Greeley Scholar Talks of “New Vision for Peace”

From left, Chancellor Marty Meehan, Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies Linda Biehl, guest speaker Ntobeko Peni of South Africa, Assoc. Prof. Dan Egan of Sociology, Rev. Imogene Stulken of Campus Ministry, Dean of UMass School of Marine Sciences Bob Gamache, and Frank Talty, director of Academic Programs, Division of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

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Linda Biehl, an internationally known peace activist whose daughter was slain by gang members 15 years ago in South Africa, was the headline speaker — preceded only by a videotape of Bishop Desmond Tutu honoring her and reminding his audience that “nonviolence will always have the last word” — at the April 3 90-minute discussion program, “A New Vision for Peace,” sponsored by the UMass Lowell Peace and Conflict Studies Institute (PACSI).

Biehl, UMass Lowell’s first annual Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies, spoke of the path she followed from the pain and anger that immediately followed her daughter’s death, toward forgiveness and, ultimately, reconciliation with her killers — one of whom Ntobeko Peni, was also a speaker at the event.

Peni, who has been working with Biehl for the past 10 years in furthering the work of the Amy Biehl Foundation in South Africa — dedicated to the memory of Biehl’s daughter — described for the audience his own gradual process of redemption, which he said had begun in prison and has continued in the years since.

Other speakers included a Lowell Police Department lieutenant, Joseph Durham, who spoke of his own troubled youth on the streets of inner-city Boston and the work he is now doing as a member of this city’s gangs unit. 

A question-and-answer period — directed largely around strategies to address gang violence, and the parallels between that and the violence that took the life of Biehl’s daughter — followed the addresses by the main speakers.

Biehl’s appearance was made possible through the award of a $511,000 endowment, including matching state funds, from the Dana McLean Greeley Foundation for Peace and Social Justice, based in Concord. The endowment it creates will permit a yearly visit to the campus by a noted humanitarian, faith leader or advocate for peace, who will teach and engage in public discussions.

The sponsors of the event, in addition to the PACSI and the Greeley Foundation, included Prof. Daniel Egan of the Sociology Department; Prof. Robert Gamache of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Science; Prof Allan Roscoe of Criminal Justice; Prof. Whitley Kaufman of Philosophy; and Imogene Stulken of the Protestant Campus Ministry.

The event took place on O’Leary Library, and was hosted by Chancellor Meehan, Prof. Roscoe, RESD Prof. Linda Silka and several other members of the UMass Lowell faculty.

Visit UML's photo gallery for an array of photos from the event.