GAINESVILLE - More than 130 students from 22 U.S. colleges and universities gathered here Thursday for final preparation and training before beginning the Friday and Saturday competition to determine the best student mediators in the country.<br />
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For the second time in the past three years, Brenau University is playing host to the International Intercollegiate Mediation Tournament.<br />
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The 15th annual tournament, sanctioned by the InterNational Academy of Dispute Resolution professional organization, kicked off with training sessions held by various professionals in the mediation and arbitration world including Dr. Kenneth K. Frank, a professor of political science and legal studies at Brenau and a member of the INADR Board of Directors, and Nicole Woolfork-Hull and Kamau Hull, attorneys with Hull LLC in Athens, Georgia. The opening sessions help the student mediators throughout the tournament and provide important exposure to mediation and arbitration professionals.<br />
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Head-to-head competition between the three-member teams began today at various locations on the Brenau campus in Gainesville and culminates with the championship rounds on Saturday. The tournament ends Saturday evening with an awards banquet at the Brenau University Downtown Center.<br />
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Participating universities may field more than one team. Mediation teams from each participating school will be judged on their ability to bring conflicts to a conclusion satisfactory to both parties.<br />
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The competition attracted at least one group of prospective intercollegiate mediators: Brenau's team, which finished third in the nation last year, demonstrated some of their skills and showed the ropes to students from Clarke Central High School in Athens, who are members of the high school's peer mediation team.<br />
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Participating schools include:<br />
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Austin College, Sherman, Texas; Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts; Brenau University; Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma; Clayton State University, Morrow, Georgia; College of the Holy Cross, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia; Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana; Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas; Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia; Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois; Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa; Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Principia College, Elsah, Illinois; Texas Wesleyan University, Ft. Worth, Texas; The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas; University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa; University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina; University of San Diego, San Diego, California; University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, Wisconsin; Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts; and Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina.
