Graduates

May 2011

PACS graduate faculty with MA recipient David Obwald. See the complete set of graduation photos on our Facebook page facebook.com/cpacs.

Some of our 28 B.A. Criminology and Restorative Justice Studies graduates.

December 2010

Receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology and restorative justice studies: Delmar L. Beglau, Kris A Betterton, Charles E. Cooper, Sandra C. (Rainwaters) Dodd, Carlette Ann Layne, Kristin Ortiz, Janelle Deann Perez, Jessica Leigh Roberts, Beverly Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Monique Roman and Lynn Vernon Venables.

May 2010

Fekadu Abebe, Allison Boogaert and Jana Hendricks received the MA in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. The BA in Criminology and Restorative Justice Studies goes to Camille Valentine, Erika Fregoso, Jeremiah Ellard, Hue Vang, Brandon Tadlock, Elba Gutierrez, Ambar Castillo, Mario Hernandez, Daisy Gomez, Mandy Kershner, Patricia Montes-Araujo, Chrystal Ramos, Tiffany Beckwith, Dorothy Hurst, Jeremy Faiman, and Getcemani Aguayo. Miyoshi Smith, who died of the H1N1 virus, was awarded her degree posthumously. Her son attended the ceremony. Photos of commencement are available on our Facebook page. Ron Claassen was the graduation speaker. Video of the entire ceremony is available at this link.

Jeremy Faiman - Criminology and Restorative Justice Studies Alum from Fresno Pacific University on Vimeo.

May 2009

Christina Asheervadam and Jason Ekk received the PACS M.A. degree. Jason continues as the Program Director of the Restorative Justice Initiative. Christina has been appointed Lecturer in Peace Education and in English at her college. She will be teaching the course "Mennonite History and Peace Theology" in the B.Th. program, among other things. She also reports that she has been appointed to the Mennonite Central Committee India advisory committee. Bradley Harness, Karina Hernandez, Vanessa Hernandez and Alfonso Padron received the B.A. in Criminology and Restorative Justice Studies.

December 2008

Richard Bernard and Alicia Hinton received the MA degree. Denise Doyle, Roxanne Farias, Stuart Jensen, Rafael Kasdorf, and Nicole Magano recived the BA degree as part of the first Criminolgy and Restorative Justice Studies BA degree completion program. Alicia Hinton is the first graduate in our cooperative program with San Joaquin College of Law in which the student earns our MA and the SJCL JD at the same time with fewer total credits required.

Spring 2008

Joe Montanez received the MA degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies at the Spring 2008 commencement. Pictured with him are members of the PACS faculty.

2006 Graduates

Hien Vu of Vietnam completed the MA degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, participating in the December 2006 commencement exercises. She is pictured with PACS faculty. As of 2008 Hien is East Asia Program Officer for the Institute for Global Engagement in Washington, DC.

2005 Graduates

Meserete Kristos church leader Girma Oda of Ethiopia completed the MA degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, he is pictured participating in the December 2005 commencement exercises.

2004 Graduates

Brazilian pastor Ernst Janzen graduated at FPU's first December commencement. He is a pastor and a teacher at Faculdade Fidelis, a Mennonite College in Brazil. A few years ago, Fresno Pacific faculty member Dr. Dalton Reimer visited Brazil and gave a week long course in Conflict Management. This was Ernst's first exposure to Fresno Pacific and the PACS program. Ernst wanted to gain more knowledge and experience in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies in order to be able to work as a peacemaker in Brazil, and to train others to do the same. When Dr. Reimer invited him to study at Fresno Pacific, Ernst, along with his wife and three children, moved to Fresno. In addition to the valuable experience that came with living in another country and experiencing another culture, Ernst prepared a teaching curriculum as his project for the Peacemaking and Conflict Studies program. Entitled "Building Peace: A Teaching Curriculum," his curriculum includes courses in Intrapersonal Conflict, Interpersonal Conflict, Intragroup Conflict, and Intergroup Conflict. Ernst will implement this program at Faculdade Fidelisand, and upon his return to Brazil, he looks forwarding to teaching students, pastors, and other leaders to deal with conflict in a transformative way.

In September 2009 Ernst wrote: I have good news. I finally finished my third book. It is a manual for people who plan to get married. I used it already with some engaged couples. The title is "Rumo ao Altar" it means - "On the route to the altar". The content is divided in 10 chapters, where each chapter introduces a different subject related to the field of relationship. In every lesson I have used some of my learnings from my training time at Peacemaking Center. So I will divide this book with all my teachers from FPU. Last week this book was presented in a book fair in São Paulo and this Sunday we plan a presentation in our church. Now I can say that I finished the three book projects that I started to plan in 2004 during my study time. Interesting is that I never thought I would write even one book, but now I plan to continue to work on other writing projects. I discovered that is a wonderful tool to influence and help people to live a life as peacemakers in different areas and relationships.

In August 2008 Ernst wrote:

Greetings from Brazil.
Last week I got good news. My first book, about Conflicts was chosen by the Brazilian Association of Christian Publishers in the category of counseling, as the best book from the books written during 2007. It was a surprise for me because there were many other books with excellent authors. The good thing is that now probably more people will read this book and learn about how to deal with conflicts. I am still working on my third book. Probably in September I will send it to the publisher. Our family is doing fine, children are still growing. Shalom, Ernst Werner Janzen

Ernst's publisher's web site.

In March 2007 Ernst wrote: Grace and Peace! Arthur has sent my one of your e-mails about the Mennonite Brethren Global Higher Education Consultation. He invited me to go with him. It would be a great time, to participate on these meetings and to meet my friends at the Peacemaking Center again. I hope that this will be possible. In April 15, my first book about Conflicts will be available. It was a hard work, but I enjoyed it. I attached the front-cover. I hope it will be a tool to a lot of people to learn how to deal with conflicts. To teach and preach in the field of Peacemaking and Conflict Studies is now my day by day. In December Dorothy's uncle visited Brazil and brought me some books that I bought using Amazon. From the bibliography of The little book of Justice and Peacebuilding I bought: Circle Processes, Biblical Justice, Restorative Discipline for schools, Strategic Negotiation, Strategic Peacebuilding and Trauma Healing. I also read A culture of Peace by Alan Kreider. Reading this books helped me to keep my English and to learn and reflect in this field. My family is doing fine. Now our little Danny (4 years) is going to school too. It is a big change in our family. Today is Dorothy's birthday (39 years) and we invited some neighbors and friends to a little party. Sam and Debbie are growing fine, physically and spiritually. In January we celebrated our 20th anniversary. Shalom, Ernst and family

2004

Pictured are May 2004 grads Barry Davis and Rebecca Kliewer with PACS faculty and staff. Not pictured is graduate Sheri Plett Wiedenhoefer. Sheri was the peace and justice staff person for West Coast Mennonite Central Committee at the time of her graduation, and was named Executive Director of WCMCC in June 2006.

MA graduate Barry Davis is involved with many interesting things, including working with the Disability Mediation Center. He writes:

2003 Graduates

Pictured are our MA graduates (l-r) Jill Schellenberg and Roxanne Claassen. Other MA graduates in 2003 are Darren Brassington, Andrica Monique Clark and Anthony Nocella. Anthony J. Nocella, II, is working on his Ph.D. in Social Science at Syracuse University, while teaching Criminology and Sociology at Le Moyne College and SUNY Cortland. Nocella focuses his attention on security, peace and conflict studies, repression, social movements, feminist standpoint methodology, history and framing of terrorism, youth and violence, restorative justice, justice studies, disability studies, Quaker pedagogy, critical pedagogy, and disability pedagogy. He is also an associate with the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts. Nocella is one of the editors of Contemporary Anarchist Studies published in 2009. A list of the books he has authored or edited is available at http://www.peacebuilding.info/. 2003 Graduate Certificate recipients are Jose Chaparro, Oksana Ihnatkova, Sarah Watters-Johnson, Ronald A. Youngdale. Jill Schellenberg continues on staff at the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies where she directs the Criminology and Restorative Justice Studies degree completion program, among other things. Roxanne Claassen is a teacher in the Raisin City school.

2002 Graduates

Thorborn Baird and Bonnie Redfern received the MA degree. Bonnie Redfern is pictured with her husband Tony.

Douglas E. Noll, Giedre Gadeikyte, and Patty Pistoresi graduated Spring 2001 with the M.A. in Conflict Management and Peacemaking. George Cartwright graduated from the MAAL program with a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Management and Peacemaking. David Vecchio worked as a PACS associate in the Caruthers School District implementing Discipline That Restores. Doug Noll's story of his passage from warrior to peacemaker is chronicled in an article he wrote for Dreamseeker magazine. You can read about Doug's radio show and listen here.

Giedre Gadeikyte (at right) and some of her students at Lithuania Christian College.

Geidre writes (in December 2003) : The last months have been busy, and the routine of work has set in - whereas the first year could be mostly characterized as exciting and overwhelming. Teaching classes for the second or third time gives a different perspective - and brings new challenges. So far Sociology has been the smoothest class - and the second-time Group Dynamics class - the most challenging. The dynamics of the class, the material, and the class structure can make a huge difference.

In that little free time from work, I have been enjoying the cultural life here and the geographical location of Lithuania. Last summer I have been blessed by a wonder-full trip to France. I visited Paris and Bourgogne! I saw both Ille de France and the ville, the modern and old, the busy and the quiet. I went to museums, explored, met friends - it was such a great rest after the exhausting year (and yes it was.). I especially loved Burgundy, - its Medieval towns, fields of vines and sunflowers, and forests. The summer in Lithuania was lovely, too - very warm, and I enjoyed the Sea a lot. While being in France I missed it so much - yes, we can very much get attached to our geographies!

1999 Graduates

Pascal Kulungu, M.A.A.L. and Certificate in Workplace Conflict Management and Peacemaking, left Zaire to attend FPU and went home after graduation to Democratic Republic of Congo. Pascal is currently the Director of the Center for Leadership, Peacebuilding and Good Governance in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also the chief financial officer of the Christian University of Kinshasa. Pascal's major project was translating PACS' materials into French to use at home. Read Pascal's latest report. Pascal's son Doug is a business student at FPU. In January 2009 his article on the troubles in Congo was published as a FPU Scholars Speak article and in the Fresno Bee

Mary Helen Ortega, M.A. Pupil Personnel Services and Certificate in School Conflict Management, shown at graduation with Professors Dalton Reimer and Ron Claassen.

Blanca Stransky, M.A.A.L. and the Certificate in Workplace Conflict Management, is pictured here at graduation with Prof. Duane Ruth-Heffelbower. She was a manager for the U.S. Forest Service when she began her studies and planned to remain in that position.

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Ken Kaneversky, M.A. Conflict Management and Peacemaking, is pictured at graduation with Dalton Reimer and Ron Claassen. Ken is operations manager of a manufacturing company and works with the VORP program in Visalia along with his private mediation practice.

Sue Kliewer, M.A. Conflict Management and Peacemaking, is pictured here (center) serving as co-trainer in Atlanta, GA as part of the Refugee Conflict Management Project with Prof. Duane Ruth-Heffelbower. Sue is Director of Human Resources at Fresno Pacific University.

Ron Shepherd, M.A.A.L. and Certificate in Workplace Conflict Management and Peacemaking, is pictured at graduation with Ron Claassen. Ron works for the Regional Center as an advocate for disabled persons.