Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

WJLA ABC 7News interviewed Dean Özerdem about the life and legacy of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on Sunday, when she passed away.
When asked to put into words the impact Rosalynn will continue in the DMV, Özerdem said, “Her impact will live with us.”

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution hosted a two-day symposium, “A Celebration of Legacy and Impact: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Peacemakers and Leaders for Change,” at Mason Square in Arlington on Oct. 16-17. The symposium commemorated the Carters’ contributions to making the world more peaceful.

Karina Korostelina, a professor of conflict analysis and resolution in Mason’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, conducts remarkable research with global implications that not only applies to countries and groups in conflict but societies as well. Ukraine’s war with Russia, at its end, she says, will present enormous problems with the reconciliation of people and territories.

George Mason University graduate student Yuhyun Sihn spent the summer studying political polarization through the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Hannah Adamson, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution, is one of 62 recipients nationwide awarded a fellowship by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Summer goes by fast—whether you’re a kid, or a kid at heart. The K-12 students who attended camps and youth programs at Mason this year filled those fleeting summer days with memories. Here are some snapshots from their summer to remember. 

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution provides critical learning opportunities for Myanmar students as they search for solutions to Myanmar’s tumultuous state.

Hannah Adamson knew after an 8th-grade trip to Washington, D.C., that the capital region was the place for her. She is graduating this May with a bachelor of arts in conflict analysis and resolution.

On February 24, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution hosted “One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects,” an all-day virtual event to discuss the effects of the war and potential post-war contexts.

The event featured Romantsova Oleksandra, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties, the first Ukrainian organization to win a Noble Peace Prize. The recognition, which the human rights organization received in 2022, was due in part to their work documenting war crimes against civilians in occupied areas of Ukraine.

It’s been a year since George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution touched base in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their goal? Accompany locals in creating their own sustainable peace—something the country has not experienced in more than 30 years.

Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem, and Charles Davidson, PhD ’19, Carter School research faculty and alumnus, visited the Congo in October 2022 to check in on the “Peacemaking + Initiative,” funded by Milt Lauenstein, and assess the direction for its next phase.