SIT Graduate Institute Welcomes Visiting Scholar Chen Jianrong

Publication Date: January 16, 2015
Publication Location: WASHINGTON
Contact: Kathryn Schoenberger   |   [email protected]

SIT Graduate Institute’s Vermont campus is pleased to welcome Chen Jianrong from Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, as visiting scholar of Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation from February 2015 through January 2016.

“SIT is proud to host such an esteemed scholar as Chen Jianrong,” said John Lucas, executive vice president of academic affairs. “His extensive experience in peacebuilding and conflict resolution will be an asset to the school and provide opportunities for meaningful learning and collaboration with faculty and students.”

Chen is the founder of China’s first peace research institute, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Jinan University. Established in 2012, the institute promotes interdisciplinary peace research and education in China and seeks to contribute to peacebuilding at the regional and global levels. To this end, the institute conducts in-depth research on the country’s internal conflicts as well international conflicts to which China is a party, provides conflict resolution training and promotes peace education in China.

In addition to serving as director of the institute, Chen is a lecturer in the School of International Studies and deputy director of the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies at Jinan University. Previously he was a visiting scholar at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand; a Rotary International Peace Fellow; and he participated in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

Since 2010, Chen has taught courses in peace studies and conflict resolution to some 800 undergraduate students from different majors at Jinan University. He is currently planning to open a new master’s program in peace and conflict studies at Jinan University and preparing to hold a Southeast Asia Peace Workshop and a Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Mainland Youth Conflict Transformation Workshop.

During his one-year appointment, he will work with his SIT colleagues to explore the master’s degree design process and experiential learning workshop facilitation. In addition, Chen will work on his forthcoming book “Peace Education in USA: History and Practice.” Chen’s appointment as visiting scholar was born out of his collaboration with SIT Professor Tatsushi Arai from Japan, as the two scholars share a vision of China-Japan reconciliation. Their sustained partnership furthers SIT’s mission of bridging different cultures and societies.

SIT Graduate Institute, a program of World Learning, is a nonprofit, accredited graduate school that offers master’s degrees and graduate level certificates and professional development programs. For more information about programs and how to apply visit www.graduate.sit.edu.