Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

From October to mid-February, the Venerable Buddhist monks of the Dhammacetiya Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center of Fort Worth, Texas walked more than 2,300 miles to Washington, D.C. Known as the Walk for Peace, their goal was to raise awareness of the global need for peace as well as how we can practice and foster peace in our own lives and neighborhoods.

George Mason University recently held its first-ever Qualitative Research Day, an event for PhD students of all disciplines to engage in hands-on and interactive opportunities with the goal of learning new qualitative research techniques and methodologies. The inaugural event is the latest innovation in George Mason’s ongoing efforts to find new ways to support its PhD students.

Honor College student Cashlyn Bonds said her time at George Mason University has been defined by her passion for justice, human security, and international understanding.  

Faculty across George Mason University are leading or participating in innovative new projects to further research and education this academic year, thanks to grants recently awarded by 4-VA, a statewide consortium of nine higher education institutions in Virginia.

George Mason’s Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities is implementing AI in collaboration with the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications. It may forever change the way 9-1-1 operators are trained.

For nearly two decades, George Mason alum Nawal Rajeh has been transforming the way Baltimore’s youth see themselves—shaping them into peacemakers through long-term relationships, hands-on education, and a community-wide commitment to nonviolence.

A project led by George Mason University professor Arthur Romano is working to prevent gun violence in Baltimore through proactive peacebuilding initiatives.

Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, recently participated in discussions at the 2025 Global Higher Education Symposium, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on July 18.

For the past 10 years, the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason has partnered with Shinnyo-en Foundation in their shared mission of developing young people as peacebuilders. The Carter School and the California-based Shinnyo-en Foundation seek to bring different groups together, honoring every voice, navigating darkness, and illuminating paths toward peace.

This spring, George Mason University Professor Al Fuertes traveled to Rwanda to facilitate workshops for former victims and perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan mass genocide.