The Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego recently announced Darren Kew, PhD as its new Dean. Read that announcement here.
To help the Kroc School community get to know him better, Darren answered the following questions about his life and career, and the path that led him to the Kroc School.
How would you describe yourself, personally and professionally?
I am a deep believer in the spirit of humanity, which for me is a constant source of hope. There is a light that burns brightly from deep inside each of us, and the more that we can focus our attention on it and nurture it, the brighter we can shine together – and there is no problem that we cannot solve together once we view it in that light. And that means that every one of us – and I mean every one – is an essential piece of the puzzle of promoting peace and justice in our world. We need you – and I mean you, the very person reading this sentence at this moment – to find that light inside yourself and make it shine. I don’t mean to suggest that it is simple – it is a lifetime quest. That is why we in academia (who are nothing more than professional learners) have a special mission to foster open minds and hearts through both inward self-reflection and outward growth and learning. In the Peace and Justice field, this translates into developing skill sets for helping divided populations build new relationships based on insightful analysis of the injustices present in social structures, which ultimately drive violence and conflict. My own path has led me to many places, but particularly to Nigeria, Northern Ireland, and across the United States, to learn more from local peace and democracy practitioners about how they do their work, both to help them spread their good ideas and to share with them new concepts and connect them to broader networks pushing for peace and justice worldwide.
What are the highlights of your career that led you to the Kroc School?
Much of my work and research over the past 30 years has been in Nigeria, a country of enormous diversity and energy, as well as tremendous difficulties. I began my career working in the human rights field, and gravitated to peace and conflict resolution work as I wanted to understand the factors that drive injustice. This led me to researching the role of civil society groups in building democracy and peace – two concepts that I argue are deeply connected – and writing a book on the subject. During that research, I met a host of religious leaders actively engaged in peace work, particularly in terms of Muslim-Christian dialogue. I spent much of the last 20 years learning from them and trying to help expand their reach, which in the last 5 years led me to Northern Ireland – one of the world’s leading success stories in peacebuilding, especially across identity lines. Throughout the years, I also worked closely with local partners in Boston on dialogue across identity lines, particularly in terms of race and with immigrant groups, and also in terms of restorative justice and mediation approaches. Consequently, for me, the Kroc School is a tremendous opportunity to take the next step and work to scale up the impacts of these past efforts and to learn new approaches from my colleagues.
Prior to this, I earned my Ph.D. from Tufts University and was a professor and Chair of the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, as well as the Executive Director of the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. I have also worked on democracy and peace initiatives for the United Nations, USAID, the US State Department, and several NGOs, including the Carter Center and the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria. I plan to bring this experience to my work as dean and do my best to open new doors for students and colleagues.
What are you most looking forward to about your new role as Dean of the Kroc School?
I’m deeply excited at the prospect of collaborating with the incredibly talented staff, faculty, and students at the Kroc School and the University of San Diego to further our mission of equipping changemakers with the tools they need to advance peace and justice. I believe the Kroc School can be a central contributor to the university’s effort to set the standard for a morally engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative changemakers confront humanity's urgent challenges. With wars spreading and democracies falling worldwide, we need to join partners globally to inspire hope and energize action for peace, justice, and democracy with our good ideas, innovative skill sets, and hard work.
This school and our colleagues across the university have a remarkable reputation for taking innovative approaches to conflict resolution and social change, and I am particularly enthusiastic about fostering interdisciplinary collaborations here on the USD campus. The Kroc School will expand upon our partnerships with the other schools here on USD’s campus, much like we’ve done with the JD/MAPJ program with USD’s School of Law. This type of approach enables new and innovative forms of research and teaching. We also look to continue to grow our partnerships in our San Diego-Tijuana local community, opening more opportunities for our students to learn from the important work happening here, while at the same time doing our part to be of help. I’m particularly inspired by the work of the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice in this regard, and its “learning with” strategy to bring the power of advanced research to assist our local partners in their many efforts to reduce violence both in our community and worldwide.
Darren Kew, PhD, Dean, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies
How do you plan to ensure that the Kroc School remains at the forefront of peace education?
Our outstanding faculty at the Kroc School are globally recognized leaders in both scholarship and practice of peace studies, and part of my job as dean will be to support them so they can continue that role and build the next generation of scholars and practitioners in our field. They, together with the School’s innovative staff, are blending peace, justice, and conflict resolution frameworks with approaches to social innovation that make the Kroc School truly unique and a thought leader worldwide. I plan to help encourage the next stage in developing this scholarly blend, while at the same time reaching out to our global networks of activists to learn more about their needs and how we can better support them.
To achieve this, we will focus on fostering a dynamic, innovative, and rigorous academic environment that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and practical applications. Experiential learning opportunities like Professor Federman’s train journey across the country are a great example of how the Kroc School is innovating the educational environment and pushing the boundaries of what peace education looks like.
How do you like to spend your time when you're not working?
I’m the proud father of three adult children who have flown the nest and are pursuing their own careers and education, so naturally, I like to check in with them regularly and provide a steady supply of sagely parental wisdom and dad jokes, the latter of which they are kind enough to laugh politely at on my birthday and major holidays. I’m also an ex-1980s garageband rocker still trying to master the solo from “Stairway to Heaven” on my guitar (at least I have that last riff on the 20th fret worked out…), and a devoted runner and swimmer. I had a passion for practicing kung fu in the 1990s that morphed in recent years into a regular practice of tai chi and meditation. And having just moved to San Diego, I’m also thrilled to discover all it has to offer!
Lastly, what message would you like to convey to students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the Kroc School as you embark on this new journey as Dean?
First, I want you to know how honored I am to be working with all of you, and how deeply I feel the responsibility of service to you that the job of dean entails. To be a School of Peace in times like these carries a special burden to reach higher for the values of peace and justice that we strive for, and I will do my best to walk what we talk, just as I work to help you do the same. We’re not simply a School – we’re a community with a mission, and we need all our creativity, compassion, and energy to pull together with our partners at USD, in San Diego, and worldwide to turn around the current global trends tearing us apart. Naturally, we feel small and powerless when the problems we face are so vast and intractable, but when we come together with vision and dedication, our impact grows exponentially – and gives heart to many others. The work you have done in the past has set in motion countertrends that are already having peace and justice impacts far beyond what we can see, and I promise to do all that I can to help build on those successes as we grow and move to our next stage of development. My door will be open to listen to you when you want to talk, I’ll do all that I can when you need help, and I will do my best to keep you inspired for the journey ahead, so that you, in turn, can continue to inspire the people we seek to help and beyond.
