focuses only on quantifiable measures such as the number of tenure-track female faculty members, or employment of African-Americans in administrative positions.
If U of L’s diversity mission statement is to be anything but a well-intended manifesto of cozy platitudes propped up by equitable hiring practices and compulsory cultural diversity requirements, programs such as the North American Peacebuilders must be in the mix. The concepts of diversity and inclusion should be systematized, not merely institutionalized.
The global focus of the North American Peacebuilders Program will not only help to reinforce these values in our community, but will allow students to explore the burgeoning and increasingly relevant field of conflict resolution on a scale that transcends familiar local discord.
But while the Peacebuilders program offers unique opportunities for U of L students to learn conflict resolution, Mexico and Canada are mere points of departure for what the program could achieve. Sending students abroad to study conflict resolution should be a “growth industry.” America has many more serious conflicts besides the ones with our neighboring countries. Sending students abroad to the Middle East, for example, could improve relations in the years to come.
At the same time, this could be an idea whose time has come for U of L. Having expended the resources to design and staff cultural diversity requirements, the administration should consider developing conflict resolution courses here at Belknap as well, perhaps even making them requisite for certain fields of study, such as Public Administration or Political Science or even eligibility for student government positions.
