Laurie Gagne, director, Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice, and Dr. John Reuwer, M.D. of the college’s Peace and Justice faculty tied for 4th place in a nationwide Peace Essay Contest sponsored by the West Suburban Faith Based Peace Coalition of Chicago. The subject of the contest was “How Can we Enforce the Law Against War” referring to the Kellogg-Briand Treaty. Participants were asked to write a letter to an influential figure suggesting a way that he or she could promote the cause of world peace. Their letter was addressed to Pope Francis and called on him to publicly renounce the Just War Treaty and proclaim nonviolence as the only method of conflict resolution in keeping with the message of Jesus. Laurie and John, along with the other award recipients, are to be honored at a luncheon in Chicago on August 27. Laurie also led the group, SMC for DRC (St. Michael’s College for the Democratic Republic of Congo) to the United Nations for a panel on Sexual Violence in the Congo on March 6. SMC for DRC was invited to attend the panel by the ENOUGH Project, which co-sponsored the event in celebration of International Women’s Day.
(posted August 2014)
Laurie Gagne, director of the Edmundite Center for Peace & Justice, won the top teaching award, Excellence in Community-Based Teaching, from Vermont Campus Compact at the group’s annual statewide awards on April 12, 2012, in Montpelier. She was cited for her tireless commitment to educating students about social justice issues in and out of the classroom, and for her central role redesigning the college’s Peace and Justice minor to incorporate service learning. Laurie teaches Peace and Justice First Year Seminar; Approaches to Peace; and Religion and War and Peace.