Wayne State University's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, in the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs (CULMA), is launching a weeklong "Summer Institute," June 16-20, in observance of the national Ralph Bunche Centenary Commemoration. The daily activities are scheduled at various locations on Wayne State's main campus as well as some off-campus sites.

Secondary teachers and students from various school districts and educational institutions will participate in a variety of topics and training ranging from cross-cultural and negotiation skills, African curriculum to a United Nations related simulation.

Detroit, as one of four "legacy cities" hosting yearlong commemorative activities and events throughout the nation, is the birthplace of civil rights pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Ralph Johnson Bunche. Following his birth on Aug. 7, 1903, Bunche spent his early childhood in Detroit, moving to Los Angeles in later years where he developed as a student and scholar earning a bachelor's degree from UCLA. He then completed a master's degree and PhD at Harvard University and moved to Washington, D.C. where he organized and chaired the political science department at Howard University from 1929-1941. His distinguished career as a scholar and activist continued while he served in the Office of Strategic Services, the State Department and the

United Nations. In 1950 he became the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his success as United Nations Mediator bringing about the 1949 Rhodes armistices between Israel and its neighboring Arab states, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Bunche, who was also instrumental in African de-colonization, remained at the United Nations until his death in 1971.

Co-sponsors for the "Summer Institute" include: Comerica Bank, Cranbrook Peace Foundation, Detroit Rotary Club, Detroit Tigers, Greektown Casino, Lincoln Park Schools and Wayne State University's Office of International Programs. For further information about the event call (313) 577-4717.

The five-day event is not open to the general public.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.

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