Human Rights

Remembering Former President Jimmy Carter: Statesman, Humanitarian, and Peacemaker

Paul Snodgrass — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 22:30:48 +0000

Remembering Former President Jimmy Carter: Statesman, Humanitarian, and Peacemaker Paul Snodgrass Sun, 12/29/2024 - 17:30

��AV’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution Remembers Former President Jimmy Carter: Statesman, Humanitarian, and Peacemaker

Former President Jimmy Carter holding the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Photo credit: the Carter Center.

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at ��AV remembers James “Jimmy” Earl Carter, Jr. 39th President of the United States, as an agent of peace. We send our deepest condolences to his family.

“President Carter’s unwavering dedication to peace has been, and will continue to be, our beacon and guide. Our school’s name is a tribute to President Carter’s commitment to the worldwide peaceful resolution of conflict, which is imperative in today's world, as we face many entrenched and emerging human security threats,” said Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem. “We will further his legacy in conflict resolution through our research and practice. His insight, passion, and love for peace will remain our inspiration in educating future peacemakers.”

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, celebrating President Carter's Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in December 2002. Photo credit: The Carter Center.

“President Carter showed us that the American presidency can be even more than the pinnacle of political power. It can also be a prelude to far greater humanitarian works,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington. “Tirelessly, humbly, and often unheralded, he led the eradication of Guinea worm in Africa, assured free and fair elections, and devoted thousands of hours of manual labor to help build homes for those in need. In his life, he saved countless lives, brought dignity to countless more, and spread peace throughout our world.”

President, father, husband, author, teacher, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, humanitarian, and peacebuilder, Jimmy Carter led by example. Prior to his election to the presidency in 1976, he served as both Georgia Governor and Georgia State Senator. During his term as president, the Department of Education and the Department of Energy were created.

Carter expanded the national park system and environmental protection legislation. He negotiated the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (1978) and signed the SALT II Treaty with the Soviet Union (1979). He was, perhaps, best known for his mediation efforts in realizing the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1978. Titled the “Framework for Peace in the Middle East,” these dialogues paved the way for peace between these countries, even when such an outcome seemed remote.

Post-presidency, Jimmy Carter conducted peace negotiations and worked to eradicate disease in developing nations. He founded the Carter Center in 1982, and through the center, helped mediate conflicts in Ethiopia and Eritrea, North Korea, Liberia, Haiti, Bosnia, Sudan, Venezuela, and many more war-torn countries. For decades, Jimmy and his wife, Rosalynn, were prominent and active figures in Habitat for Humanity across the globe.

In 2002, Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” He is one of only four U.S. Presidents to receive this honor.

On October 1st, to celebrate his 100th birthday, ��AV awarded President Carter an honorary doctor of humane letters to honor his legacy of selfless dedication to peace and a more just and peaceful world.

Jimmy Carter’s dedication to peace and justice was an example to peacebuilders and mediators and his efforts inspired the renaming of George Mason’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution in his honor in 2020. He will be remembered by the staff, faculty, and students at the Carter School and the entire peacebuilding community for his tireless and selfless contributions to peace.

About the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

��AV’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution is a community of faculty, students, staff, alumni, and partners with a fundamental commitment to building peace. Through the development of cutting-edge theory, research, education, and practical work, we seek to identify and address the underlying causes of conflict and provide tools for ethical and just peacebuilding on the local, national, and global stages.

About ��AV

��AV is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls more than 40,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. In 2023, the university launched Mason Now: Power the Possible, a one-billion-dollar comprehensive campaign to support student success, research, innovation, community, and stewardship. Learn more at gmu.edu.

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Members of the Carter School community are sharing their memories and thoughts honoring Jimmy Carter.

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Our story of becoming the Carter School in 2020

In This Story

Alpaslan Özerdem

Gregory Washington

Topics

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Humanitarian Assistance

Jeff Helsing

Paul Snodgrass — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 20:25:09 +0000

Jeff Helsing Paul Snodgrass Wed, 03/23/2022 - 16:25

Research Associate Professor
Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project

Contact Information

Email: jhelsing@gmu.edu

Biography

Jeffrey Helsing is Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project and Research Associate Professor in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution. Prior to joining the Carter School, he spent over 20 years at the United States Institute of Peace, including as Associate Vice President where he led USIP’s education and training programs as well as curriculum development that included conflict resolution training for civil society organizations, peacebuilding practitioners, youth and religious leaders, humanitarian aid workers, and diplomats. Helsing has taught a broad range of subjects, including conflict resolution, analysis of war and peace, negotiations, human rights and conflict, comparative foreign policies, American foreign policy and international relations theory, and helped develop a master’s degree concentration in international relations at the American University in Cairo. His published articles have focused on conflicts in the Middle East and he co-edited Human Rights and Conflicton the links between human rights, humanitarian law and peacebuilding. He has also written articles and delivered numerous conference papers on the impact of education policies and projects in conflict zones. Helsing holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University and a doctorate in political science from Columbia University.

The Equal Rights Amendment is symbolic, but it does hold weight, Mason expert says.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:05:00 +0000

The Equal Rights Amendment is symbolic, but it does hold weight, Mason expert says. Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 01/21/2020 - 19:05

Topics

Schar School of Policy and Government

Kevin Avruch

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:24:01 +0000

Kevin Avruch admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:24

Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution Emeritus

Contact Information

Email: kavruch@gmu.edu
Campus: Arlington
Building: Arlington: Vernon Smith Hall
Room 5106A
Mail Stop: 4D3

Biography

Kevin Avruch received his A.B. from the University of Chicago and M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Before coming to GMU, he had taught at UCSD and at the University of Illinois at Chicago. At GMU, he served as Coordinator of the Anthropology Program in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology between 1990-1996, and was Associate Director of ICAR from 2005-2008. He was the Joan B. Kroc Peace Scholar at the Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego in Spring 2009. In 2009 Avruch was appointed the Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution (succeeding Nadim Rouhana), and in 2013 he became S-CAR’s second Dean, succeeding Andrea Bartoli. In 2020 he became Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution Emeritus.

Avruch has published more than 75 articles and essays and is author or editor of seven books, including Critical Essays on Israeli Society, Religion, and Government (1997); Culture and Conflict Resolution (1998); Information Campaigns for Peace Operations (2000); Context and Pretext in Conflict Resolution: Essays on Culture, Identity, Power and Practice (2013); and Conflict Resolution and Human Needs: Linking Theory and Practice (with Christopher Mitchell, 2013). Context and Pretext was named the Book of the Year by the Conflict Research Society in 2014. Avruch’s other writings include articles and essays on culture theory and conflict analysis and resolution, third party processes, cross-cultural negotiation, nationalist and ethno-religious social movements, human rights, and politics and society in contemporary Israel.

Professor Avruch has lectured widely in the United States and abroad, and his work has been recognized by the International Association of Conflict Management and the United States Institute of Peace, where he spent the 1996-1997 academic year as a Senior Fellow in the Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace. He was a Fulbright Specialist at the Banares Hindu University in 2011. He received a Distinguished Scholar Award in Peace Studies from the International Studies Association in 2018. His work on culture in particular has become influential for anyone studying conflict and culture. As Dean of S-CAR (2013-2019) his accomplishments include overseeing the construction of the conference and retreat facility at the Point of View property in Mason Neck, Virginia; bringing the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation to the Carter School; and leading the campaign for ICAR’s renaming in honor of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.

Honors and Awards

Fulbright Specialist Grantee, Banaras Hindu University
Joan B. Kroc Peace Scholar, University of San Diego

Affiliations

Member

American Anthropological Association

Media Appearances

Virginia State Legislature S-CAR honored by Del. Mark Sickles in introduction to Virginia House of Delegates
February 19, 2017

In the News

Open letter to President-elect Trump and government officials at all level
Published on November 29, 2016
Full article
After a career of peacebuilding in the Middle East, Mason PhD student finds there is still more to learn
Published on July 6, 2016
Full article
Robert C. Koehler: Healthy conflict creates resilient communities
Published on April 17, 2016
Creating Resilient Communities
Published on April 13, 2016
Full article

Presentations and Performances

Next Steps towards Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Resolution: The Role of Incentives for Peace
Nov 16 2016 | Metropolitan Building
Dissertation Defense -- Afghanistan: Between State-building and the Global War on Terrorism (2001-2006)
Apr 25 2012 | Arlington Truland Building

Degrees

PhD, Anthropology, University of California San Diego
MA, Anthropology, University of California San Diego
AB, Anthropology, University of Chicago

Human Rights

Remembering Former President Jimmy Carter: Statesman, Humanitarian, and Peacemaker

About the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

About ����AV

Engage with the Legacy of Jimmy Carter

View and Share thoughts of President Carter's Legacy

Contribute to the Carter School Legacy Fund for the Study and Practice of Peace Processes

Our story of becoming the Carter School in 2020

In This Story

Topics

Jeff Helsing

Contact Information

Biography

The Equal Rights Amendment is symbolic, but it does hold weight, Mason expert says.

Topics

Kevin Avruch

Contact Information

Biography

Honors and Awards

Affiliations

Media Appearances

In the News

Presentations and Performances

Degrees

About ��AV