Academics
Howard Wolpe
Professor of Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Senior Fellow, Peace Operations Policy Program, School of Public Policy
George Mason University
Tribute to Peace Scholar Howard Wolpe: 1939-2011
The Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies is deeply saddened by the loss of Peace Scholar Howard Wolpe, who passed away October 25, 2011 in his hometown of Saugatuck, Michigan. He was 71 years old.
A former seven-term Member of Congress, Wolpe is perhaps best known for his role in the 1986 passage of the federal anti-apartheid act that imposed economic sanctions on South Africa, which passed in spite of President Ronald Reagan's veto. As President Clinton's Special Envoy to Africa's Great Lakes Region, Wolpe helped mediate an end to conflicts in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently returned to government as special adviser to President Barack Obama.
As a renowned peacebuilder, Wolpe was to be the School's Peace Scholar in Residence from November 6-19, 2011. He planned planned to meet with students and faculty in the MA Peace and Justice Studies program and deliver a public talk.
"We are very sad about Dr. Wolpe's unexpected death. He was scheduled to arrive on campus in early November and we were all looking forward to hosting him here, " stated Lee Ann Otto, Associate Dean. "Our students, in particular, were eager to learn from his extensive peacebuilding experiences in Africa. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family."
HOWARD WOLPE
Dr. Howard Wolpe, a former seven-term Member of Congress and former Presidential Special Envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Region in the Clinton Administration, recently returned to the State Department as Special Advisor to the Secretary for Africa's Great Lakes Region. Previously, he served as Director of the Africa Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and of the Center’s Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity. While at the Center, Dr. Wolpe directed post-conflict leadership training programs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia. He is now retired, serving as a consultant and working on a book on the Burundi peace process.
A specialist in African politics, for ten of his fourteen years in the Congress Dr. Wolpe chaired the Subcommittee on Africa of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As Africa Subcommittee Chair, Dr. Wolpe authored and managed legislation imposing sanctions against South Africa, and over-riding President Reagan's veto of the sanctions legislation (the Comprehensive Anti-apartheid Act of 1986). He also authored and managed the passage of the African Famine Recovery and Development Act -- a 1980’s comprehensive rewrite of America's approach to development assistance in Africa, that included the creation of the African Development Fund.
Prior to entering the Congress, Dr. Wolpe served in the Michigan House of Representatives and as a member of the Kalamazoo City Commission.
Dr. Wolpe has taught at Western Michigan University (Political Science Department) and the University of Michigan (Institute of Public Policy Studies), and has served as a Visiting Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program of the Brookings Institution, as a Woodrow Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar, and as a consultant to the World Bank and to the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. State Department.
Dr. Wolpe received his B.A. degree from Reed College, and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Wolpe is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), of the Board of Directors of Africare, of the Board of Directors of Pathfinders, International, and of the Advisory Board of Coexistence International. He co-directed (with Ambassador David C. Miller, Jr.) the Ninetieth American Assembly on “Africa and U.S. National Interests” held in March 1997. He has written extensively on Africa, American foreign policy, and the management of ethnic and racial conflict.
