Paul C. Forage
The Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education is named in honor of Dr. Paul C. Forage.
Dr. Paul Forage was a true renaissance person, with interests in disaster management, terrorism, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding, and Chinese history. He believed strongly that experience-based learning empowered those deployed in conflict-prone environments to be effective in alleviating suffering and building peace.
He established FTX Atlantic Hope, a multi-day immersion simulation training for students working in conflict- and disaster-impacted environments. The program was offered annually from 2000-2015 and is now a core program offered by the Forage Center.
During Forage's career, he:
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Co-founded the peace studies program at Florida Atlantic University
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Directed the emergency management program at Indian River State College
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Served in the Canadian Army Reserve Forces with the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment while at the University of Michigan
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Directed Community Emergency Response Team programs in St. Lucie and Martin counties in Florida
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Offered FTX Svetlina, a two-week training program in Macedonia that brought together both U.S. and Macedonian students while working with the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Macedonia
For Paul, the impact he had on students was most meaningful. Over 500 students have benefited from his work, and many have gone on to work in, or support those in, conflict zones around the world. In addition, he assembled a community of professionals dedicated to advancing humanitarian and peacebuilding education.
"He had a tremendous impact on my life. His passion for helping others, and equally important, his willingness to push the limits of traditional training, opened my eyes to so many opportunities and challenged me to pursue excellence in my humanitarian work.”
Paul Forage’s obituary can be found here.