Mark Chupp, PhD

Mark G. Chupp, PhD, MSW is an associate professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University. He is founding director of the Community Innovation Network, a resource for communities and practitioners seeking strength-based approaches to community change. Mark’s research and practice over 30 years has focused on community building, community development and inter-group conflict transformation. Mark served as co-director of the Social Justice Institute at Case Western Reserve University from 2020-2023 and the SJI Education Coordinator in 2024. 

Mark began his career in restorative justice, directing the first Victim Offender Reconciliation Program in the US. Dr. Chupp is an international consultant and trainer in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. He lived in Costa Rica and Nicaragua from 1988 to 1991, where he worked extensively throughout Central America. Of note, he accompanied Peace and Reconciliation Commissions during the negotiation of the end of the civil war in Nicaragua. He also provided leadership in the establishment of the Culture of Peace Program and a UN Local Zone of Peace in post-war El Salvador.

Mark holds a PhD in social welfare from Case Western Reserve University. He earned his MSW from the University of Michigan with a concentration in community organization, which led to him serving as an organizer in a marginalized neighborhood facing intractable internal conflict. He also organized a comprehensive community assessment and founded a nonprofit organization focused on community mediation and violence prevention. Mark designed an appreciative inquiry process for promoting race relations in a Polish American neighborhood that was experiencing a large increase in African American residents. This work was the focus of his dissertation, which identified pathways for building trust across racial differences. He then collaborated with other practitioners to establish Appreciative Inquiry for Community and Social Change, one of the first systematic efforts to adopt appreciative inquiry for nonprofit and community contexts. He has published numerous theory and practice oriented articles, manuals and book chapters. A Spanish language manual he co-authored with John Paul Lederach on transforming conflict and violence has been used throughout Latin America. Mark is a founding trustee of the National Peace Academy, an adjunct faculty at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute of Eastern Mennonite University, and a member of the faculty of the Asset Based Community Development Institute based at DePaul University.

Biosketch
Curriculum Vitae
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Why I Teach

I believe that building trusting human relationships is the foundation for transforming ourselves and the world. Teaching offers a platform to connect with and learn from others committed to social change. As a facilitator, I aim to create a courageous space for exploration, self-expression, dialogue, and learning. It is an honor and privilege to be part of a learning community with remarkable students from all walks of life. Together, we learn and co-create knowledge and practices to build community and transform systems and communities.

Why I Chose This Profession

I have been on a vision quest throughout my career, seeking to build community across identity groups. I spent years as a practitioner in community building, community organizing and conflict transformation. Social work provided the strongest theoretical and practice foundation for this work. I pursued this quest for community-led social change in both my social work practice and studies. Having initiated several change movements and nonprofit organizations, I realized the capacity to affect change was much greater through training, teaching, applied research, and writing.