UAkron Center For Conflict Management

Faculty from the Center for Conflict Management were recognized by The EXL Center for Community Engaged Learning for our community engaged research into the effects of policing on community mental health and wellbeing. Congrats to Drs. Peralta, Xi, and Jauk-Ajamie!

Wishing you success on your final exams!!!!!!

The Center for Conflict Management presented scholarships to our students at our Banquet on April 11th, 2025. Scholarships are designed to recognize student excellence and to facilitate advancement to Certificate completion. The Certificate in Conflict Transformation and Social Entrepreneurship is interdisciplinary: students from across campus are invited to join!

Employment Opportunity - perfect for our sociology majors and minors! This opportunity was shared by one of our former students, Hannah Horrigan!

Do you have an interest in serving the community at a direct level ? This position works directly with families with children prenatal through age 5, and will be trained using an evidence-based curriculum to promote child developmental achievement, while also supporting families in goal setting to reduce barriers to self-sufficiency and breaking generational cycles of trauma.

The posting requires a Bachelor’s Degree, however students that are graduating this Spring would be considered for the role.

Service Coordinator – Early Childhood

Recruitment

Dr. Insun Park has been Promoted to
Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, University of Akron! Dr. Park is a faculty advisory council member for the Center.

Professor Park received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice with the specialization in Criminology and Corrections from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Park’s research has focused on the impact of contact with the criminal justice system on youth and young adults. Prior to joining UA in 2019, she worked on state-wide research projects examining the impact of Criminal Justice Reform, effects and consequences of juvenile transfer, and factors related to substance abuse treatment in community-based correctional facilities in Ohio. Currently, she is on Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Illness Research and Best Practices subcommittee and Family Violence Research Collaborative member. Building on continued research on these areas, Dr. Park intends to bring scholarly attention and improve the lives of Ohioans in the criminal justice system.

Congratulations to Dr. Xi for her Promotion to Professor at The University of Akron! Dr. Xi is a member of the faculty advisory council for the Center.

Dr. Xi's long-term goal is to continue her mental well-being research and find ways to enhance her students’ well-being in classrooms and research projects. She is interested in further transforming her teaching into an experiential learning process. She discovered that the benefit of the whole-person in experiential learning processes goes way beyond effective learning: it is central to students’ well-being as they learn to follow the intelligence of their heart and hands.

CCM Faculty have published their latest research on college student mental health challenges.

Here is the link: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/4/231

This study explores mental health among s*xual minority college students, comparing s*xual minorities to heteros*xual peers. Key findings from a US state university show:

Sexual minority students experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and self-harming behaviors and Lower scores on positive mental health measures (inner peace, environmental mastery, happiness, life satisfaction, purpose, health, and relationships) and lower levels of resilience, mainly related to basic security needs (safety, food, housing).

These findings highlight the need for targeted support programs and services to improve the well-being of s*xual minority students and create healthier college environments.

Mental Health, Resilience, and Well-Being Among Sexual Minority College Students: A Study Framed by the Minority Stress and Minority Resilience Models This study contributes to the understanding and promotion of mental health among s*xual minority college students by examining a comprehensive range of mental health outcomes, including psychological distress and indicators of well-being. Using survey data from 521 students at a US state university,...

Learning together is what we do! Join us.

So many learning opportunities brought to you by the Sociology Department and our friends!

Through the lens of conflict management, Halloween serves as a brilliant example of how societies can constructively channel tensions and potential conflicts into positive outcomes. The holiday essentially functions as a pressure-release valve for various social frictions – it transforms the natural fear of strangers and darkness into a playful community experience, making the frightening familiar and manageable. When neighbors who might normally avoid each other end up interacting through trick-or-treating, it creates low-stakes opportunities for positive social contact. The holiday even helps manage generational conflict by giving children a structured way to assert independence and make demands on adults, while adults maintain control through established boundaries and rules (specific times, approved houses, checking candy). Even the scary elements of Halloween serve a conflict-management purpose – by collectively facing and making light of fears (death, monsters, the supernatural), communities reduce their power to create real social tension. Competition for status and resources, which might otherwise create conflict, gets sublimated into friendly contests for best costume or best-decorated house. Even potential conflicts over appropriate behavior and social boundaries get temporarily resolved through clearly defined "Halloween rules" that everyone understands and accepts – like when it's okay to knock on doors, what treats are appropriate to give, and how to respectfully signal non-participation by keeping porch lights off. It's remarkable how this holiday manages to turn potential sources of social conflict into opportunities for community bonding and mutual understanding.

From a conflict management perspective, voting serves as a crucial peaceful mechanism for resolving societal disagreements and transferring power. It provides a structured alternative to violence and civil unrest, allowing competing groups to settle differences through ballots rather than force.
When people believe they have a legitimate voice through voting, they're less likely to resort to destructive forms of protest or conflict. Effective voting systems help manage tensions by:

-Giving all groups a stake in the political process
-Creating peaceful paths for leadership changes
-Allowing minority voices to be heard
-Providing mechanisms for grievance redress

Join the Sociology Club for a "Rethinking Race Event" focused on the intersections of race, s*x, and gender!