A PERSON FOR OTHERS AWARD
Dr. Terrence J. Rynne, Grad ’06
Winnetka, Ill.
Terry always has been impressed by how Marquette students embody the phrase “persons for others,” and he says receiving an award with that title is humbling and uplifting. Yet as the founder of the Marquette University Center for Peacemaking, Terry is the reason so many students have pursued a life of service to others.
Since proposing the idea to the university in 2006, Terry and his wife, Sally, have enjoyed watching the center’s growth. It now offers immersion experiences for students, research opportunities for faculty, and collaborations with local organizations. Through the Peace Works program, for instance, the center partners with area schools to promote nonviolent conflict resolution among students.
Terry’s commitment to nonviolence extends far beyond Marquette’s campus. In 2016, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican Office of Peace and Justice, invited Terry and 80 other Catholics from around the world to help draft an encyclical on nonviolence for Pope Francis. After two years of collaboration, they returned to the Vatican to further edit the chapters. Terry led the group drafting a section on the New Testament basis of Jesus’ nonviolence.
“I find the exploration of the power of nonviolence endlessly interesting, both as an academic pursuit and a practical approach to wielding power,” he says.
As an instructor of theology, Terry also has taught “Introduction to Peace Studies” for the last nine years. He believes every Marquette student should major, double major, or minor in peace studies, because “their lives and careers will be that much more exciting and productive.”
Fun Fact:
Terry’s dream dinner guest would be Mohandas Gandhi, who was the subject of Terry’s book, Gandhi & Jesus: The Saving Power of Nonviolence. “The lives and teachings of both Gandhi and Jesus are worthy of a lifetime of study and practice,” he says.