John Jay College Of Criminal Justice | The City University of New York

   

New York, NY, November 17, 2008 –  Professor Maria Volpe, Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice recently garnered dual honors for her exceptional work in dispute resolution.  The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA) named her the 2008 Winner of their Lawrence Cooke Peace Innovator Award.  And, she was the honoree of the Network for Peace through Dialogue at their annual recognition dinner.

“Professor Volpe’s pioneering research and her remarkable commitment to the prevention of violence through dialogue is a monumental contribution to academia and to society. She has distinguished herself nationally and internationally as a leader in this field.” said Jeremy Travis, president of John Jay College.

“I am absolutely honored to have been recognized for my research and innovative program contributions to the dispute resolution field,” said Professor Volpe.  “These awards have given me an opportunity to take stock of my work and of all those on whose shoulders I stand in furthering our understanding of conflict and the complex ways we handle it.  For me, John Jay College, located in the world’s greatest city of consequence, has been an exciting place to create an internationally recognized intellectual home for dispute resolution scholars, practitioners, and students.”  

Professor Volpe accepted the Peace Innovator Award, named for late New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lawrence Cooke, at the NYSDRA’s Annual Conference on October 24 in Albany, NY. The following week, on October 30, she was honored at the Network for Peace through Dialogue Recognition Night in New York City.

A member of the College’s Department of Sociology, Professor Volpe’s research focuses on police use of mediation, dispute resolution in educational settings, ADR responses to disasters, and barriers to minority participation in dispute resolution. In addition to teaching and research, she mediates conflicts in educational settings; conducts dispute resolution skills training; facilitates for a wide range of groups; and administers grant-funded projects. Professor Volpe is also the Director of the CUNY Dispute Resolution Consortium at John Jay, which serves as a comprehensive coordinating mechanism to advance dispute resolution research and innovative program development. 

Professor Volpe received her PhD from New York University where she was a National Institute of Mental Health Fellow.

The New York State Dispute Resolution Association (NYSDRA) is a private not-for-profit professional membership organization committed to the promotion of quality conflict management and peaceful dispute resolution. Through leadership, education, promotion of professional standards and training, and development of innovative statewide programs, NYSDRA provides opportunities for people, communities, organizations and businesses to respond effectively to conflict.

The Network for Peace through Dialogue creates opportunities for individuals and groups at the grassroots level to engage in constructive conversations in an atmosphere of openness and mutual respect. It does this through it programs for adults: Living Room Dialogues, Shaping Our Future; and the Dialogue Facilitators Networking Group, and its youth program based in Harlem, NY: Confronting Concerns.  The Network promotes high quality dialogue among thousands of people through its conferences and newsletters.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations.  In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/.