Thanks to the help of numerous Fort Lewis employees and community members, the Peace and Conflict Studies Minor (PEAC) became official during the 2010-2011 academic year. Of course, it could not have taken place without the inspiration from Professor Leonard "Red" Bird.
Initial discussions about the minor took place during Spring of 2007 between Erik Juergensmeyer and Bridget Irish. That Fall, we began to brainstorm the program working with Jim Mills, Joslyn Roderick, Carol Smith and Yohannes Woldemariam.
We then hosted an open forum for faculty to help contribute to the program. The support was incredible. We found that numerous faculty in a variety of departments not only supported the program, but they wanted to participate as well. The community was also interested. We received great support from Candice Carson of the Coutts and Clark Western Foundation.