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Southeast Conference on Conflict Management to feature nation's leading experts in annual convening May 17-18

Tristan Brew | 

A slate of the nation’s leading experts in conflict management will be featured at the 2018 Southeast Conference on Conflict Management hosted by Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management.

ICM_SE_1The conference, set for May 17-18 at Lipscomb’s Downtown Spark location, will feature Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry and Steve Joiner, dean of the College of Leadership & Public Service along with six other featured presenters to discuss topics related to the fields of conflict management, dispute resolution and leadership in critical moments. The conference, the only one of its type in the region, draws participants across several sectors of government, business, legal, nonprofit and education.

“The conference at Spark gives Lipscomb a great opportunity to show off our new state-of-the-art facility and gives participants an opportunity to enjoy all that Downtown Nashville has to offer,” said Matt Milligan, academic director at Lipscomb’s Institute for Conflict Management and assistant professor of conflict management. “I look forward to the many collaborative conversations that will take place at this conference.”

Milligan said that among the seminar’s highlights will be the civil discourse conversation featuring  Tracy L. Allen and Eric Galton, who have served as adjunct professors in Lipscomb’s conflict management program through the years.

Six break-out class sessions will feature a variety of experts in conflict management and dispute resolution discussing a variety of timely topics. In addition to Lowry, Joiner, Allen and Galton, featured speakers include:

  • Stephen Shields, president ofthe  Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators, Rule 31 mediator, partner, Jackson, Shields, Yeiser & Holt;
  • Elyce Morris, director and counseling attorney at the University of California at San Diego and dean of students and assistant dean for student and diversity services at California Western School of Law; and
  • Mark Travis, attorney

ICM_SE_2Topics covered will include diagnosing conflict, how to market a mediation practice, tools for addressing crisis incidents and tensions within community, educational and work environments, leading churches in seasons of conflict and change, intergenerational conflict, effective advocacy mediation and peacemaking, among others.

Registration is $300 per person. Lipscomb alumni may register for $100. The registration fee for Lipscomb University faculty and staff is $75 and $50 for students. The registration fee includes all sessions and lunch. Continuing legal education (CLE) and continuing mediation (CME) education credits are available for attendance at the conference.

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The Southeast Conference on Conflict Management has featured some of the nation’s leading experts in the fields of conflict management and dispute resolution since its inception in 2006. Previous keynote speakers and presenters include: “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Rasmussen and former hostage negotiator-turned-hostage Terry Waite, among other international notables.

Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management offers a Master of Arts degree in conflict management in addition to a graduate certificate in conflict management. The institute also offers a Professional Skills Program, featuring a panel of nationally recognized experts in dispute resolution with three days of educational opportunities for practicing professionals; Rule 31 civil and family mediation training; and special programs for church leaders and members of faith groups in addition to other seminars and events.