The OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology is an organization based in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas that is dedicated to world peace, non-violence, human rights, social justice, and a variety of environmental issues. Founder of the OMNI Center and former University of Arkansas English professor, Richard Bennett, was born in 1932 to Volney and Mildred Bennett in Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas, where he was rush chairman of his fraternity and a member of ROTC and graduated as a Lieutenant. He joined the Air Force and was stationed at a coastal radar station in California. In 1960, during his service, he earned his doctorate in Literature from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. While attending Stanford, Bennett joined the American Civil Liberties Union, which he is still an active member. His first teaching position was at the University of Montana in Missoula, where he was a member of a group opposing McCarthyism. When he accepted a position at the University of Arkansas in 1965, he joined the Peace Organization Committee, a group of 80-100 people who protested the Vietnam War with rallies and symposiums. In the 1980s Bennett attempted to donate money to the Fulbright Institute to hold annual symposiums on anti-war topics, but was only granted one symposium in 1984. Bennett retired from the University of Arkansas in 1997. Wanting to continue his career as a peacemaker, Bennett established the Peace Writing Award in 1999, provided financial support to the construction of the Peace Prayer Fountain at the Fayetteville Town Center, and eventually founded the OMNI Center in the spring of 2001.

The first official OMNI event was a showing of the John Denver Memorial Cloth at Arsaga’s Coffee Shop East, on July 26, 2001. The first annual event was a memorial for the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. The ceremony was held at the Fulbright Peace Fountain on the anniversary of the bombings on August 5, 2001. This event occurs each year as a recommitment to peace. On September 9, 2001 the OMNI Center’s office was established in the basement of United Campus Ministries (UCM), making it an official organization with a location. That day OMNI and UCM dedicated a peace pole on the front lawn with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four languages. On February 20, 2002, an initial steering committee was formed, the new by-laws were established, and officers were selected by the committee. Its official purpose according to the by-laws is to “conduct public education and discussion dealing with peace concerns, social justice, and environmental protection and sustainability.”

After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Bennett very clearly stated OMNI’s opposition to the war in a public statement and sponsored numerous demonstrations protesting the war. Since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, OMNI has sponsored many protests and rallies against them. Other annual events and celebrations include United Nations Day, Peace Heroes’ Awards Banquet, the Peace Film Award, International Women’s Day, and Earth Day. Monthly and weekly activities put on by OMNI include “Open Mic For Peace,” where the public is invited to share songs and poetry about peace; “Video Underground,” a video series on war and peace; and “Short Takes,” a weekly show on Fayetteville Community Access Television about war and peace. The OMNI Center has also been responsible for organizing and promoting events such as lectures, panels, forums, and seminars, throughout Northwest Arkansas.