The John J Sweeney Scholarship at Ulster University’s International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) is now open for applications. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2016, midnight. This is the second year of this scholarship which is supported by the AFL-CIO.

The Scholarship is open to all US citizens who:

• Have been offered a full-time place on the MSc in Applied Peace and Conflict Studies and have made a firm commitment to Ulster University during the admissions phase

AND

• Are a US union member; or
• Have a familial connection to a US union member (mother, father, sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent); or
• Can provide a reference letter from a union sponsor.

The Scholarship will be used in support of full fees and some living expenses.

Download brochure, click here.

To request an application form, please contact Janet Farren – je.farren@ulster.ac.uk or download an application form click here.

Further information

This scholarship is supported by funds raised by the AFL-CIO and the American Labor community, business and civic organizations, and individuals.

At an event on 30th July 2014 at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, Ulster University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Hugh McKenna presented AFL-CIO President Emeritus John J. Sweeney with the distinction of the INCORE Global Peace and Social Justice Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the well-being of working people and the cause of peace in Northern Ireland. The INCORE Global Peace and Social Justice Award has been established to recognize those individuals who have already made a significant contribution to peace and social justice, thus acting as role models and inspiration for future generations

John J. Sweeney, the son of Irish immigrants, dedicated his life to advancing the well-being of working people. As a young man elected to President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32B, John led the merger of Local 32B-J, which became the largest property workers union in America. During his fifteen year tenure as president of SEIU, it became the fastest growing union in America and the first union since the early 1970s to have more than a million members. He continued to serve working people during his fourteen years as the President of the AFL-CIO and for the past five years as Chairman of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust.

The John J Sweeney Scholarship sits within the INCORE Peace Initiative, steered by the recently established John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace.

Please visit http://www.aflcio.org/ for further information on the AFL-CIO.

First John J Sweeney Scholar

Jennifer Johnson

After growing up in South Bend, Indiana, Jennifer enlisted into the United States Navy as a boiler technician on board the USS Samuel Gompers in California, and then on board the USS Simon Lake in Italy. Upon honorable fulfillment of a 4 year enlistment, Jennifer returned to Indiana to receive a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at Indiana University South Bend through the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. An internship with the Systems Department in the United States Federal Court in the Northern District of Indiana led to full-time employment with the Clerk's Office where she held the positions of Case Administrator, Operations Manager (Southern District of Indiana), and Courtroom Deputy. In 2015, Jennifer left the Court to continue her education with the University of Ulster in the MSc Appliced Peace and Conflict Resolution program.

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