Editoral: Nowak is right choice for center
On Tuesday, Provost Mark McNamee announced the appointment of Jerzy Nowak as the founding director of the new Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. Nowak's wife, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, was killed in Norris Hall on April 16 while teaching her French class.
Since then, Nowak has been passionately involved in the center's creation, making him an ideal appointment for the position of founding director.
His emotional involvement with the creation and mission of the Center will only help a program with such aspirations get that much closer to the solutions it seeks for some of the world's toughest issues.
The job is not an objective one and requires much more than a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. commitment. It will require Nowak's passion for his wife's legacy to jump-start the program, and he has already proven he is willing to put in the effort.
Prior to his appointment, Nowak has spent the months since April 16 working on building new programs with purposes similar to that of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, presenting formal proposals within the university and to the Governor's panel.
It is clear he has a goal in mind and will work tirelessly toward it.
On top of his unequivocal emotional attachment to the center, Nowak has worldly experience to bring to discussions of peace.
He has lived in Poland, Germany, Nigeria and Canada, teaching and conducting research, before he came to Tech in 2000 where he has been serving as the head of the Department of Horticulture.
Nowak's perspectives from many other countries and cultures will give the center and its students a great resource.
Scholars and students within the center will be able to achieve a bigger picture of the issues affecting peace by working with first-hand accounts of its status throughout the world.
Getting the center off the ground will not be an easy task, and Nowak's passion, grief and expertise will be vital to its success.
The editorial board is composed of David Harries and Lauren Lee
