IIPAC, Rotary Club Cherkasy International, and Cherkasy National University Explore Peacebuilding During Active War

Dr. Mehri Hilton delivering the keynote address at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.
Dr. Mehri Hilton delivering the keynote address at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.

University leaders, academics, students, media representatives, IIPAC, and Rotary Club Cherkasy International came together to discuss the role of education, research, and civic leadership during active war.

The question “How do we study peace while violence is still unfolding?” sat at the center of today’s international seminar at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.

Dr. Mehri Hilton speaking at the podium during her keynote address.
Dr. Mehri Hilton, IIPAC’s Founding President and Chief Academic Officer, delivering the keynote address.

Rethinking Universities During Active War

Dr. Mehri Hilton, IIPAC’s Founding President and Chief Academic Officer, delivered the keynote address, “From Post-Conflict to Proxi-Temporal Peacebuilding: Rethinking Universities During Active War.”

Drawing from her Proxi-TemporalTM Peacebuilding Framework, Dr. Hilton argued that universities are not simply places where knowledge is preserved. During war, they can become places where people stay connected, where communities hold themselves together, and where the first hard work of peace can begin.

University leaders, academics, students, and IIPAC gathered around the seminar table at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.
University leaders, academics, students, and IIPAC gathered at Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.

Education in Wartime

The seminar also included a panel discussion on the role of education in wartime, bringing Ukrainian colleagues and IIPAC into conversation about resilience, wellbeing, research ethics, and the foundations of future peace. Dr. Hilton posits that it is the responsibility of researchers and educators to work carefully with people living through trauma, not as subjects of study, but as partners in understanding what communities need and how recovery begins.

JC Clapsaddle, IIPAC co-founder, seated at the seminar table in front of a screen showing the IIPAC logo.
JC Clapsaddle, IIPAC co-founder, at the seminar.

A Partnership in Practice

The seminar was the product of the cooperation agreement signed in July 2026 by IIPAC, Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy, and Rotary Club Cherkasy International. For IIPAC, it was another chance to bring its work into direct dialogue with Ukrainian educators whose knowledge comes not from theory alone, but from daily service inside a country under attack.

Name cards for Dr. Mehri Hilton and JC Clapsaddle, in Ukrainian, on the seminar table as participants gather.
Name cards for IIPAC’s founders, Dr. Mehri Hilton and JC Clapsaddle, at the seminar table.

We are grateful to our university and Rotary partners, and to everyone who joined the discussion, for a serious, generous, and deeply meaningful exchange.

Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy has published its own report of the seminar: “University as a Pillar of Resilience: Peace Discussed at ChNU”. The article is available in Ukrainian only.

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