Lucy Katz Dialogue & Resolution Program

Lucy Katz, JD, former professor of business law and former holder of The Robert C. Wright Professorship in Business Law, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution, left an indelible imprint on the Fairfield University community. Her creation, along with Dr. Thomas Pelligrino, of the student peer mediation program provides mediation training and certification for students who go on to serve their peers and the University. Over the years, students have been trained and served in this important and unique role.

Take the professional training offered by the Lucy Katz Dialogue & Resolution Program and enhance your knowledge and skills in conflict resolution.

What is Mediation?

Mediation is a voluntary process in which trained unbiased mediators help others resolve conflicts. Mediators facilitate communication and help explore new ideas. Mediation is informal and confidential. The parties to the conflict make key decisions and all final decisions about the outcome. With their mediator's guidance, they create their own solutions. At any point, the parties can refuse to participate or refuse a particular solution.

10 Reasons to Use Mediation

1. Completely Voluntary: Mediation is completely voluntary. You create your own solutions to your conflicts.
2. Fair and Multi-partial: Mediation is fair and multi-partial.
3. Neutrality: The mediators remain unbiased and are trained to help resolve disputes.
4. Guidance: The mediators do not impose decisions but rather help parties find their own solutions.
5. Confidentiality: Mediation is confidential.
6. Relationship Enrichment: Mediation improves relationships.
7. Communication Improvement: Mediation improves communication.
8. Conflict Resolution: Mediation can identify and eliminate the sources of conflict.
9. Cost Efficient & Beneficial: Mediation saves time and money.
10. Camaraderie: Mediation promotes justice and community.

Schedule Meditation

At the mediation, two peer mediators and a coordinator will be present for the mediation process. The mediation is private unless situations threaten your life or someone else's or describe child abuse or neglect. These situations will be reported.

The role of a Mediator is to listen and facilitate the conversation between the parties and not to take sides, judge or tell you what to do.

Become a Peer Mediator

With training in mediation skills, Peer Mediators commit to assisting in dispute resolution using the mediation process. All students are invited to Apply to Become a Peer Mediator. All students are invited to apply for Peer Mediation Training (without the commitment to become a Peer Mediator). Training experience includes:

• Basic principles of collaborative dispute resolution
• Extensive role-play and practice activities
• Helpful hints for conducting mediation

Workshops

We are pleased to offer these opportunities for teams, clubs, or organizations! These serve to provide team bonding, growth, and professional development. Please email kuzcategui@fairfield.edu if you are interested in having any of the following workshops for your respective organization(s).

The Lucy Katz Dialogue & Resolution Program provides trained professional and student Social Justice Mediators to facilitate these workshops.

Lucy Katz Fellowship

The Lucy Katz Fellowship plays a pivotal role in cultivating healthy and authentic relationships across campus, especially when tension exists within a community, team, or between partners, roommates, etc.

Lucy Katz Fellows work to develop students’ consciousness around social justice. They are responsible for cultivating a community that allows for diverse students at Fairfield University to come together and engage in dialogue on difficult topics, such as racism, sexism, transgender oppression, heterosexism, etc.

Training and Development of Lucy Katz Fellows

Lucy Katz Fellows meet every week in an attempt to accomplish the following learning goals:

• Learn more about their own and others’ cultures, histories, and experiences.
• Explore commonalities and differences within and across racial/ethnic boundaries.
• Address the impact of individual, group, and institutional racism on race/ethnic relations in a US context.
• Identify, plan, and take actions that contribute toward the creation of inclusive and just communities.
• Effectively communicate knowledge and awareness and use skills gained during bi-weekly intergroup dialogue series.
• Learn intergroup dialogue skills to be an effective facilitator.

Additionally, some Lucy Katz Fellows are trained as social justice mediators.

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