By Lee Smithey

I recently had the opportunity to speak at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland at the invitation of a former and dear Peace and Conflict Studies faculty member at Swarthmore, Dr. Jeffrey Murer. Jeffrey sends his greetings to everyone at Swarthmore, and I made sure to let him know that we miss his contributions to our program. However, we are, of course, pleased to have him as a professional colleague at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of St. Andrews.

When he left Swarthmore, Jeffrey joined the School of International Relations at the Univeristy of St. Andrews where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate students and advises Ph.D. students. He has also been conducting extensive research on radical youth in Central and Nordic Europe. See The European Study of Youth Mobilisation. (Also see the full pdf report)

As part of my visit, I had the opportunity to participate in a master class with Jeffrey’s students on research methodology in conflict and post-conflict situations.  I felt right at home. Given what I knew about Jeffrey’s reputation for teaching at Swarthmore, I was not surprised to find that his students are smart, engaged, and very thoughtful.  We had a difficult time ending our two-hour class because the conversation was so good! I learned a lot.

Many thanks to Jeffrey Murer and all of the faculty and students in the School of International Relations.