Forrest S. (Woody) Mosten, an internationally known mediator and advocate of conflict resolution methods to settle disputes, will speak at UCR on Wednesday, May 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the Alumni and Visitors Center.

Mosten will discuss “Conflict and Peacemaking: From Kindergarten to the Middle East” in the first lecture of what will become an annual event, the Forrest S. Mosten Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies Lectureship.

The Los Angeles attorney, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCR in 1969 and a law degree from UCLA, is donating $5,000 annually to fund the lecture series and student internships with organizations that promote peacebuilding or conflict resolution in an effort to support peace studies at the university, said June O’Connor, professor of religious studies.

“Conflict is a feature of human life and we have to be creative and imaginative in how we resolve disputes,” O’Connor said. “Mr. Mosten sees his funding as a challenge grant that will encourage others to join the effort with donations to enrich and enlarge what we’re able to do. We have an associate vice chancellor for conflict resolution, and there are courses on nonviolence in the Department of Religious Studies and peace studies in the Department of Political Science. This gives visibility to those efforts.”

Mosten will be on campus May 7-9 and is available to speak to classes and clubs. To schedule a meeting, contact O’Connor at x2-3743 or june.oconnor@ucr.edu.

Mosten said an internship with the Urban League 40 years ago, arranged by Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge – a UCR associate professor of political science – “changed my life forever.”

“The fact that my alma mater is doing this means more to me than I can tell you,” he said. “The Inland Empire does not have enough mediators, and there is tremendous need. Hopefully, UCR will be a regional center for conflict resolution and will draw students because of it. Those students will come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences.”

Mosten is the author of “The Complete Guide to Mediation,” “Unbundling Legal Services” and “Mediation Career Guide.” He has been honored for his mediation work by the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Beverly Hills Bar Association Conflict resolution methods are employed by courts, schools, corporations and policy-makers at every level of government, said Mosten, who trains mediators worldwide.

“People, programs and institutions are working on it at every level in our society to try and deal with the pernicious effect of conflict and violence and come up with peaceful and workable approaches,” he said.