Israel Reflections–Closing Thoughts

This will be the last post regarding the trip from Israel (at least for now!) and I wanted to close with some of the students’ last reflections and humorous comments about the trip:

Most people said I was a little crazy for heading to Israel in my first trip out of the country but what more could I ask for?  We went to meetings and museums, saw Roman ruins, and spent time at the beach.  I was feeling pretty good about my knowledge of the region both from my own studies and from the preparation I had from the first few weeks of class.  After patting myself on the back on the way over, almost as soon as we landed I realized what a neat little box I had placed around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Needless to say, the conflict is anything but. 

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Eckstein Hall Named Project of the Year

Eckstein Hall, our new home, was today named Project of the Year in The Business Journal’s 2011 Real Estate Awards program. The announcement was made at a luncheon program at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee: although various awards were announced in advance, this top award was shrouded in secrecy until near the end of the program.

This is a gratifying recognition for the Law School and the broader University — indeed, all who were involved in the project, including the design architect, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, and the construction firm, Opus North Corp. Tom Ganey, University Architect, and I asked Kathy-Kugi Tom and Jerad Protaskey, project managers for the University and Opus North, respectively, to accept the award.

The panel of four judges deciding the awards included Bob Greenstreet, Dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and formerly city planner for Milwaukee.

It is an especially welcome honor for all associated with the Law School for a particular reason. The scales of a close competition (especially between Eckstein Hall and the new Columbia St. Mary’s hospital) were tipped by “the impact [Eckstein Hall] was having on the community,” according to Mark Kass, The Business Journal’s editor in introducing the awards.

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Israel Reflections–Negotiation Aikido Israeli-Style

On our very last day in Israel, with the sun shining and after spending an hour on the beach, we forced the students back on the bus to Tel Aviv University to have a joint class with Moty Cristal’s class from the International Master’s in Dispute Resolution program.  If ever I was worried that the students would really resent us, this presented the golden opportunity.  Luckily, Moty was outstanding and here are two student comments about his presentation:

From Mary Ferwarda: It was the last day in an exciting, but very packed and exhausting schedule. We had just come from free time on the beach in Tel Aviv on the most perfect morning — sunshine, light breeze, few crowds — and I, personally, was dreading having to sit inside for yet another lecture.  When we all packed into a room at Tel Aviv University, and the speaker pulled up his Powerpoint, I took a deep breath to pool all of my energy to pay attention.  I should have taken a deep breath to prepare to be blown away.  Mr. Moty Cristal lectured, or rather, preached, his piece on crisis negotiation to a roomful of rapt students and professors.  Combining a pointed wit, quick humor, and a couple of Hollywood movies, Mr. Cristal walked the class through his experience negotiating with Palestinian militants who barricaded themselves in the Church of the Nativity in 2002 to avoid capture by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). 

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