Workshop Speakers

Rita Callahan is a mediator, trainer, and consultant working with organizations and individuals to improve the ability of people and groups to manage conflict, to collaborate effectively, and to increase organizational and interpersonal communication. She co-chairs the Workplace Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution and is a frequent leader of professional development programs on conflict resolution and mediation for educators, attorneys, judges, and corporate employees.

Steve Hirschfeld is a partner in Curiale Dellaverson Hirschfeld Kraemer & Sloan, LLP, a practice involving labor, employment, and higher education law. He is the chief executive officer of the Employment Law Alliance, the world's largest network of labor and employment lawyers, and was a highly rated speaker at CIC's Institute for Chief Academic Officers in 2004.

Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, principal of CG2 Consulting, is a legal expert on faculty hiring procedures, academic ethics, and sexual harassment policies. She provides seminar leadership on a variety of higher education management and legal subjects, including department chair workshops for campuses and for the American Council on Education. She was a highly rated leader of the 2004 CIC Department Chair Workshops.

Nancy Geist Giacomini is an educator, mediator, consultant, and creator of a conflict resolution training course. She is editor of Mastering Mediation: A Guide for Training Mediators in the College and University Setting and a former assistant dean of students at the University of Delaware. She facilitates basic and advanced mediation skills seminars for national audiences.

Sharon J. Washington is provost and vice president of academic affairs at Spelman College. Formerly she served as professor and education graduate program coordinator at Springfield College (MA). She has worked on issues of diversity, social justice, and multicultural organizational development for higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and not-for-profit organizations.

Rita Callahan is a mediator, trainer, and consultant working with organizations and individuals to improve the ability of people and groups to manage conflict, to collaborate effectively, and to increase organizational and interpersonal communication. She co-chairs the Workplace Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution and is a frequent leader of professional development programs on conflict resolution and mediation for educators, attorneys, judges, and corporate employees.

Philip Moots is president of Moots, Cope and Stanton, a private law practice specializing in legal problems of colleges and universities and employment law. He is on the editorial board of Lex Collegii, a national, legal newsletter for independent higher education and chairs the Legal Issues Advisory Panel of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

John F. Piper, Jr., dean of the college and professor of history at Lycoming College since 1992, formerly served as chair of the history department at the College. In addition to teaching occasional courses, he has strengthened the faculty development program at his College. He is a frequent presenter at CIC's annual Institute for Chief Academic Officers.

Carl H. Caldwell, vice president for academic affairs and dean of Anderson University since 1996, also is professor of history. Earlier in his career, he was the chief academic officer at Franklin College and at Bridgewater College. In 2002, he received the Council of Independent Colleges Chief Academic Officer Award in recognition of his service to private college chief academic officers throughout the country.

R. Peter Carey, a partner in Mandel, Lipton and Stevenson Ltd., has extensive experience with employment issues, including employment discrimination, for clients that include private and publicly traded companies, social service agencies, and higher education institutions. In addition to representing them in employment matters, he also counsels them on employment handbooks, ethics, and compliance with federal and state labor laws.

Jane Jakoubek, vice president and dean of academic affairs at Hanover College since 1995, has worked to strengthen faculty leadership of academic departments. She also has served as a professor of psychology and department head at Luther College, and her research areas include institutional change and the support of new faculty members. She is a frequent presenter at CIC's annual Institute for Chief Academic Officers.