Middlebury College in Vermont has announced a $25 million grant to create a cross-disciplinary program focused on conflict transformation from a donor who prefers to remain anonymous.

To be funded over seven years, the grant is the largest curriculum-specific gift in the school’s history and will help faculty, staff, and students address the dynamics of conflict and develop effective ways to teach and learn in this area. The Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation will reach across academic majors, campus life, and the college’s global network of 40 locations in 16 countries and provide a comprehensive conflict transformation training program for up to 500 sophomores and juniors. In addition, five grants will be made annually within the college to advance innovative conflict transformation research and leverage external funds.

The initiative is named for the Russian scholar and philanthropist whose name is already associated with the college’s Russian language school. Wasserman Davis also founded Projects for Peace, Middlebury’s global program that partners with other educational institutions to identify and support student peace builders and change makers.

“Conflict transformation, in contrast [to conflict mediation and reconciliation], assumes that conflict will always be present, but that it can be transformed toward positive and not destructive societal goals,” said Michelle McCauley, a psychology professor at the college and acting executive director of the initiative. “The approach focuses on addressing the underlying conditions that give rise to conflict, preferably well in advance of hostility….Conflict transformation attempts to reshape the social structures and dynamics behind the conflict.”

“There is no bigger issue that exists than the growing divisiveness undermining freedom and equality everywhere,” said Middlebury College president Laurie Patton. “It is harder and harder to participate in the public square. Teaching the skills to address this challenge aligns with our mission of preparing our students to make meaningful change in the world.”

(Photo credit: Middlebury College/Caleb Kenna)