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John Jay College Congratulates Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

2010 Recipient of the John Jay Justice Award for International Leadership

October 7, 2011 -- John Jay College of Criminal Justice today congratulates Leymah Gbowee, winner of the prestigious 2011 Nobel Prize for Peace. She, together with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Tawakkul Karman, were co-winners of the prize.

Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice said, "We are pleased to extend our congratulations to Leymah Gbowee for her exemplary dedication to justice.  She received the College’s 2010 international leader for justice award in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to mobilizing women to stop the war in Liberia." Travis continued, “We know that she will continue her courageous fight wherever she is needed throughout the world.”

Ms. Gbowee was recognized for her “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for support of women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” In September, Gbowee launched the Women in the World Foundation and just published her memoir, Mighty be our Powers.

As a mother, social worker and witness to the violence wrought by the bloody Liberian civil war, Leymah Gbowee realized it was up to the women of Liberia to end the devastation. Gbowee joined the Women in Peacebuilding Network where her charismatic leadership enabled her to rally both Christian and Muslim women to join together to protest the conflict. Gbowee is currently the Executive Director of Women, Peace and Security Africa, a women-led, Pan-African non-governmental organization committed to promoting women’s strategic participation and leadership in peace and security initiatives and governance in Africa.

The John Jay Justice Award was created in 2008 to honor individuals and organizations that exemplify dedication to the cause of justice.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu.