This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Colman McCarthy, founder of The Center for Teaching Peace, adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and columnist for the Washington Post, will speak on “Peace and Non-Violence in a Time of War” 8 p.m. today in the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights auditorium.
Free and open to the public, the lecture is sponsored by Students for Social Justice, College Democrats, Lafayette Activities Forum, the Ethics Project, the American Studies program, and the Dean of Studies Office.
According to organizers, McCarthy will challenge the role of the military in society and present a peaceful alternative.
“I am a journalist for one reason — to use whatever skills I have to ease suffering in the world,” he says.
McCarthy is a syndicated columnist and editorial page writer for The Washington Post. He teaches a course at Georgetown University Law Center, “Solutions to Violence,” and formed the nonprofit Center for Teaching Peace, which helps schools begin or broaden peace studies programs. Under his leadership, the center also conducts workshops and seminars on conflict resolution and mediation.
The National Review has called McCarthy “a mad-dog liberal,” while The Progressive says he is “an active-duty troublemakerconstantly reminding us that we could — and should — be doing better.”
In his talks at college campuses, McCarthy calls on students to defy the conventional by becoming citizens who are “other-centered, not self-centered.” He argues that everybody is called on to be a peacemaker, personally and politically.
Carthy has been writing for The Washington Post since 1968. His columns have been nationally syndicated since 1978. He also is a member of the Post’s editorial page staff, regularly drawing more letters-to-the-editor than any other op-ed writer.
A graduate of Spring Hill College, McCarthy was born in 1938 in Old Brookville, N.Y. He lives in Washington with his wife Mavourneen, a registered nurse and writer, and his three sons. His essays have appeared in magazines ranging from The New Yorker to Reader’s Digest.