I know I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from posting here, but it’s been very needed. The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 have been very eventful, both in my personal and professional life. There is lots to share as I move forward this year, so keep checking back for regular updates.
The big personal news to date is that I have completed my comprehensive examinations (pending approval) and am now moving forward full-speed with my dissertation proposal, which I plan to defend in late spring. I have refined my research questions in the process of preparing for comps, and am now looking at a qualitative review of the preparedness of student affairs practitioners (most notably in student conduct and/or conflict resolution) to manage conflicts and to assist others in managing conflicts. It is based off a small pilot study I did back in 2004, and I am pretty excited about having a sense of clarity on my topic.
Work continues to go along well, and our Student Government Association continues to have a very productive and successful year. They have had many achievements this year, and have launched a new website to better connect with students. I am looking forward to seeing what this group can accomplish before they are done in April and a new group takes over.
In terms of conflict resolution work, I have decided that the Campus Mediation Project has finally run its course. While there is much work to be done in terms of promoting the development and implementation of more comprehensive conflict resolution systems on college campuses, the CMP is simply no longer the vehicle to be able to accomplish this. The movement is much bigger than mediation now, and needs to provide for a full spectrum of conflict resolution services. Additionally, the structure of CMP simply was not allowing me the opportunity to do as much as I would like.
However, there is an announcement coming in the next couple of weeks about my next project, which I am very excited about. More news will be posted on this site in early February involving campus conflict resolution efforts, so please stay tuned!
