The 2014 Schwartz Lecture on Dispute Resolution will be given by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s own Nancy Hardin Rogers. She will be presenting on her current project looking at the role of institutions and dispute resolution providers in reducing polarization in public conflicts. Public institutions fund interventions by dispute resolution practitioners into highly-charged, wide-ranging conflicts, such as the 2001 Cincinnati riots following a police shooting and the unrest after the 2012 Trayvon Martin shooting and the acquittal of the shooter. With more and more stories of these interventions, the time seems right to assess how courts or executive branch agencies can intervene effectively without undermining other key roles they play in society, including their roles as neutral decision-makers, investigators, or prosecutors. Professor Rogers reviews the formidable challenges to institutionalizing these customized interventions and suggests a series of questions to ask before deciding what institution should manage them.

Nancy’s lecture will take place on March 25, 2014 in the Saxbe Auditorium at the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University at 4 p.m. Reception to follow.