OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology (OMNI Center)

The OMNI Center was founded in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2001 by University of Arkansas English professor Dick Bennett. Its original mission was to oppose war and support environmental protection.  ⁵ Political Activism

Programs

The OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology has several regular programs, including an open-mic night during which it discusses war and peace around the world, a book club, a climate lobby, and a civil rights roundtable. It also circulates a newsletter. ⁶

Its partners include SoWa South Washington County for Peace, Justice and Ecology, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel/Citizens First Congress, and the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. ⁶

The center gives an award to professors whose scholarship promotes left-of-center stances on justice, war, and environmentalism. ^{7 8}  The OMNI Center also gives the International PeaceWriting Award to book-length works that address issues related to war, peace, and environmentalism. ⁹

Protests

The OMNI Center initially focused on protesting military conflicts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The group organized a protest in 2004 that drew 600 participants. ⁵

In 2007, the OMNI Center helped organize a public reading of the history of the Trail of Tears along with the Honors Film Association and Anthropology Club at the University of Arkansas. The public reading then transitioned into an outdoor demonstration where protesters proceeded to a campground where Cherokees had rested while walking the Trail of Tears. ¹⁰

In November 2014, the OMNI Center and Hands Up Northwest Arkansas (NWA) organized a protest in response to the police-involved shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the decision not to charge the officer. More than 100 people attended the protest, including several University of Arkansas students. The two groups notified the Fayetteville, Arkansas Police Department and planned the arrest of four protest leaders as civil disobedience. ¹¹

Stances

The OMNI Center supports Palestinian nationalism. The center published a blog post on its website that condemned the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel as a war crime, but still conveyed overall support for Palestinians. ^{12 2}

The OMNI Center is pro-abortion. On its website, it republished a blog post calling for population control to achieve a more environmentally sound planet. The central means for achieving this future according to the blog post would be abortion and contraception to reduce population growth. ³

The OMNI Center is also strongly opposed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It affirmed this in a statement on its website from May 2025, accompanied by a petition to oppose the actions of ICE. The statement accused ICE of clandestinely abducting random people, claiming “neighbors are disappearing.” ⁴

Leadership

Gladys Tiffany is the president of the OMNI Center for Pace, Justice, and Ecology. ¹³

Dick Bennet is the founder of the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology. He was a professor of English at the University of Arkansas.  ⁵

Finances

In 2023, the Omni Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology reported $36,235 in total revenue, $36,856 in total expenses, and $258,028 in total assets. ¹⁴