The Center for Human Rights Leadership

History

Claremont McKenna College’s mission is to provide students with a superior liberal arts education that prepares them for leadership in business, the professions, and government. In keeping with these goals, CMC began to support teaching and research about the Holocaust in the early 1970s, and launched the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights in March 2003, placing the College among the forerunners in the field of Holocaust Studies. The name of the center was changed in May 2009 to The Center for Human Rights Leadership.

Initially supported by Leigh Crawford '94 and other members of the first advisory board, the Center was established by its founding director, Professor John Roth, and associate director, Professor Jonathan Petropoulos. Professor Roth served as director through 2006; Professor Petropoulos succeeded him from 2007-2008; and Professor Edward Haley was named director in July 2008. Professor Gary Gilbert served as associate director from 2007-2009.

From the very beginning, through its programs of teaching, visiting scholars, academic travel, internships, and service, the Center has sought to enable students to understand the causes and legacy of the Holocaust and to develop the ethical commitments and leadership qualities necessary to prevent and overcome human rights abuses in today’s world.

The Center's human rights initiatives led by students include a role in founding and developing Students Against Genocide, a nation-wide effort aimed at stopping genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and a mission to provide relief to residents of New Orleans following the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. Other initiatives supported by the Center include summer human rights internships for students, the Center’s student-led Human Rights Task Forces, and funding for student-faculty research, visiting scholars, and speakers.

Students Against Genocide (SAG)
With support from the Center, Students Against Genocide (SAG) was created in the fall of 2004 to raise awareness about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, a western region of Sudan. Led by a committee of students at CMC, SAG produced an extensive research report on the genocide in Darfur titled "From Kigali to Khartoum: Genocide in Western Sudan." The paper, which explores the similarities between the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and that in Darfur, is available here on the SAG website. SAG also distributed fliers on campus and to student groups at other colleges. In January of 2005, the group traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with policymakers and experts regarding the situation in Sudan. The group met with more than 20 Congressional offices, with Jerry Fowler, director of the Committee on Conscience, and with Charles Snyder, the senior expert on Sudan at the State Department. In cooperation with other student groups at the Claremont Colleges, SAG facilitated the sales of thousands of "Stop Genocide in Sudan" t-shirts to students and activists around the world. The shirts, designed by CMC student Keara Duggan, are available online. SAG is supported by CMC's Holocaust Center and its Student Advisory Committee. For more information, visit Students Against Genocide.