The Urban Center for Social Justice, Peace Education and Research

The epidemic of violence in our society, from the World Trade Center to domestic violence in the home, has drawn national attention. But most alarming is the current trend of violence in our schools. Since Columbine and Virginia Tech, we have begun to focus on bullying in our schools and the fact that increasingly younger children are engaging in violence. The criminal justice system deals with the aftermath of violence. In contrast, peace education promotes social justice by reorienting people to the non-violent resolution of conflict. The Urban Center for Social Justice, Peace Education and Research (UCSJPER) is distinct among the 200 Peace Education programs in universities around the nation. Only the University of Cincinnati and Columbia University have peace education programs in Colleges of Education and UCSJPER is the only program that includes an urban education component. We are, thus uniquely prepared to assist educators and their communities to deal with the specter of violence currently facing our society.

Mission Statement

The Urban Center for Social Justice, Peace Education and Research (UCSJPER) serves the University of Cincinnati and the community by offering peace education courses that lead to certificates in peace education and urban education. These courses, workshops, and the research activities of the Center, are designed to integrate peace education into the curriculum of teacher preparation and professional development. In addition to traditional classroom instruction, we include on-line instruction and flexibly scheduled courses and workshops in community settings. The Center also engages with community partners to develop peace education initiatives in Cincinnati.

Positive School Climate

Attrition rates among students and beginning teachers in urban areas often exceed 50%, and so the creation of a more positive school climate is critical. While traditional classroom management courses are necessary, they are not sufficient. Therefore, UCSJPER provides courses and workshops in conflict resolution, mediation, cooperative discipline, violence prevention, bullying, and domestic violence.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum

The current generation of educators will work with a U.S. population, in which demographers predict whites will be in a minority. Even suburbs, which have been characterized by their homogeneity are now finding that they must serve populations in which the proportion of non-whites is as high as 30%. Therefore, it will be imperative to provide culturally responsive curriculum. In order to meet these challenges, we offer courses and workshops that provide a knowledge of the culture and history of non-white populations, immigrants, so-called “invisible minorities” such as migrants from Appalachia, and global education. In addition to traditional classroom instruction, we include on-line instruction and flexibly scheduled courses and workshops in community settings. A major focus of our research has been devoted to culturally responsive curriculum by overcoming the Eurocentricity inherent in the field of Peace Education. We are also particularly sensitive to the need to maintain diversity in our instructional staff and to ground our curriculum in a knowledge base that includes the work of such diverse scholars as Harvard University’s Alvin Poussaint & Deborah Prothrow-Stith as well as Gloria Ladson Billings.

Faculty Profiles

Marvin Berlowitz

Dr. Marvin J. Berlowitz is a Professor of Educational Studies and the Director of the Center. He was one of the founding members of the Peace and Justice Studies Association in 2001 and is active in the Peace Education special interest group of the American Educational Research Association. His most recent book, African American Peace Leaders: A Documentary History is grounded in his research interests in creating a culturally responsive curriculum for peace education. His Racism and the Denial of Human Rights won the American Educational Studies Association’s Critical Choice award and is grounded in his research interests in urban education. Other awards include the Wright-Overstreet Humanitarianism Award from the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP and recognition for his “work for world peace and social justice" by the Cincinnati Center for Peace Education.

Stephen Sunderland

Dr. Stephen C. Sunderland is a Professor of Educational Studies and the Assistant Director of the Center. Dr. Sunderland has concentrated on peace education and its link to urban reform by founding an organization, Peace Village, and developing training programs for teachers, social workers, religious leaders, governmental officials, and police. Specific interests involve studying ways of reducing hunger and creating peace, increasing religious understanding as a way of peace, and improving inclusion as a way of strengthening peace. Dr. Sunderland is the recipient of the King, Gandhi and Ikeda Peace Award from the Freedom Center and the Human Relations Award from the Council of American Islamic Relations.

Vanessa Allen Brown

Dr. Vanessa Allen Brown is an Associate Professor of Educational Studies, whose areas of expertise include the liberation theology, culturally responsive pedagogy, African American feminist theory, oral history, and international education.

Mary Sovik Benedetti

Dr. Mary Sovik Benedetti is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education whose research interests emphasize immigrant and minority access to higher education and second language literacy.

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