ACR Update is sent on a regular basis to share important conflict resolution news and organizational updates with our members. We encourage you to scroll through the items listed below, and hope you'll find this information useful. We look forward to your feedback!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• ACR Strategic Planning Update

• ACR 2004 Annual Conference Update--Registration is Open!

• ACR Launches New Online Member Center

• ACR Awards: Call for Nominations

• Sections Update

• Chapters Update

• Publications Update

• Quotes

Based on its review, the Board agreed that ACR must increase its membership, diversify its sources of income, and cut costs in order to remain fiscally strong. The group then began the strategic planning that will inform the decisions needed to make that vision a reality. With the help of a professional facilitator, the group took a fresh look at ACR’s mission and vision statements. They examined ACR’s strengths and weaknesses and discussed opportunities and threats facing the organization. They worked to prioritize the issues facing the organization and to ensure equity and diversity.

Over the next few months, this important work will continue, with small groups of committed ACR leaders devoting time and talent to further refine the ideas generated to date. Material developed by each group will be compiled to build a unified strategic plan.

ACR 2004 Annual Conference
"Valuing Peace in the 21st Century:
Expanding the Art and Practice of Conflict Resolution"
Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2004
Sacramento, California

Register Now for ACR’s Fourth Annual Conference
September 29-October 2, 2004
Sacramento, California

Online registration for the 2004 Annual Conference is now open. To register, or to view conference information, please go to http://www.acrnet.org/conferences/ac04/. Members will receive preliminary conference brochures by mail in mid-July. The early bird registration deadline is August 9, 2004.

Advertise, Exhibit or Sponsor an event
at the 2004 ACR Annual Conference

Increase your visibility and expand your marketing base. ACR offers three exciting options for you to reach ACR Annual Conference participants with messages about your business and services:

1. Advertise in the on-site program (Deadline: August 12, 2004)

2. Purchase a booth in the Exhibit Hall and exhibit your programs and services at a special welcoming reception and during the entire conference (Deadline: August 2, 2004)

3. Sponsor a conference event and have your name prominently and creatively displayed at that event (Deadline: August 12, 2004)

Contact Penina Rantz at 202-464-9700, ext. 218 or prantz@ACRnet.org with advertising and sponsorship orders and questions or to request a brochure. Contact Anne Gallivan at 202-464-9700, ext. 210 or agallivan@ACRnet.org to purchase an exhibit booth.

For more sponsorship details and opportunities, please visit: http://www.acrnet.org/conferences/sponsorship/index.htm#opps

ACR solicits nominations for the following awards, to be presented at its Annual Conference in Sacramento, California, September 29-October 2, 2004. Nominations should be submitted via e-mail by July 19, 2004 to the contact listed for each award.

• Willoughby Abner Award
• John M. Haynes Distinguished Mediator Award

Willoughby Abner Award

The Willoughby Abner Award is intended to recognize individual and organizational work in public sector employment dispute settlement which involves research, writing or reflective practice, when combined with efforts to persuade other practitioners to apply the product of the research, writing, or practice. Each award recipient is given a framed certificate and a check for $500. The award is given in memory of Willoughby (Bill) Abner, a federal mediator and Director of the National Center for Dispute Settlement (NCDS) of the American Arbitration Association. In his work with NCDS, Abner helped develop the emerging dispute settlement field of ADR, as well as the early years of public sector employment disputes. The Award was made possible by a $5,000 gift to SPIDR by the Public Employment Relations Research Institute (PERRI) in 1982. ACR members are invited to nominate candidates for this award.

Send nominations to Jerry Barrett at winjerwin@aol.com by July 19, 2004.

John M. Haynes Distinguished Mediator Award

The John M. Haynes Distinguished Mediator Award is presented annually by the Association for Conflict Resolution to a prominent and internationally recognized leader in mediation who demonstrates personal and professional commitment to finding mediation solutions to conflict while balancing therapeutic and legal perspectives. John Haynes was a pioneer in the field of family mediation, a respected author and practitioner, an international trainer, and the first president of the Academy of Family Mediators. In keeping with his legacy, the candidate should demonstrate innovation, creativity, and outstanding competence in published writings, training, and practice, maintain personal and professional integrity and respect for others, and embrace a sense of humor and humility about our standing as fallible beings. ACR members are invited to nominate candidates for this award.

Send nominations to the Haynes Award committee: Barbara Landau (chair), Lynn Jacob and Don Saposnek (note: please respond to all three: blandau@rogers.com, ljacob@igc.org, and dsaposnek@mediate.com) by July 19, 2004.

• Update your Account: Update your contact information and include your biography, personal photograph, and employment and education history. Remember: the more you share, the more value you provide to your colleagues.

• News and Updates: Find out about your members-only benefits, ACR Board of Directors’ key decisions, and other updates on special ACR initiatives.

• Renew Your Membership: Log in to join a Section or to pay your dues online.

• ACR Membership Directory: Find your colleagues using the “smart” search to find members by geography, their practice area and/or first and last names.

• Message Board: Post a message for your colleagues to network, exchange ideas or just share an opinion.

Crisis Negotiation Section Has a New Name: Crisis Intervention Section

The Crisis Negotiation Section has received approval from the ACR Board of Directors to change its name to the Crisis Intervention Section to better reflect the depth and breadth of its work. The Section also has obtained a discounted rate on the special issue of the International Negotiation Journal of Theory and Practice: Negotiating with Terrorists. The issue is available for $25, plus $5.00 shipping and handling. (The regular price is $66.)

This special issue, edited by I. William Zartman of Johns Hopkins University, includes such articles as “Negotiating the Non-Negotiable: Dealing with Absolute Terrorists,” “Testing the Role Effect in Terrorist Negotiations,” and “The Moscow Theater Hostage Crisis: The Perpetrators, Their Tactics, and the Russian Response.”

The Section has only a limited number of copies of this special issue, available on a first-come-first-served basis. If you are interested in obtaining this issue, please contact Lynne Kinnucan at 202-464-9700, ext. 247 for a credit card purchase or send a check or money order, made out to the Association for Conflict Resolution, to:

Lynne Kinnucan
Membership Development Associate
Association for Conflict Resolution
1015 18th St. NW, Suite 1150
Washington DC 20036

Ombuds/Ombudsman Section

The United States Ombudsman Association (USOA) is holding its 25th Anniversary Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon, Oct. 19 -22, 2004 at the historic Heathman Hotel. You are invited to join other ACR Ombuds/Ombudsman Section members to hone your investigation and communication skills and gain substantive knowledge about issues related to conflict or problem resolution, mediation, confidentiality, ethics, and case/program management. For more information, please contact Ombuds/Ombudsman Section Co-Chair Michael Mills at 503-823-4503 or by e-mail at mpmills@ci.portland.or.us. The conference registration packet is also available in Adobe PDF format at the USOA Web site: http://www.usombudsman.org/ServicesActivities/annualconf.htm.

Spirituality Section Update

The Spirituality Section joined with the Northern California Chapter of ACR on June 18 to present a special program on “Spirituality in Mediation,” featuring guest speakers Ellen Barker and Laura Farrow. The program addressed such issues as the potential of mediation to foster growth and healing; how to integrate spiritual values with the mediation process; how mediators’ core values and commitments come into play during a mediation; and how mediators can generate an environment in which parties are able and willing to take those values and commitments into account.

For more information on the program, please contact Marilyn Shannon, Spirituality Section Co-Chair, at marilyn@powerofdialogue.com, or Giorgio Piccaglio of the Northern California Chapter at gapiccagli@aol.com.

Section/Chapter Forum on Conflict Resolution and Management Presented

The Community, Crisis Intervention and Training Sections joined with ACR’s Florida Chapter to present a three-day Conflict Resolution and Management Forum on June 1, 2 and 3 featuring Rosezetta Bobo, Joyce Jones, Lyn Inlow, James Lambright and Jerry Bagnell. These presenters offered workshops on the subjects of Becoming a Mediator, Community Mediation, Higher Education Medation, EEOC Meidation, and Crisis Negotiation. For more information on the conference topics, please contact Dr. Fernaundra Ferguson, Co-Chair of ACR’s Training Section, at fferguson@uwf.edu.

Workplace Section Announces Next Conference Call

Topic: FMCS’ new Dynamic Adaptive Dispute Systems with Arthur Pearlstein, General Counsel, FMCS.
When: July 21, Wednesday, 12:00 p.m. EST/ 9:00 a.m. PST.

Learn about the new dispute resolution system design approach being introduced and piloted by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The program design process - known as Dynamic Adaptive Dispute Systems, or DyADS - is the result of an 18-month collaborative effort between FMCS and a national team of dispute system design experts from academia and the private sector. Hear from Arthur Pearlstein, General Counsel and a Commissioner at FMCS, about how the DyADS process can reduce workplace disputes, improve morale, enhance the quality of workplace life and contribute to higher productivity. For more information on DyADS, see http://www.fmcs.gov.

This call is provided as a member benefit from the Workplace Section of ACR. Prospective members of ACR or its Workplace Section are strongly encouraged to join, to enjoy this and other member benefits. To join visit: http://www.acrnet.org/membership/index.htm.

To participate in the discussion, e-mail Stephen Kotev at skotev@ACRnet.org by July 19, 2004. In your e-mail, please include your full name, organization name, title, location, e-mail address and phone number (unless you request otherwise, your contact information will be shared with others on the call) and any questions or concerns you would like to address during the call. You will receive the dial-in number by e-mail to confirm your participation in the call. You may call in from anywhere, and the cost is only your long-distance charges for a 55-minute telephone call. We look forward to having you on the call.

Encourage your colleagues and friends to join the Association for Conflict Resolution and get a discount on your membership dues...
the Member-Get-A-Member Campaign is underway!

Get Involved in ACR Chapters!

ACR Chapters enable members in common geographical regions to meet face-to-face and attend programs and activities that support their professional development. Within the Chapters, conflict resolution professionals share ideas and best practices and make networking connections throughout their area, both within and outside of the profession. For a list of ACR Chapters, go to: http://www.acrnet.org/chapters/index.htm.

Don’t see a Chapter listed in your area? You can form a new ACR Chapter. Call ACR at 202-464-9700, ext. 211 for more information.

Conflict Resolution Quarterly Submissions

Conflict Resolution Quarterly is ACR’s quarterly academic journal. Its mission is to publish scholarship on relationships between theory, research, and practice in the conflict management and dispute resolution field to promote more effective professional applications. Articles should be directed to a multidisciplinary audience and be as readable and practical as possible. Submissions and questions regarding editorial matters should be sent to Tricia S. Jones, Editor, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Dept. of Psychological Studies, College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122. You may also e-mail Tricia at tsjones@astro.temple.edu.

ACResolution Submissions

We accept submissions to the following departments of ACResolution magazine on a rolling basis. Please consider submitting to any of the following departments. Please send an abstract, idea or story outline first; we will contact you if we are interested. Send all submissions to Alison Talbott, ACResolution’s new Managing Editor, at atalbott@ACRnet.org. Mark Sawchuk has left ACR to pursue his Ph.D. and we thank him for his many years of service to ACR, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Members in the News

Members in the News, a subsection of the magazine's In Brief section, is the place for you to update your fellow ACR members on recent developments in your life and professional career. Found an exciting new job in the field? Appointed to a new position? Received an award? Write and tell us about it! Submissions should be no longer than 75 to 100 words, should be accompanied by a photo in JPEG or TIFF format, scanned at 300 dpi (you may send a photo hard copy if an electronic version is not available), and should note your ACR membership status and history. Please note that we can only include news about you once per volume (4 issues). Submissions received in August will go into the Fall issue of the magazine (November 2004).

Balancing Act

This is a one-page department focusing on members who are committed to developing themselves as whole persons, both inside and outside the workplace. Articles should highlight an after-hours activity or hobby that enables you to feel centered and grounded outside of your busy life as an ADR professional. Please tell us about how this activity or hobby revitalizes you, helps you achieve balance in your personal life, feeds your intellect, and nurtures your soul.

Learning Matters

We are always looking for short articles that discuss various aspects of conflict resolution education in schools, colleges, and other environments. If you have an experience to share, please let us know.

Diversity Practices

This section of the magazine is devoted to best practices in diversity and conflict resolution and highlights innovative strategies for effectively responding to conflict within our increasingly diverse community.

World Views on ADR

This department features articles on conflict resolution in other countries, or efforts to promote international conflict resolution between countries or warring groups. Articles for this department are usually written by conflict resolution practitioners who live and work outside the United States. U.S. residents who have performed training or consultation in other countries are also encouraged to submit articles for this department.

Up Close

This department is a first-person account describing some aspect of conflict resolution practice. It is the place to offer personal opinions or take positions on issues, and can be written in a less formal style than other articles in the magazine.

ACR Publications Available for Purchase

Browse ACR’s catalogue of books, reports and training videos online at:
http://www.acrnet.org/library/catalogue.htm. In addition to such bestsellers as “Does It Work? The Case for Conflict Resolution in Our Nation’s Schools” and the “Positive Conflict Management” video series, we’ve recently added the “Master Series in Mediation,” training videos featuring Dr. Larry Fong.

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ACR Update, July 7, 2004
Published by the Association for Conflict Resolution,
a merged organization of AFM, CREnet, and SPIDR
http://www.ACRnet.org