Biography

For the past four decades Paul has worked as a scientist-practitioner psychologist and advocate for violence prevention and positive psychological development of children and youth in schools and direct service treatment settings, particularly in under-represented and underserved economically disadvantaged immigrant communities in the US. Earning graduate degrees at Indiana University and the University of Texas at Austin, he completed both his doctoral internship training and postdoctoral fellowship in child clinical psychology at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Internship Consortium in Memphis TN. He served as an assistant and associate professor in school and educational psychology at the University of Kentucky, where he directed two large scale professional psychology personnel preparation grants with the Institute for Human Development and was a lead evaluator of the statewide preschool component of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Joining the psychology department at the University of Rhode Island he served as training director for the masters and doctoral degree programs in school psychology for several years before becoming the director of the URI Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies in 2009. He was honored as the first recipient of the URI Silvia-Chandley Professorship in Peace Studies in 2010-2012.

Dr. Bueno de Mesquita’s career has been focused largely on addressing the public health threats of conflict, aggression, and violence through primary prevention and delivery of population-oriented school-based mental health services. He was introduced to nonviolence as an effective psychological method for personal and social transformation by Dr. Bernard LaFayette, who was a close associate of and staff member to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Under the mentorship and training guidance of Bernard LaFayette, Paul became a Level III advanced nonviolence trainer.

Since 2009, he has directed the annual URI International Nonviolence Summer Institute, and personally been responsible for the recruitment and training of a growing network of certified trainers in Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation methods, which includes nearly a thousand members from over 45 countries and 28 US states. In collaborative partnerships with peace activists, NGOs, and universities he has conducted international nonviolence trainings and helped to institutionalize nonviolence and peace education programs in Nepal, the states of Jammu-Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and Nagaland, India, and several West African countries. The Center’s advanced leadership and development training has recently led to the establishment of a number of partner nonviolence and peace centers in India, Nepal, Haiti, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and DR Congo. Under his leadership the URI Center continues to fulfill its mission to realize Dr. King’s final vision of a global beloved community by providing transformative nonviolence and inner peace training and education programs at international and institutional levels.

In addition to his duties in psychology, Dr. Bueno de Mesquita heads the global peace specialization area in the URI International Relations graduate program, teaching PSY500/NVP500 Seminar: Introduction to the Theory, Research, and Practice of Nonviolence & Peace. His recent edited book, Kingian Nonviolence: Applications for International & Institutional Change, is a collection of chapters contributed by individuals who have earned certification in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation at the Center’s annual International Nonviolence Summer Institute. Inspirational chapters describe international and institutional applications of Kingian nonviolence and are organized into geographic sections spanning four continents: South America, Africa, South Asia, and the Balkans of Southeast Europe. Their stories in this volume offer evidence of the various ways in which training and education in the philosophy and methodology of nonviolence can initiate and guide social change at both the international and institutional levels.

Professional Awards

The Avi Schaefer – Seek Peace and Pursue It – Award (April 2019). In recognition of those who exemplify the values and qualities that Avi lived. To honor the deeds of those who step up publicly for Justice, Peace, and Compassion.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Peacemaker Award (2015). Presented by The University of Rhode Island Chaplains Association.

More Information

A native of Galveston Island, Texas, Paul enjoys travel, mountains, beaches, playing guitar and singing out for peace, justice and nonviolent social change.