FT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – February 26th marks the two-year anniversary of the Trayvon Martin shooting, which again, brought scrutiny to Florida's Stand Your Ground law. As the anniversary approaches, the issue remains a hot-button topic being discussed by citizens and media across the United States. In the two years since this tragic incident, other similar shootings have occurred, including the January 2014 movie theater shooting in Land ‘O Lakes Florida.
As the media prepare for related stories, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has subject matter experts available to speak on the “Stand Your Ground” law and its broad and seemingly far-reaching implications as well as conflict analysis and resolution: Bob Jarvis, J.D., a professor of law at NSU's Shepard Broad Law Center; Gary Gershman, J.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of legal studies and history at NSU's Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences; and Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution in NSU's Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Brief bios of NSU’s Subject Matter Experts follow:
Gary Gershman, J.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Legal Studies and History, serves as chair of the Legal Studies program at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences at Nova Southeastern University. He holds a law degree from Villanova School of Law and a Masters and Ph.D. in history from Duke University. Gershman teaches classes in American history, government, constitutional law and history, and genocide and the Holocaust. Gershman has authored two books – one on the Death Penalty (Death Penalty on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Law and Documents) and one on the Congress (The Legislative Branch of Federal Government: People, Politics and Process).
Bob Jarvis, J.D., Professor at NSU's Shepard Broad Law Center is a frequent legal commentator and has authored 18 books and more than 100 articles. Jarvis' work has been cited in decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Hawaii Supreme Court, Florida District Court of Appeal, and New York Supreme Court.
Bob often is called on by the media to provide commentary on current events. He has appeared on ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, CNN, HBO, and National Public Radio and has been quoted in such newspapers as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, New York Times, Times of London, Toronto Globe & Mail, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.
Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution,Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences has been involved in conflict resolution for 25 years and is chair of NSU's Department of Multidisciplinary Studies in the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS). She is also an associate professor in the SHSS Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. McKay has been called upon by local, state and national media to provide guidance into the conflict resolution process and dynamic.
You name it, she has taught it at NSU: Mediation Theory and Practice; Conflict Coaching Theory and Practice; Strategic Community Planning and Partnerships; Family Violence: The Effects on Families, Communities, and Workplaces; Conflict and Crisis Management Theory; and Critical Incidents, Facilitation Theory, and Practice. As director of NSU's Community Resolution Services, McKay runs programs that offer training, workshops, mediation, and facilitation services and conflict coaching to individuals, families, groups, and agencies.
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About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 314 beautiful acres in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic, fully accredited research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels. NSU is a not-for-profit independent institution with an enrollment of 27,000 students. NSU awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. NSU is classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and it is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu. Celebrating 50 years of academic excellence!
About the Shepard Broad Law Center: Nova Southeastern University’s Law Center offers a rigorous traditional academic program in three-year day and four-year evening versions. NSU Law prides itself on preparing graduates to make a smooth transition from the classroom to the courtroom or boardroom. Lawyering Skills and Values (LSV)-Every student completes a four-semester LSV sequence that combines traditional legal reasoning, writing, and research with an introduction to lawyer interviewing, counseling, negotiating, mediating, advocating, and other critical skills in a simulated law firm experience. For more information, please visit http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/
About the School of Humanities and Social Sciences: Nova Southeastern University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) applies a holistic, relational perspective to the challenges facing individuals, families, organizations, communities, and nations. NHSS trains its students to seek collaborative, creative, and equitable means for resolving social issues through residential, online and hybrid courses as well as through global courses in locations such as China, Ecuador, Ireland and Suriname and through practicum opportunities at NSU and in local communities. SHSS has been home to 15 Fulbright Scholars as graduate students or faculty. There are three academic departments: Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (DCAR); Department of Family Therapy (DFT); and the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (DMS). For more information, please visit http://shss.nova.edu/
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