Today@Sam Article

SHSU To Host Conflict Resolution Month

Sept. 22, 2017
SHSU Media Contact: Lane Fortenberry

Conflict can be harmful to any kind of relationship or community if it goes unresolved and ignored. There’s a month specifically dedicated to the best practices in resolving conflict.

In an effort to equip the Sam Houston State University community with useful insights and tools to effectively resolve disputes, SHSU's Student Legal and Mediation Services will host the fifth annual Conflict Resolution Month in October.

SLMS will deliver lively and interactive activities for the SHSU community. This year’s theme is “Leadership in the Eye of Conflict.” 

“Conflict is inevitable within any relationship or community—friends, roommates, coworkers, and even between governments,” said Gene Roberts, director of Student Legal and Mediation Services. “Unresolved conflict can damage relationships, decrease productivity, and reduce commitments to organizations. The key is having the knowledge and tools to address conflict in a healthy and productive way, and that is what our office will provide this month.”

Lee Jay Berman, president of the American Institute of Mediation in Los Angeles, will share his insights on the intersection of dispute resolution and leadership.

Berman will share his extensive mediation experiences helping businesses and individuals resolve conflicts on Oct. 5 starting at 6 p.m. in Room 110 of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building. This event is open to the public.

“Lee Jay Berman is one of the world’s foremost authorities on leadership and resolving conflicts,” Roberts said. “We are honored to have someone of Lee Jay’s stature at Sam Houston State University.”

Berman left his position as director of Pepperdine Law School’s “Mediating the Litigated Case” program after seven years to launch his forward-thinking institution offering "World Class Training for the Complete Mediator." The AIM Institute quickly rose to national prominence as the leading institution for mediators continuing professional development training.

With over 20 years of experience as a commercial mediator, and over 1,900 mediations under his belt, Berman brings the successes and failures from his work in the trenches into the classroom to share with his audiences.

He is a national panelist with the American Arbitration Association, a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators, a Charter Diplomat and national advisory board member with the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals, and a Dispute Resolution Expert with the United Nations Development Programme. California’s Daily Journal twice named him a “Top Neutral,” and the Southern California Mediation Association gave him the Lowry Award for educating members of the profession.

Nationally, Berman chaired the American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section’s Training Committee for four years, developing a national database of trainers and programs, and delivering training programs to support up-and-coming mediation marketplaces.

As a consultant, independently and with the Harvard and Pepperdine faculties, Berman has taught conflict resolution, negotiation and client development skills to business leaders, client service professionals and insurance claims professionals in 20 states and in Europe and the Middle East.

Internationally, Berman has trained in Amsterdam, Dubai, New Delhi, and throughout Australia, and has had groups flown in to train with him from Croatia and Jordan.

For more information, visit shsu.edu/slms.

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