Protest Letter Judson University

Dear Dr. Crume,

 

I hope this note finds you well.

 

On behalf of the Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada, I am writing to respectfully share the attached letter of concern regarding Judson University's decision to host Mr. Milorad Dodik and present him with the Leadership and Standing Up for Democracy Award.

 

We understand that universities often seek to host diverse voices, but we respectfully believe this particular decision warrants careful reconsideration. As we outline in the attached letter, Mr. Dodik has repeatedly undermined democratic principles and institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina - calling for secession, violating the Dayton Peace Agreement, attacking the rule of law, and denying the Srebrenica genocide. To honor a figure whose political career has been defined by anti-democratic actions is, we believe, deeply inconsistent with the very values this award claims to celebrate. We would be grateful if you would take a moment to review our concerns outlined in the letter.

 

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.

 

Respectfully,

 

Dr. Emir Rami?

Director of the Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada

 

 

Office of the President

Judson University

1151 N State St.

Elgin, IL 60123

United States

April 11, 2026

Dear Dr. Crume,

The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada writes to express its grave concern

regarding Judson University’s decision to host Milorad Dodik, former president of Republika

Srpska, as the keynote speaker at the 2026 World Leadership Forum, titled “Standing Up for

Democracy.” We are equally alarmed by the institution's plan to bestow upon Mr. Dodik the

inaugural Leadership and Standing Up for Democracy Award. Mr. Dodik served as the eighth

president of Republika Srpska from 2022 until his removal from office in 2025. During his tenure

and throughout his political career, he has systematically undermined the very foundations of

peace, stability, and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans.

We raise particularly the following fundamental concerns:

1. Persistent Calls for Secession and Violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement

Mr. Dodik has repeatedly and publicly called for the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia

and Herzegovina. These actions constitute a direct and flagrant violation of the General

Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Peace Agreement),

which preserves the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina

as a single state. By championing dissolution and ethnic division, Mr. Dodik actively works to

undo the hard-won peace that ended the 1992–1995 genocide and war. His actions have included

threatening to secede the Republika Srpska entity, attacking Bosnia's state institutions, and

fostering separatism at every turn.

2. Systematic Attacks on the Rule of Law and Western Sanctions

Mr. Dodik has consistently obstructed the authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina's state-level

institutions, including its constitutional court, its presidency, and its judiciary. He has denied the

Srebrenica genocide, glorified convicted war criminals, and used his office to advance a

destabilizing, ethno-nationalist agenda that endangers the rights and security of all citizens,

especially survivors of genocide and their descendants. Indeed, until recently, Mr. Dodik was

primarily sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for precisely these actions:

destabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina, undermining the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, and

engaging in widespread corruption.

3. Direct Contradiction to American Democratic Principles

Most troubling of all is the stark contradiction between Milorad Dodik’s record and the

democratic values that Judson University ought to uphold. The United States was founded upon

the enduring principles of unalienable rights, a federal system designed to unite rather than

divide, and the supremacy of a constitutional order that binds all constituent parts into a single,

indivisible union. Within this tradition, democratic leadership is measured not by the capacity tofracture political communities, but by a sustained commitment to preserving unity under the rule

of law. Against this standard, Mr. Dodik’s open advocacy of secession does not constitute a

defence of democracy, but rather its antithesis: a politics of fragmentation, ethnic exclusivity, and

the erosion of shared civic institutions.

Furthermore, the United States has long presented itself as a champion of accountability for

atrocity crimes, the primacy of international law, and the protection of minority rights as

cornerstones of democratic governance. It is therefore a profound contradiction that the state

of Illinois would see Judson University host Milorad Dodik - widely recognized as one of the most

prominent deniers of the Srebrenica genocide. Mr. Dodik’s denial of the Srebrenica genocide - the

gravest mass atrocity on European soil since the Holocaust - is not a marginal or inconsequential

political position. It constitutes a direct assault on truth, on collective memory, and on the very

foundations of justice.

4. Awarding a Genocide Denier and Apologist for Extremism

By granting this prize, Judson University is endorsing the work of a genocide denier who supports

Serbian extremism aimed at creating a "Greater Serbia" at the expense of destroying the state of

Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr. Dodik is a genocide denier and a sympathizer of the Greater Serbian

nationalist politics, ideology, and practices embodied by the indicted war criminal Slobodan

Miloševi?. To give an award to such a figure represents an assault on truth, justice, the culture of

memory, the United Nations and its international tribunals and legal order. Most unforgivably, this

award strikes directly at the victims - not only of the Srebrenica genocide but also of all the terrible

crimes in human history, including the victims of the Holocaust. To honour a man who denies

genocide, champions secession, attacks the rule of law, and sympathizes with convicted war

criminals sends a chilling message that those who dismantle democratic institutions, threaten

peace, deny genocide, and engage in corruption may be celebrated rather than condemned.

In conclusion, by granting Mr. Dodik a platform and an award named in defence of democracy,

Judson University is lending moral legitimacy to a figure who has recently been sanctioned by the

United States and other Western nations precisely for his anti-democratic, destabilizing actions.

This decision confuses regional and international observers, deeply wounds the victims of the

Bosnian genocide, and mocks the very principles of rule of law, unity, and human dignity that

American democracy purports to defend.

We respectfully urge you to reconsider Mr. Dodik's appearance, review the decision to present

this award, and reflect on whether the forum's mission aligns with genuine democratic

leadership.

We look forward to your response and to your engagement on this matter.

Respectfully,

Dr. Emir Rami?

Director of the Institute for the Research of Genocide