Dambach Gives Back

School of Global Studies announces the Chic Dambach Peacebuilder Fellowship

Charles “Chic” Dambach found his passion for peace when he began his academic career at Oklahoma State University.

After an incredible life of peacebuilding around the globe, Dambach and other OSU alumni came together to create the Chic Dambach Peacebuilder Fellowship to help students who aspire to be peacebuilders.

In 1962, Dambach arrived at OSU on a football scholarship. After a shoulder injury ended his athletic career, Dambach had the opportunity to explore other interests beyond the classroom.

He soon joined the OSU debate team where he met his lifelong mentor and friend, Dale Stockton, who challenged Dambach to take a critical approach when discussing and analyzing social issues. During the 1960s, OSU administrative policies prohibited speakers on campus from discussing the Vietnam War or other progressive subjects. To work around this obstacle, a few students formed a group known as FATAGS (Friday Afternoon Tea and Glee Society) and began peacefully debating topics such as the war, free speech, civil rights and anything else they wanted to bring to the table.

Inspired by the activism he experienced during college, Dambach joined the Peace Corps after graduating from OSU in 1967. His first volunteer location was at a small fishing village in Colombia, where Dambach stayed from 1967 to 1969, helping the locals form a worker’s co-op, obtain loans, build a school and acquire fishing gear.

After the Peace Corps, Dambach began to use his skill set in peacebuilding by negotiating between Ethiopia and Eritrea to end their border war. By the time the war ended, Dambach had saved hundreds of lives by facilitating peaceful negotiations and discussions between the two countries. Later, Dambach served in a similar role in the internal Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo conflicts.

Dambach’s efforts in peacebuilding have been recognized by a multitude of organizations, groups, governments and individuals. Most notably, he was nominated in 2017 for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Not only did Dambach excel in peacebuilding, but he also lived another extraordinary life in athletics. He was a national competition official kayak racer in the 1986, 1992 and 1995 Olympic Games for the USA kayak and canoe racing teams.

As a result of his incredible efforts to make the world a better place, a group of OSU alumni and former FATAG members came together to create the Chic Dambach Peacebuilder Endowed Fellowship. The fellowship will be awarded to students who take on the challenge of peacebuilding. The council established the fund on behalf of Dambach, who dedicated his life to building peace and positively impacting the lives of people throughout the world.

“We are so honored that Chic and his friends and classmates are endowing a scholarship for Global Studies students who are interested in pursuing careers in peacebuilding,” said Dr. Jami

Fullerton, associate dean of the School of Global Studies.

Students obtaining a master’s degree from OSU Global can apply for the Dambach Peacebuilder Endowed Fellowship. The award will go toward students actively working to build peace or solve international issues.

The legacy Dambach has left at OSU, and the world, will carry on thanks to the donations from the members of the Dambach Fellowship Founder’s Council.

Dambach Fellowship

Founders’ Council Members

 Doug Caves, Middleton, Wisconsin*

 Sherry Caves, Middleton, Wisconsin*

 Hank Hankla, Durham, North Carolina*

 Connie Kantzer, Stanwood, Washington*

 Keith McGlamery, Charlottesville, Virginia*

 Gene Reid, Powell, Ohio*

 Ron Stevens, Chicago*

 Jim Troxel, Chicago*

 Kay Dambach, Crownsville, Maryland

*Denotes founding member