While teaching, he joined the local Peace Organization Committee, a group that protested the Vietnam War, and continued engaging in such activities throughout his career.
They originally called the organization the "OMNI Center for Peace and Justice" but later added "Ecology" to appeal to environmental groups like the Sierra Club.
Gladys Tiffany became the director in 2013 and spearheaded new programs, including a low-power radio station run by volunteers, activist training workshops, women’s support groups, and movie screenings.
In January 2020, about 100 people attended a demonstration organized by OMNI and the Arkansas Nonviolence Alliance in Fayetteville to protest a potential war with Iran.
After forming OMNI two years later, that center became one of the sponsoring organizations of those awards, along with the Peace and Justice Studies Association of Georgetown University.