UAF HOSTS CONFERENCE ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 1998

Fairbanks, Alaska - Reaching agreements on complex social issues is a difficult task requiring knowledge and skills that can be learned. The "Conference on Peaceful Settlements" to be held May 14 - 15 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Wood Center Ballroom will offer participants a chance to learn how to resolve conflicts constructively.

Workshops will emphasize alternative methods of dispute resolution such as negotiation, mediation and facilitation, and demonstrate how these methods can be applied at home, in the workplace and in the community.

Keynote speaker is Larry Merculieff, former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development. He is considered a leader in Alaska Native and environmental issues. Merculieff currently works as an independent consultant with a focus on cross-cultural communications, conflict resolution and mediation, environmental program development and organization, use of traditional knowledge and wisdom, and community healing processes.

Trainers from the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) of Snohomish County, Wash. will lead the conference at UAF. DRC has earned a national reputation as a dispute resolution training leader and has provided services to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, the University of Washington and the Seattle School District, to name a few.

Registration for the conference is $100. Preregistration is recommended by contacting UAF's Conferences and Special Events at (907) 474-7800 or via email at fyci@uaf.edu. Continuing education credits will also be available to those who qualify.

The conference is co-sponsored by UAF, local businesses and community groups, including Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and the Tanana Chiefs Conference.

Parking for the conference will be available in the lower parking lots on the UAF campus, and a shuttle bus will bring participants from the lots to the Wood Center.

CONTACT: UAF Conferences and Special Events (907) 474-7800, or UAF Chancellor's AA/EO Assistant Dorothy Jones, (907)474-6600.

DPD/4-20-98/98-053