Established on 02.28.2020 by Gary Smaby, Managing Trustee of the Smaby Family Foundation
In 2008, the Philip C. Smaby Charitable Remainder Trust gifted funds to establish the Smaby Peace Scholars Endowment in honor of two of Philip C. Smaby’s brothers, who were valued employees of Concordia College. William Smaby was a senior Concordia administrator from 1952 – 1976 and a 1994 inductee to Concordia’s Athletic Hall of Fame, while Norris Smaby worked in the Department of Athletics in the later years of that same era. This endowment honors the memory of William and Norris and their meaningful contributions to the Concordia community while simultaneously recognizing Norway’s commitment to international peace efforts.
The Peace Scholars program is an outgrowth of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. The forum began in 1988 by the five-college consortium of Augsburg University (Minneapolis, MN), Augustana University (Sioux Falls, SD), Concordia College (Moorhead, MN), Luther College (Decorah, IA), and St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN). The Nobel Peace Prize Forum was a unique learning experience giving Nobel Peace Prize laureates, diplomats, scholars, and the general public the opportunity to dialogue on the dynamics of peacemaking and the underlying causes of conflict and war. Currently, Smaby Peace Scholars are involved in the Human Rights Forum, an annual event held in Minneapolis, MN, which grew out of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum that inspires students and other citizens to become active participants in peacemaking efforts around the world.
Smaby Peace Scholars join students from other affiliated colleges to participate in a summer seminar in Lillehammer and Oslo, Norway, designed to deepen the students’ understanding of injustice, conflict, and violence and to develop leaders for peace. The seminar begins at the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Lillehammer where Smaby Peace Scholars spend five days as participant–observers in structured dialogue sessions with students from other areas of the world. The program continues at the University of Oslo International Summer School where Smaby Peace Scholars continue their Peace Scholars Seminar with additional undergraduate courses designed to encourage students to pursue academic studies in the fields of world peace, social justice, conflict resolution, and human rights.
Throughout the next summer and the following academic year, Smaby Peace Scholars dedicate their leadership skills to working with others in the campus community to break down violence, advance justice, and build a culture of peace and peacemaking on Concordia’s campus and the surrounding community.
The purpose of the Smaby Peace Scholars Endowment is to inspire and engage students to become full participants in peacemaking efforts around the world. Students should be encouraged to study in the areas of world peace, social justice, conflict resolution, and human rights. Distributions from the fund are to be used to provide support to Concordia students who are selected to participate in the Smaby Peace Scholars Program. The students selected are known as “Smaby Peace Scholars.”