about us

History of the Institute

When the Cold War ended in 1989, it was time to look at the world differently. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a Federal Government organization established in the mid-eighties, was interested in supporting new courses on Conflict Resolution and invited proposals from members of the Association of Professional Schools in International Affairs. Karen Feste, professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) and later founder of the Conflict Resolution Program at the University, submitted a course syllabus to USIP. The proposal was accepted. Spring quarter, 1994, she began teaching a graduate class in Conflict Resolution at GSIS. Eight students enrolled. The course has been given annually since then; enrollments have increased more than fivefold. This class was the seed that led to formation of the Conflict Resolution Institute in 2004.

From the start, students from various disciplines—law, business, international studies, theology, education, communication—enrolled in the Conflict Resolution course. Due to the spread of student interest, an inventory of campus resources, including faculty expertise, related courses, special programs, and workshops, was assembled. During this process we uncovered enthusiastic support among a group of faculty housed in six different academic fields, for creating an interdisciplinary curriculum plan in Conflict Resolution. In late 1997, a formal proposal to establish an M.A. Degree in Conflict Resolution was presented to University officials. It was officially accepted in February, 1998 by the Board of Trustees. The first group of students matriculated the following Fall term.

Collaboration between the following academic units led to the creation of the multidisciplinary graduate degree program in Conflict Resolution: the Graduate School of International Studies, Sturm College of Law, Daniels College of Business, the School of Communication, Graduate School of Social Work, and Alternative Dispute Resolution at University College. Seven professors representing each of the affiliated academic units were originally linked to the Institute. Although four of them have left the University, today, the Conflict Resolution Institute counts sixteen core faculty members.

Generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation, a competitive award for private U.S. universities for interdisciplinary innovations, allowed us to hire a senior professor in September, 2002 to provide leadership to raise the profile of Conflict Resolution activities, expand our community involvement, and enhance our research portfolio. Our Luce Professor, Tamra Pearson d’Estrée, who created the Center for Research and Practice in the Conflict Resolution Institute in 2004 and serves as its director, came to us from the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.

Since its inception, over 170 students have enrolled in the M.A. program. Our alumni are employed by the U.S. Government (Foreign Service, Homeland Security), non-profit organizations in Washington D.C. (Search for Common Ground, Center for Dispute Settlement), and private corporations (9News in Denver, CH2MHill in Florida) Some are working abroad (South Korea, Northern Ireland).

From a modest start as a small academic program in 1998, our proposal to create an interdisciplinary Conflict Resolution Institute was accepted by the University in August 2004. It contains the previously established Graduate Program in Conflict Resolution (Karen Feste, founder and director), and the Center for Research and Practice (Tamra Pearson d’Estrée, Henry R. Luce Professor, director), an organization that came into existence with the Institute’s founding.