This is a recording of a live online seminar that was part of the 2006 Academic Leader Conference, a five-week web-based conference series.

Presented by Jim Coffman

The CD of the this online seminar will be available for sale after October 22, 2006.

Conflict is seen as a natural and valuable characteristic of organizations, especially academic institutions. However, it can become unproductive when misdirected, and it can be very costly in terms of time, resources, and intellectual energy. Creating an environment that retains the value of productive conflict (about ideas) and mitigates the development or augmentation of unproductive disputes (between individuals or groups of people) is a central factor in the quality of the work environment and the productivity of the institution. Informal means of preventing, resolving, and managing disputes that depend on interpersonal skills and relationships are important but insufficient by themselves. However, retaining and strengthening informal dispute resolution is an important part of creating an integrated, systemic approach to conflict management that engages all relevant people, policies and procedures on an institution-wide basis. In this session, Jim Coffman will explain how to create and maintain such a conflict management system.

Learning objectives:

• How to distinguish between productive and unproductive conflict as a basis for enhancing productivity through managing conflict.
• How to identify and enhance key elements of interpersonal communication in conflict situations.
• How to identify common causes of conflict in academe as a basis for preventing unproductive conflict.
• How to characterize the need for a systemic, institution-wide system of dispute prevention, resolution and management and how it interacts with informal, interpersonal practices.
• How to identify and characterize the most important elements of an institution-wide support system.
• Best practices.

Jim Coffman is a veterinarian by training and spent the first part of his career in private horse practice in Wichita, Kansas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Since then he has been engaged in all aspects of higher education having come through the professorial ranks and served as a department head, dean, and provost. In June 2004 he completed 17 years of service as provost of Kansas State University.

In addition to his experience in academic environments, Coffman has served as an officer and president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He was a trustee for eight years on the Professional Liability Insurance Trust of the American Veterinary Medical Association and served as chair of that board of trustees for two of those years. Other experience includes service on the Executive Committee of the Council on Academic Affairs of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. He served as chair of the gubernatorial task force that drafted legislation implementing pari-mutuel wagering in the state of Kansas and chaired a National Research Council sub-committee on the use of drugs in food producing animals.

This blend of experience in organizational service, governance and administration has involved conflict management in a large variety of circumstances. Bringing this background together in addressing conflict in academic organizations allows for a fresh approach in relating conflict management to how universities and colleges work.