The Cohen Memorial Fund was established in 1984 to support the Benjamin Cohen Peace Fellowship Program, which awards funds to Ball State faculty and graduate students for research in fields related to progress toward a peaceful world. 

Under the guidance of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Cohen Peace Graduate Fellowship will provide support for graduate students to conduct activities in the areas of basic or applied research on topics related to peace.  Funds may be used for assistantship stipend, supplies, expenses, and/or travel and may also include tuition remission during the academic time period of the fellowship.

For the 2010/11 academic year, faculty members at Ball State University are eligible to apply.  The Cohen Peace Faculty Fellowship provides support for faculty to conduct activities in the areas of basic or applied research on topics related to peace.  Funds may be used for salary, supplies, expenses, and/or travel.  Preference will be given to tenure track faculty members at Ball State University.

Complete applications and all required materials are due to the Sponsored Programs Office by 5:00 PM on February 1, 2010.  The Sponsored Programs Office will then route the University Clearance Sheet and forward the complete applications to the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Cohen Review Committee for review and notification of awards.

For more information on how to apply for the fellowship, see the related links to the right or contact the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, 285-1622, peacecenter@bsu.edu.
 

Recent recipients of the fellowship:

• Gregory Witkowski

  Faculty Fellow - August 2009

  Department of History

  Title: Giving, peace and change: Philanthropic giving and the creation of peace cultures

  Subject: Analyzes the process by which peace cultures were created through philanthropic giving in the formerly communist East Germany (German Democratic Republic--GDR). In specific, examines the relationships created across borders to illustrate ways that giving created understanding as well as emphasized difference. The study contributes to a better understanding of how Germans, on the front line of the Cold War, were able to overcome a tradition of militarism and embrace a peaceful understanding of global interactions.

 

• Lucinda Woodward
  Faculty Fellow - June 2007
  Department of Psychological Science
  Title: Healing complex trauma in former Liberian child soldiers
  Subject: Investigating new therapy treatments to help former child soldiers in Liberia cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. Training lay pastoral counselors, teachers, and nurses to conduct group trauma therapy with Liberian refugees.

• Steven Hall
  Faculty Fellow - June 2006
  Department of Political Science
  Title: The Ties that Bind: The Political Economy of US Foreign Aid Allocation
  Subject: Investigated the practice of tying foreign aid allotments for developing countries to the purchase of specific donor country goods and services.

• David Dixon
  Faculty Fellow - June 2005
  Department of Counseling Psychology & Guidance Services
  Title: No Future without Forgiveness: Forgiveness following Apartheid in South Africa  
  Subject: Research study that examined the level of forgiveness by South Africans previously oppressed under apartheid.

• Gerald Waite
  Faculty Fellow - June 2004
  Department of Anthropology
  Title: The Post Revolutionary Village: Tradition and Modernity
  Subject: The meanings of home and tradition for former war refugees in Quang Nam province, Vietnam, and how these concepts have been used to help the refugees survive and adapt to a globalized free market.
  
• Jui Shankar
  Graduate Fellow - June 2003
  Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
  Mentor: Lawrence Gerstein
  Title: The Hindu-Muslim Conflict in India: Through Women's Eyes
  Subject: Research study exploring how the Hindu-Muslim conflict has affected people in the state of Gujarat.
  
• Kevin Smith
  Faculty Fellow - June 2002
  Department of History
  Title: Hoosier Statesmen: Indiana Faces the World
  Subject: Book-length examination of the role residents of Indiana have played in shaping American foreign policy during the twentieth century.
  
• Scott Moeshberger
  Graduate Fellow - June 2001
  Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
  Mentor: David Dixon
  Title: Forgiveness in Northern Ireland 
  Subject: Examination of the relationships between forgiveness, hope, and the religion of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
  
• Helene Hoover
  Graduate Fellow - June 2000
  Department of English
  Mentor: Linda Hanson
  Title: The Rhetoric of Peace
  Subject: Investigation into how peace rhetoric has led to active peacemaking.
   
• 1999: No grant given.
  
• Matt Aalsma
  Graduate Fellow - June 1998
  Department of Educational Psychology
  Mentor: Daniel Lapsley
  Title: Violence and Adolescence: A Risk-Factor Approach to Prevention
  Subject: How adolescent delinquency and violence can be reduced by identifying risk factors, with an emphasis on remediation through social policy.
  
• Francine Friedman
  Faculty Fellow - June 1997
  Department of Political Science
  Title: Women in War in Search of Peace
  Subject: The role of war in the politicization of women and how this role can be used in the search for peace.