Chris Stevens

March 3rd, 2025

6:30 p.m., Regency Room, Anderson University Center
Keynote lecture with Dr. Jaremey McMullin

Keynote preceded by a panel presentation with PLU Alumni and Community Public Service Volunteers at 4:00 p.m.
with Anna Chacon ’22, Kerry Dolan ’22, PLU Professor of Biology Amy Siegesmund; and Executive Director, American Red Cross, Northwest Region, Daniel Wirth

Note: panel and keynote will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person

Panel and Keynote Registration

PLU welcomes Dr. Jaremey McMullin, Senior Lecturer in the School of International Relations and co-creator of the MA in Peacebuilding and Mediation at the University of St Andrews, whose work is unique in bridging scholarly research and documentary filmmaking. Drawing on his extraordinary multi-year project, Motorcycling as Peacebuilding in Liberia, he will consider the processes, impacts, and challenges of youth peacebuilding in the commercial motorcycling sector in Liberia, on ex-combatant reintegration and postwar veterans’ transitions more generally, and share his recent thinking on the relationship between formal, official peacebuilding and mediation initiatives and informal, unofficial, and community-based efforts.

PLU Only Workshop: Peacebuilding and Mediation Registration

Workshop: Peacebuilding and Mediation, 12:30 – 1:35 p.m. in AUC 133, for PLU students, faculty, and staff, led by Dr. Jaremey McMullin.

Dr. McMullin's Biography

The Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens Celebration of Service

The Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens Celebration of Service uplifts the life of an extraordinary public servant and former Peace Corps volunteer killed on September 11th, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. Supporting PLU’s vision for global education of “educating to achieve a just, healthy, sustainable and peaceful world”, the event highlights individuals and organizations whose work offers innovative pathways to peace and embodies the risk, vision, creativity, empathy, and kindness that characterized the Ambassador’s public service career. The event has taken place biennially since 2013.

The inaugural lecture was delivered by Middle East reporter and expert, Robin Wright. The 2nd lecture was delivered by Egyptian-American documentary filmmaker, Jehane Noujaim. The 3rd featured Shamil Idriss, President and CEO of Search for Common Ground and former Deputy Director of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. Departing from a lecture format, the 4th celebration event featured a concert version of selections from the award-winning docu-musical Witness Uganda, written and composed by former Peace Corps volunteer, Matt Gould, and actor and co-founder of the UgandaProject, Griffin Matthews. In 2021, Amie Bishop, Global Health and Human Rights Consultant and friend of Chris Stevens, delivered her lecture, “Vulnerabilities Amplified: The Impact of COVID-19 on LGBTIQ People Globally”, and in 2023, Ryan M. Gliha, a career diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East, delivered the lecture, “The Servant Diplomat: Reflections on a Career in Diplomacy”.

The event draws audiences from the Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia areas including the University of Washington, Evergreen State College, the University of Puget Sound, as well as community colleges, churches, nonprofits and state agencies in the area. The event is made possible by the Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education, and PLU’s Office of the President.

2022 NPR Book Review: At 10th anniversary of Benghazi, ex-diplomat Ethan Chorin offers context