Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice

Beautiful, breathtaking, amazing, quiet, photogenic.
Pretty much sums it up. Can be confusing if you are new. Luckily, the amazing photographs on the wall can serve as a point of reference.
Seriously, each door leads to an amazing view.
The reflection room evokes a sense of calmness and serenity.
The outdoor pool and the statues of saints are good for a nice quiet lunch.
The views from this school really are breath taking.

USD is beautiful as a whole, but this building has its own charm. The outside is like the rest of the campus and has that same Spanish renaissance architectural design. The front courtyard of the building has a big water fountain and is surrounded by flowers and plants. La Paloma, one of USD’s dining services, is located right beside the fountain and is open pretty late — great and convenient for all students who have night classes nearby like me! I believe I went down for coffee around 9 PM (during my class break) and it was still open for people to dine in or study.
The inside is covered with white walls and elegant detailed decorations, and one of the first things you’ll see upon entering is the theater and two staircases that lead to the 2^nd floor. FYI, the bathrooms ARE CLEAN, well-​lit and equipped with many stalls — unlike the older parts of campus like Barcelona.
The back of the building has another water fountain and the view of San Diego from there is beautiful!
The only thing that sucks here is parking, especially around 6 PM. If you have classes around 6 – 7, you might want to consider coming early since most of the parking structure is reserved. I had a classmate who got a ticket for parking at the bottom, which is designated as «founder parking» or something. Your next option would be to park at Shiley Center’s parking lot, which is almost as impossible around that time. Parking is tight overall so just be careful.

Joan Kroc was a Saint! I met her once when I worked at Bullock’s Wilshire. She came in a couple of times to shop and I had no idea she was a billionaire!
This wonderful lady was so gracious and humble and I remember she was shopping for something to cheer up her daughter, who was going through a divorce at the time. Sweet and considerate and RICH!
It is befitting, then that her name and legacy should grace this beautiful building on the gorgeous campus of USD in San Diego. Perched high atop the Alcala hill, the Institute for Peace and Justice immediately seizes you attention with it’s lovely entrance. A tiled flower motif courtyard surrounded by pink and white roses, and in the middle there is an enormous fountain. Upon entering the building, one is transfixed by the perfect white walls and elegant light fixtures that line the hallways.
In fact the overall inescapable beauty of this campus is undeniable. USD and Alcalá Park «sits atop the edge of a mesa overlooking Mission Bay and other parts of San Diego». The philosophy of USD «relied on the belief that studying in beautiful surroundings could improve the educational experience of students,» according to Wikipedia. The university’s buildings are designed in a 16^th-​century Spanish Renaissance architectural style-​which pays homage to both San Diego’s Catholic and Mission heritage and the Universidad de Alcalá in Spain.
This Moorish influence is seen outdoors on the patio and back area of the Peace and Justice Center which features another large fountain-​of deep blue tile-​in a square design. Trim running along the outdoor buildings builds on the architectural motif with various Renaissance details and the view out to the ocean and San Diego Bay is framed by trees and a flower courtyard. Absolutely stunning vistas!
The perfect place to hold receptions and the party I attended there last evening was a splendid example of how a great volunteer group can utilize this awesome building and put on a festive event in a beautiful location to honor it’s members and their various contributions. I will never forget meeting Mrs. Kroc and I find her Peace & Justice Institute to be a fitting living legacy of what the onerous accumulation of money SHOULD be doing in this world of ours. She had the right idea to spread it around for GOOD CAUSES!
In 1998, when Joan B. Kroc-​philanthropist and wife of McDonald’s financier Ray Kroc, endowed USD with a gift of $ 25 million for the construction of the Institute for Peace & Justice, the campus gained a great School to train and educate students in the ways of Peace and Justice. When it opened, Mrs. Kroc expounded that The Kroc School of Peace Studies was established «to not only teach peace, but make peace». Finer words have never been spoken from anyone associated with McDonald’s! God Bless Mrs. Kroc!