Joseph G. Bock is an American academic and politician, who is currently a professor with

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

's Department of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

International Affairs International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, Bock served in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from 1986 to 1992 and was his party's nominee against

Jackie Walorski Jacqueline Renae Walorski (, August 17, 1963 – August 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2013 until her death in 2022. ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. Bock then directed

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

programs in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and other countries and served as Vice President of the

American Refugee Committee Alight, formerly the American Refugee Committee (ARC), is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that provides humanitarian assistance and training to refugees. Alight works with its partners and constituencies to provide oppo ...

. After challenging Congresswoman

in the

2014 elections * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presidential election 21 February and 10 April 2014 * 2014 ...

, Bock left his position as director of global health training for Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health to accept a position as the director of the International Conflict Management program at Kennesaw State University, where he has been since August 2015.

Academic career

Dr. Bock holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a PhD from the School of International Service of American University. Bock researches in the area of violence prevention, and has published three books. His humanitarian work has included directing

’ programs in Pakistan and Jerusalem/West Bank/Gaza Strip, and overseeing programs in Bosnia, Croatia, Guinea, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Thailand, and Uganda while serving as vice president at

. In 2010, he took a two-month leave from Notre Dame to serve as American Refugee Committee's country director in Haiti following its devastating earthquake. Dr. Bock served as a panelist for InterAction in Washington, DC about international issues facing

Internally Displaced Persons An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced displacement, forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the Refugee#Definitions ...

. He served as a consultant with

The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a nonprofit international development organization focused on improving lives across Asia. Its programs operate in various sectors, including governance, women's empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic gr ...

on conflict management and democratic governance, providing support in Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, where he worked on a conflict early warning and early response program of the Foundation for Co-Existence (Colombo, Sri Lanka), which formed the basis of his book ''The Technology of Nonviolence: Social Media and Violence Prevention'', which was published by

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

in 2012. He is the author of two other books. In December 2015, Dr. Bock was provided a 42-day Fulbright Specialist award to work with the Municipality of

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

on the migrant crisis. He has been a Fellow with the

W.K. Kellogg Foundation The W. K. Kellogg Foundation was founded in June 1930 as the W. K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg. In 1934, Kellogg donated more than $66 million in Kellogg Company stock and other investments to t ...

, a Fulbright Specialist at

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

, and a visiting fellow at

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

, as well as a member of the Working Group on Reconciliation of

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis (Latin for ) is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the ...

, based in Vatican City. Dr. Bock is on the Advisory Council of the War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Center of Conflict Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Dr. Bock is an editorial adviser to Development in Practice, a peer-reviewed journal founded by Oxfam Great Britain. He has authored or co-authored articles in various peer-reviewed journals including, among others, Political Geography, Information Technology for Development, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Information Technology & Politics, and Journal of Refugee Studies. According to

Union Institute and University Union Institute & University (UI&U) was a private online university that was headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also operated satellite campuses in Florida and California. In early 2023, it began to experience severe financial challenges. ...

and

, Bock also served as director of External Relations at the

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies The College of Arts and Letters is the oldest and largest college within the University of Notre Dame. The Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Letters is Michael Pries. History The College of Arts and Letters is the oldest in the universi ...

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, taught at University of Notre Dame, Monterey Institute for International Studies,

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

Eastern Mennonite University Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. EMU is known for its Center f ...

, and

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri ...

. He has also held leadership positions with the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

, the Secure World Foundation, Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health and

's International Conflict Management program. He is now Executive Director of Bethlehem University Foundation.

Political career

Bock served six years in the

, with leadership positions as Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee and vice-chair of the Commerce Committee. In 2014, Bock ran for Congress in

Indiana's 2nd congressional district Indiana's 2nd congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northern Indiana. It includes South Bend, Elkhart, and Warsaw. Prior to 2002, the 2nd congressional district covered east central Indiana, including most of ...

against the incumbent, Republican

. Bock won the Democratic nomination, but was defeated by Walorski in the general election.

References

External links

* * official campaign site {{DEFAULTSORT:Bock, Joe 1957 births Living people Indiana Democrats Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives University of Notre Dame faculty Writers from Indiana Writers from Missouri University of Missouri alumni American University alumni 20th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly