The Fresno Pacific University Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies was honored May 4, 2007 with a statewide award by the California Community Justice Project and Partners in Restorative Justice Board of Directors. CPACS and the Fresno County Juvenile Probation Department were cited for innovation and pioneering work in restorative justice. The California Community Justice Project is a committee of the Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of California. CPACS Director Ron Claassen received the award at the Restorative Justice Conference in Santa Rosa. Phil Kader, juvenile probation director, accepted for his department. (FPU photo: Claassen, left, and Kader.)
March 2007 KNXT channel 49 "Forum for Better Understanding" show interviews Duane Ruth-Heffelbower and others on the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The first show focuses on constitutional issues and the second on political and moral issues. First show March 5 at 2:00 PM, March 7 at 10:00 PM and March 9 at 11:30 AM. Second show March 12 at 2:00 PM. March 14 at 10:00 PM and March 16 at 11:30 AM.
January 2007 Community Alliance newspaper covers the collaborative forum on the military commissions act 0f 2006 in which PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower was one of the four panelists.
"A time to forgive" by Ron Orozco in the Fresno Bee January 13, 2007. Ron Claassen and others are interviewed about the ministry of Victim Offender Reconciliation Program which Ron founded in 1982 and continues to serve.
VORP and PACS on the Prison Fellowship web site http://www.prisonfellowship.org/article.asp?ID=204
DUNN TO APPEAR ON TELEVISION Larry Dunn, peacemaking and conflict studies faculty, will be part of a panel on the television program "Forum for a Better Understanding" on KNXT Channel 49. Part one will air Monday, August 7, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.; Wednesday, August 9, at 10:00 p.m.; and Friday, August 11, at 11:30 a.m. Part two will air Monday, August 14, at 2:00 p.m.; Wednesday, August 16, at 10:00 p.m.; and Friday, August 18, at 11:30 a.m. The topic of each 30-minute broadcast will be a religious response to the present world situation. Panelists will discuss how religion offers a vision and practical strategies for peace and justice.
September 2005 Sojourners Magazine article "Peace by Degree" by Julie Polter lists PACS Web site as a resource. September/October 2005 (Vol. 34, No. 9, pp. 28-31).
July 19, 2005 Fresno Bee article "Mentors provide guidance to kids of inmate parents" on project mentoring children of prisoners in which faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower provides training for the mentors. http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/10918072p-11687611c.html (requires registration).
July 20, 2004 Fresno Bee article "University, law college offer cooperative degree: Program, which will begin small, will focus on conflict resolution" announces new cooperative program which allows students to simultaneously earn the San Joaquin College of Law J.D. degree and the M.A. in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies from FPU.
January 2004 Christian Leader carries article by Larry A. Dunn. "Rethinking Conflict" and an article by Ron Claassen "Our Way vs. My Way."
October 13, 2003 Mennonite Weekly Review prints John A. Lapp's review of PACS graduate Douglas E. Knoll's book Peacemaking: Practicing at the Intersection of Law and Human Conscience.
August 11, 2003 Mennonite Weekly Review prints article "Partnership brings help to village" describing the Heritage Bible Church mission trip to Palawan, Philippines in which faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower participated.
April 14, 2003 The Fresno Bee prints article "War called ultimate failure" interviewing PACS faculty members Ron Claassen, Dalton Reimer and Larry Dunn.
March 24, 2003 KFSN channel 30 includes comments of PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower in a news story on reactions to the local airing of videotape of American prisoners of war.
March 17, 2003 KSEE channel 24 reports on reaction to the beginning of the war in Iraq from FPU students and PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower. Video available at http://peace.fresno.edu/war/
January 11, 2003 The Fresno Bee prints a Ron Orozco article "Peace be with You" describing the response of different religious groups to war. PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower's story of moving from the military to pacifism is included.
August 22, 2002 The Fresno Bee reports that PACS grad student Andrica Johnson has been awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Fresno Women's Network.
May 1, 2002 The Evangelical Press Association awards third place in its special "Cause of the Year" category, Restorative Justice, to the Christian Leader for "Joseph Goes to School" by Ron and Roxanne Claassen.
May 1, 2002 Restorative Justice Online, a service of Prison Fellowship International, features PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower's work in Indonesia.
April 15, 2002 Mennonite Weekly Review carries an article about Discipline that Restores and also a photo of PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower in Ambon, Indonesia.
September 21, 2001 Ambon Expres (Indonesian language) interviews Duane Ruth-Heffelbower and his team on their work with UNICEF in Ambon and the prospects for peace there.
September 15, 2001 Fresno Bee article by Ron Claassen "How We Respond Will Reveal Who We Are" responding to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
March 10, 2001 Fresno Bee article "Good vs. Evil" by Ron Orozco on the subject of lying quotes Ron Claassen
March 2, 2001 MB Herald carries the article "Indonesians celebrate healing of split" with the story of Duane Ruth-Heffelbower's team working in Indonesia.
January 2001 Christian Leader carries the article "Joseph Goes to School" by Ron and Roxanne Claassen.
January 15, 2001 "University helps build peaceful society," in the Canadian Mennonite. A story about Duta Wacana Christian University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and the work of PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower.
December 19, 2000 Mennonite Weekly Review special issue on the work of Mennonites in Indonesia, including stories about the work of PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower and of his wife Clare Ann who is MCC Country Representative.
November 28, 2000 "Indonesians Celebrate Healing of Split." Mennonite Weekly Review article about reconciliation of the Javanese Mennonite Church, mentioning the work of PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower and his Indonesian team in the process. Other Mennonite media pick up the same story.
October 9, 2000 "Wounds are healing in Mindanao" by Merpu Roa published in Pamantalaang Mindanaw, A Publication of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism, describes a reconciliation process in Mindanao and quotes Duane Ruth-Heffelbower on the application of the PACS Peacemaking Model.
September 22, 2000 "Javanese Mennonite Church to Re-unite." MCC press release regarding process in which Duane Ruth-Heffelbower was involved.
August 11, 2000 "Violence between Indonesian Christians and Muslims spreads to islands," in Mennonite Brethren Herald, vol. 29, no. 15. Article based on MCC press releases concerning work of Duane Ruth-Heffelbower.
June 22, 2000 Mennonite Central Committee issues two news releases picked up in various Mennonite periodicals "Indonesian church leaders train for conciliation" about the work of PACS faculty member Duane Ruth-Heffelbower in West Papua, and "Christians and Muslims face tension in Indonesia" describing the situation he is facing, based on an interview.
May 1999 "When Families Fight," Christian Leader, by Duane Ruth-Heffelbower.
January 28, 1999 The Prince George's Sentinel (Maryland) publishes "Refugees find new home in Riverdale" describing the feast ending Ramadan and the Conflict and Peacemaking Across Cultures training provided by PACS to the community on behalf of the Maryland Office for New Americans.
Mennonite Weekly Review re-publishes Washington Post story "Helping to Bridge Cultural Divide" in its January 28, 1999 issue.
Fresno Bee article January 18, 1999 page B1 "Peacemaking center closes cultural gaps" about Duane Ruth-Heffelbower and the PACS Conflict and Peacemaking Across Cultures project funded by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Fresno Bee 1/02/99 carries Sacramento Bee report titled "Mediation program brings criminal, victim together" on victim offender mediation. The article describes the Fresno program and quotes Ron Claassen
Washington Post December 10, 1998 prints an article "Helping to Bridge Cultural Divide" on the Conflict and Peacemaking Across Cultures training led by Duane Ruth-Heffelbower in Falls Church, VA.
Duane Ruth-Heffelbower article "Restorative justice: making things right" published in The Witness November 1998
PACS Faculty and staff honored by Central California Dispute Resolution Association, as published in The Bar Bulletin June 1998: Mark Roy as outgoing president of CCDRA; Ron Claassen as Executive Director of Victim Offender Reconciliation Program of the Central Valley; Dalton Reimer as Co-Director of the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies; Duane Ruth-Heffelbower for his work with the Restorative Justice Project.
Ron Claassen article "Punishment or Accountability" in The Bar Bulletin June 1998.
Jay Griffith and Ron Claassen article "Offender Makes About Face After VORP Community Justice Conference, Boot Camp" in The Bar Bulletin June 1998.
Ron Claassen article "Community Justice Conference Process Involves People Who Need to Know" in The Bar Bulletin June 1998.
PACS listed in gradschools.com listing of peace and conflict programs.
PACS is listed as a source of professional peacemaking services for churches in the Spring 1998 edition of Leadership Journal. The listing is part of a series of articles in the issue on conflict in churches.
Ron Claassen quoted and both the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies and Fresno VORP listed as two of the "Groups That Are Redefining Justice" in "Making Criminals Pay" by Joe Leconte in Policy Review Jan/Feb 1998 issue. The article focuses on Genesee County New York where restorative justice practices have had a large impact.
PACS web site listed as a three-star Alternative Dispute Resolution Site by Magellan and as a Must See site by AOL.
"Offender, victim mediation can be successful option" by Wendy Costa, Fresno Bee 11-19-97. Describes Victim Offender Reconciliation Program and Ron Claassen's role in bringing it to Fresno.
October 21, 1997 National Public Radio Morning Edition report on Atlanta's new diversity, including clips from our Conflict and Peacemaking Across Cultures training session. Requires RealAudio player.
Ron Claassen article "Community Justice Conferencing: Expanding Restorative Justice in Fresno County, California." Community Corrections Report. Vol. 4, No. 6, 1997.
Ron Claassen's article "Fresno VORP Recognized for Contribution to Restorative Justice Movement" in the August 1997 Bar Bulletin of the Fresno County Bar Association.
Ron Claassen's "Principles of Restorative Justice" printed in the Spring 1997 edition of The Alternative, the newsletter of the Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish and Island Counties in Washington.
Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, "A Lawyer Looks at Integration" in MEDA News, Spring 1997. Article by our Associate Director on the process of integration of the two largest Mennonite denominations.
Johanna Munoz, "United Nations Adopts Principles Authored by Fresno Man," South/City Neighbors (Fresno Bee), November 14, 1996, p. 12. Article about Ron Claassen's Principles of Restorative Justice.
Ron Claassen, "The Principles of Restorative Justice", Conciliation Quarterly, Summer 1996 issue. The online version is the principles without editorial matter, and is the form presented May 1995 at NCPCR then revised and adopted May 1996 by the UN Alliance of NGOs Working Party on Restorative Justice.
