SFCG President and VP Honored by University for Peace

Dr. Amr Abdalla of the University for Peace with SFCG Founder and President, John Marks and Senior Vice President, Susan Collin Marks.

Search for Common Ground is entering the New Year on a high. On Friday, Searchers in the DC office attended a degree awarding ceremony in which Dr. Amr Abdalla, Professor and Vice Rector of the United Nations affiliated University for Peace presented Honorary Doctorate Degrees from UPEACE to John Marks and Susan Collin Marks. The degrees were given in recognition of the impact of their work in peacebuilding and for the work that Search for Common Ground does around the world.

Susan Collin Marks, holding her degree.

“This is the highest honor we could receive,” Susan Collin Marks said upon accepting her degree. “It’s our university and belongs to the world.”

John and Susan accepted their doctorates “with all 500 of our colleagues around the world standing beside us,” saying that all Searchers are now also “Doctors of Peace.”

UPEACE was established in 1980 in Costa Rica under a UN approved charter with the mission of promoting a spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is the university’s honorary president.

We congratulate John Marks and Susan Collin Marks on their achievement and thank the University of Peace for this high honor.