Research and Professional Development

ZIA HAQUE, PH.D.

Director, The Baker Institute

Elizabeth Evans Baker Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Juniata College

Zia Haque, Ph.D., studies the transformative impacts of techbased conflict prevention and digital peacebuilding initiatives, and explores issues in the emerging field of peace technology. His current research investigates the impact of information and communication technology on social movements and elections. His work has supported the Baker Institute’s goal of providing leadership in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies as an academic program through research, curriculum development, consultation, and education.

Interviews and Publications:

Ziaul Haque and David Carroll. (2021) Assessing the Impact of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Electoral Integrity. Election Law Journal.

Interviewed: Kirsch, H. (February, 2022). Russia invades Ukraine. The Daily News, World.

Interviewed: Groppe, M. Vaden Brook, T. (May, 2022) Does Vladimir Putin have an endgame in Ukraine? The next few weeks are crucial. USA Today, Politics.

Presentations and Conferences:

Invited Speaker: Mapping Digital Hate: The Coronavirus, Anti-Asian Violence, and Social Stigmatization in the United States, with Joseph G. Bock, Peace History Society Conference. Georgia, USA. October 21–23, 2021.

Selected Virtual Representative: The City of the Future, with Crystal Sellers Battle and Caitlin Murphy. Global Senior Leadership Symposium. D.C., USA. December 16, 2022.

Invited Speaker: Peacetech: Engineering to Change the World, Peace and Conflict Studies at Manchester University. Indiana, USA. April 22, 2022.

Fellowships and Awards:

Wharton Social Impact Initiative: WISE Summer Fellowship, awarded to continue academic research on the margin of victory and electoral integrity in United States elections.

Stacia Fleegal

Former Program Coordinator, the Baker Institute Stacia Fleegal became a certified mediator in August 2021 and led a restructured version of PACS 108: Mediation in Spring 2022. Fleegal spent five eight-hour days in late summer participating in a virtual mediation certification program through Kennesaw State University’s Center for Conflict Management, which included presentations and role-play simulations of real-world civil and family-mediated conflicts.

Once certified, Fleegal spent the Fall 2021 semester restructuring the existing mediation course offered by the Peace and Conflict Studies program. Previously, the course had been a variable-credit offering of either one, two, or three-weekend intensive training. Fleegal built a new syllabus for a three-credit semester-long course, utilizing updated texts, gathering effective role-play activities, and designing a final video project that tasked students with writing, acting, and producing their own mediation simulations.

Fleegal, who holds a Masters of Fine Arts in English and possesses prior teaching experience, enjoyed the opportunity to branch out and add new skills to both her repertoire and the Baker Institute’s cadre of practitioners. She especially loved facilitating small-group role-play activities for her students and watching their exceptional final video projects.