Center for Conflict Management Testimonials
"I joined the Center for Conflict Management's certificate program in hopes of learning techniques that I could use in my everyday life and future career as a teacher. I have learned how to effectively communicate with others and implement strategies to productively handle conflict. I have also been able to meet with fellow CCM students and Dr. Peralta to discuss the future of the program and how it can appeal to students. The center truly cares about its students and their success, and it is an amazing opportunity to be able to help advance the program. There are many opportunities to become involved, regardless of your major."
Nicole Londo (she/her)
Middle Level Education Social Studies and Language
Arts Major, Spanish Minor, &
Conflict Transformation & Social Entrepreneurship Certificate Student
The University of Akron
Class of 2023
“The Center for Conflict Management has allowed me to connect with other students and UA staff, actively participate in event planning, and attend local demonstrations or lectures on communication, conflict, and social subjects.”
Ana Heppner, 2022
“I began my career at the University of Akron in July of 2019 with a meeting with my advisor to discuss courses, my major, and how I wanted my degree plan to look. To say I was clueless is beyond an understatement. However, I will be forever grateful that Ms. Wolfe advised me to sign up for the certificate in Conflict Transformation and Social Entrepreneurship. She mentioned that a lot of criminal justice students found use in the coursework and the program would look great on a resume, so I began my journey. I neglected the classes until I was solidly entrenched with my degree and by my third year on campus I finally came around to starting applicable coursework.
Most of the classes for the older version of the CCM certificate were already in my degree plan so it was aimed to be a free resume builder. But free was a misconception and these courses would become so much more than a resume builder. I have famously stated there is only a handful of courses that have taught me anything in the 150 credit hours and dozens of trainings I have attended here at UA. The most critical was also the hardest course I have ever taken, Law, Mediation, and Violence with Dr. Lyons. The course challenged me to my limits with courseload, forced me to adapt my writing to become punctuated and direct, gave me the tools to write a manuscript that at my maximum effort was a solid “B-“if graded for content at doctorate level. It taught me how to work in groups, how to decipher and manipulate conflict on a scale ranging from interpersonal to congressional. Through Dr. Lyons and the CCM I was also invited to join the Dinner and a Fight/Dialogue events with Ted Wetzel and “Fighting to Understand US”. This gave me an outlet to experience civil dialogue on tough, pointed issues, and envelope myself with many members of Akron’s community and the staunch conflict that surrounds us.
I have learned so much through extracurricular training like the “Bridging the Divide” and regularly use the strategies in my daily arguments and positions of mentorship. I have grown as a leader, as a citizen, and as a professional. It’s impossible to list everything I have benefitted from what was marketed as a “simple 12 credit hour” experience. I will take all these countless lessons into my career as a Law Enforcement Officer, aspiring to be a Natural Resources Officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Watercraft. We can never have enough skill, patience, and care to employ conflict management strategies. I will truly never forget the lessons and experiences I have had with the Center for Conflict Management.”
Nicholas Tilk 2024
"My time as a student at UA was rewarding in every possible way. As an Emergency Management & Homeland Security major, I had the opportunity to learn disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery in what is arguably one of the best programs in the country. I am proud to say that I currently serve as a Disaster Services Consultant at the Ohio Emergency Management Agency in Columbus.
That being said, the program that I believe I benefited from the most was the Center for Conflict Management. The certificate program through CCM provides students with a curriculum that teaches the values of diversity, mutual respect and unique problem solving. As Dr. Lyons’ student, I learned how important it is to be concise and sincere. More than that, I learned that active listening is the number one skill that we bring to our relationships and future careers.
As a CCM student, I grew and approached learning from a new and better perspective. Having the CCM certificate on my resume sparked interesting conversations during my interview process. Prospective employers wanted to know how that education and experience would affect and impact the skills that I would bring to their agency/company."
Christen Swayer, '19, Disaster Services Consultant
Ohio Emergency Management Agency (Columbus, OH)
"As Director of the Neighborhood Leadership Institute of Summit County, I consider the training presented by Bill Lyons of The University of Akron an incredibly valuable piece of our program. Each year, his session challenges our participants to change and grow, review and reconsider how they view conflict in their lives, personally and professionally.
As we work to equip grassroots community leaders, we know that we would be far less effective without the thoughtful, thought provoking material presented by Dr. Lyons. People have conflict. Bill helps people understand the nature of conflict but more importantly how it can be harnessed and utilized as a productive force in our lives. If your organization has people, your organization needs to hear from Bill Lyons."
John Hafford II, Director
Neighborhood Leadership Institute of Summit County
"Professor Lyons is a dynamic instructor who engaged the group through fun and insightful exercises and discussion. By the end of the workshop, I no longer feared conflict because I was better equipped with tools to manage it."
Hudson Action Together
"One of the most powerful educational workshops we provided at the Step II Transitional Domestic Violence Shelter was a conflict management program offed by the University of Akron’s Center for Conflict Management. Dr. Lyons and his team provided ongoing group sessions to the adult residents who were often faced with conflicts and disagreements as a result of living in such confined quarters. The conflict management team provided the staff with tips on dissolving and mediating conflict, but more importantly, the facilitated group sessions allowed the residents to learn techniques to resolve conflict on their own."
Leanne Graham, Step II Shelter Manager
Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties