Timothy M. McGowan, a student in the International Peace and Conflict Resolution master's program, was profiled in the Fall 2008-09 Newsletter of the American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Arcadia's affiliated campus in Paris, France. Students in the IPCR program don't just read about peace and conflict studies, they travel to key sites of international conflict and research real-world solutions. McGowan’s studies include a semester studying with international experts in international relations, but he says he also learned a lot about himself in the process.

"A semester abroad forces you to experience what you can in too short a time. You can embrace the foreign culture and learn as much as you can about it—and about yourself—or you can let it pass you by. As I reflect over my time here, I know I have made the most out of this once-in-a-lifetime experience," says McGowan.

Read more about Arcadia's affiliated Master of International Relations and Diplomacy program in Paris.

Click here for International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program news from 2008 and earlier.

John Shimkus (back row in brown shirt) and UN University for Peace students with the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sanchez

Meeting the president of a country is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity many people never have. For student John Shimkus, however, not only did he meet a president, but he also engaged in a personal conversation with him.

A second-year International Peace and Conflict Resolution student, Shimkus spent the fall semester studying at Costa Rica’s United Nations University for Peace. “I chose to go to the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica because they offer a number of classes geared toward sustainable development and natural resources,” he says.

During his studies, he experienced some unique educational differences including overnight field trips. “Since the country is relatively small, the classes often go on overnight field trips to research existing conflicts firsthand,” he says. “My class did a field study on a local agricultural conflict in which a pineapple plantation was accused of polluting local groundwater supplies.”

One of his most remarkable experiences, however, was meeting Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez in November. Because Shimkus can speak fluent Spanish, he was invited, along with 14 other students, to a forum featuring the Costa Rican heads of state. The group met President Sanchez and other important politicians including the Minister of Education and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Some students also appeared on the local news.

The forum addressed issues of infrastructure, security, education and health in the Mora District of Costa Rica, which is where the University is located.

"The president's speech related Costa Rican concerns to those of the world at large, specifically discussing the U.S. financial crisis and how Costa Rica needs to be wary of the effects," Shimkus says. "He then acknowledged the University for Peace and how happy he is that Costa Rica is the home to such an internationally diverse learning environment such as it and how he is glad that the residents of the Mora district get the opportunity to live with and amongst the many international students that reside within the area."

Afterwards the students had a photo-op with the President and had a moment to talk to him.

"It was very cordial," says Shimkus. "He asked us in thickly accented English how we were enjoying our stay in Costa Rica and how life at the University was going, to which we all responded politely that the country is beautiful and everyone is treating us well. Short and sweet, but a great experience!" 

To learn more about Arcadia’s IPCR program, visit: www.arcadia.edu/ipcr.

Dr. Angela Kachuyevski, Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Arcadia’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution master’s program, serves as a faculty expert for the media on topics including Russia. On Dec. 29, she was quoted in the Toronto (Ontario) Star article “Can discontent loosen Putin's grip on Russia?” Star reporter Olivia Ward examined whether plummeting oil prices, a falling ruble, and discontent among the people might shift Russia toward chaos and jeopardize President Vladimir Putin’s tight control. "If there's an uprising, it could be a nationalist one—not one against Putin," Kachuyevski told the Star. "The growing middle class would be badly harmed." Read the article.

Kachuyevski also had contributed to a ProfNet expert roundup in August on the Georgia-Russia conflict, saying: "Current media reports that focus on Russia's ongoing military operations in Georgia do so without the context needed to understand the dynamics of the conflict. By oversimplifying this as a Russian invasion, the reports ignore the important role played by both Georgia and the South Ossetians in sparking the current crisis and, therefore, fail to relay the complexity of the underlying conflict. Regional stability and security depend upon a solution that addresses all of the factors that have contributed to the current crisis. Current U.S. policy, which condemns Russia without explicitly acknowledging Georgia's role, is unhelpful in the search for a solution that all sides will find legitimate, especially in light of recent events in Kosovo."