C-DRUM continues its goal of teaching, training, and advancing restorative approaches in education on the local and national levels. Through training, presentations, and scholarship, C-DRUM faculty and staff contribute to the circle of restorative approaches research, teaching, and practice.
Teaching
This fall, Nancy Schertzing, MS, director of the Restorative Approaches in Education Program, taught the first ever restorative justice course at Maryland’s flagship institution, University of Maryland College Park. Fifteen students in the MLAW Justice and Legal Theory program engaged in a weekly seminar, taught in circle where they explored the theory and practice of restorative justice. The course is offered through the MPOWER partnership between the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) and Maryland Carey Law. The seminar is the beginning of what the two campuses hope is a broader effort to integrate restorative justice into the legal theory curriculum.
Scholarship
Our faculty contributed insights and scholarship about the integration of restorative justice in law schools at the Restorative Justice in Legal Education Symposium. C-DRUM faculty, C. Quince Hopkins, JD, LLM, JSD, Director of the Erin Levitas Initiative for Sexual Violence Prevention, faculty director, Professor Deborah Thompson Eisenberg, and Executive Director, Toby Treem Guerin, were among other national scholars present to share works in progress at the June gathering. Professor Hopkins and her co-author Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor with University of Maryland School of Social Work, presented the paper “Magic or Morass?: Interdisciplinary Work and Program Evaluation in a Law School-Based Sexual Violence Prevention Program Using Restorative Practices.” Professors Eisenberg and Guerin shared their article, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken: The Role of Law School Centers in Promoting Restorative Justice Theory, Practice, and Education.” The gathering of restorative justice scholars was hosted by the National Center for Restorative Justice and articles from the conference will be published in a forthcoming special restorative justice edition of the Journal of Legal Education.
Presentations
Our faculty contributed their scholarship and insight to important conversations on the application of restorative approaches in law schools at the Vermont Restorative Approaches in Legal Education Symposium. C. Quince Hopkins, JD, LLM, JSD, Director of the Erin Levitas Initiative for Sexual Violence Prevention at C-DRUM, and her co-author Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor with University of Maryland School of Social Work, presented the paper “Magic or Morass?: Interdisciplinary Work and Program Evaluation in a Law School-Based Sexual Violence Prevention Program Using Restorative Practices”. C-DRUM’s faculty director, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg, and executive director, Toby Treem Guerin, shared their paper, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”: The On-going Dialogue between Restorative Justice Theory, Community-Engaged Practice and Legal Education. The gathering of scholars hosted by the National Center for Restorative Justice, explored the integration of restorative justice in law school curriculum and culture. The two articles by Maryland faculty, along with articles from other law school faculty on the topic will be published in an upcoming special restorative justice edition of the Journal of Legal Education.
Training
Fostering restorative work occurs on the national and local levels. On the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, C-DRUM is working with the School of Pharmacy to support its effort “to engage in safe and equitable discussions that enhance communication, engagement, well-being, and a sense of belonging.” The two-day workshop, “Circle Up: Fostering an Inclusive Culture using Restorative Approaches,” designed by Nancy Schertzing, uses the foundation of restorative approaches, to expand the communication tools that faculty, staff and students can use when discussing cultural differences, to build community and a sense of belonging.
The workshop has been provided twice already with one additional session planned for December. Upon completion participants received a Restorative Approaches Facilitator badge from the School of Pharmacy.
For more information about C-DRUM's restorative trainings and services, click here.