Martin Farrell receives Dick Ringler Distinguished Peace Educator Award

Martin “Marty” Farrell, Ripon College professor of politics and government and coordinator of the global studies program, was awarded the 2014-15 Dick Ringler Distinguished Peace Educator Award for the state of Wisconsin. The award, given each year by the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, was presented to Farrell at the WIPCS’s spring student-faculty conference held at Carthage College. Farrell was invited to give a keynote address; “Democracy, Peace and Conflict: Person and Professional Reflections on 30 Years with the Wisconsin Institute,” reflected on Farrell’s 30-year participation in the institute and on the conference theme of “Democracy in the 21st Century.”

Farrell’s academic interests and expertise spans many regions of the world, including Europe, Asia, South and Central America. Along with Professor Dean Katahira, he has developed an international film course that has shown more than 700 films over the last 20 years. Farrell also was a founding member of the Wisconsin Institute, representing Ripon College on its board for many years. He was an active member in the WIPCS’s Speakers Program and served as executive director of the institute’s executive board for four years. He also has been active on the Fond du Lac County Board, currently serving as its chairman. He is a frequent speaker across the state on issues related to a wide range of international issues.

The Ringler Award “recognizes someone who has made a notable contribution to teaching or studying one or more of the subjects identified in the institute’s mission statement, which include: the roots of conflict at all levels of human experience; national and global security issues; global cooperation, human rights, and international law; environmental responsibility and global sustainability; methods of and context for conflict resolution and reconciliation; and factors necessary for peace, on an interpersonal level as well as on a global scale.” It is named after Dick Ringler, a distinguished and revered professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was instrumental in the creation of the WIPCS.