Center for Peace and Global Citizenship

What is the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship?

Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) located at Haverford College, Philadelphia, connects the College’s academic programs with the real world issues of poverty and conflict throughout the world. The goal is to give students both academic and international hands-on experience in dealing with these problems to sustain their interest beyond their college years.

Programs Supported by ORFL

Although the center’s activities are extensive, the following represent the major focus of ORFL’s support.

Microfinance And Social Business Program

Recognizing that microfinance and social business solutions represent successful tools in the fight to end poverty, CPCG has introduced an academic program with a specialized focus in this area with two courses, a general, broad-based 200-level course that teaches basic finance and microfinance principles, and a junior seminar course focused on current topics in microfinance research.

Shannon Mudd

Assistant Professor of Economics and Microfinance Program Coordinator

Shannon Mudd has been hired to direct and lead the study of microfinance. Under his aegis and inspired by his own research, this academic program will be added to the economics curriculum. Professor Mudd will also be responsible for advising senior thesis research in microfinance.

International Microfinance Symposium

A further component of this microfinance program will include an on-campus international symposium, scheduled for the 2012/13 academic year. It aims to bring together microfinance practitioners, recipients, academics, investors and activists to campus to discuss various microfinance topics both in economics classes and in seminars for the general community.

“There will be opportunities for students to talk with people with broad sets of interests and skills who have found ways to work with microfinance,” says Mudd, who is coordinating the visitors program and planning the symposium. There will also be opportunities to participate in conferences, visit [microfinance-] supporting organizations in the US and, ideally, go out in the field. All will help students create their own opportunities for internships, campus projects, research and work after graduation.”

Summer Internships

The CPGC funds a robust program of domestic and international summer internships. Working with a variety of organizations large and small, students can become involved in addressing a wide array of pressing social issues, including post-conflict peace building, transitional justice, public health, education, gender inequality, fair trade, environmental degradation, sustainable development, cultural preservation and the arts.

Haverford Students at Sekaralas Village, Indonesia

Dedicated to encouraging organic and sustainable farming, this NGO reached out to the community in the village with projects involving the kids of Sekaralas. The projects encouraged creativity, self-reliance, commitment, responsibility and a strong work ethic.

Haverford House

This is an urban post-graduate program where students live in the community and provide public service to the Philadelphia urban community.