2005 Award: Professor Floyd D. Weatherspoon

CADRE is pleased to announce Floyd D. Weatherspoon, Professor of Law at Capital University Law School as the recipient of the 2005 Keys to Access Award. Professor Weatherspoon’s inspirational leadership has drawn national attention to the critical need to increase the presence of minority professionals at all levels and in all areas of alternative dispute resolution. The Award will be presented at CADRE’s National Symposium on IEP Facilitation.

Upon graduating from law school, Professor Weatherspoon worked for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Prior to joining Capital, Professor Weatherspoon managed the Mediation and Settlement Program at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He received the Bronze Award from TVA for developing and implementing one of the first mediation programs in a federal agency for resolving workplace disputes. He has published in the area of employment discrimination law, and is a frequent speaker at national conferences on this and related topics. Professor Weatherspoon serves on a number of labor arbitration/mediation panels; he is also an external administrative judge for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In 1989, Professor Weatherspoon joined the faculty at the Law School where he teaches Labor Law, Labor Arbitration, Employment Discrimination, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and a seminar on African-American Males and the Law. He also teaches courses in the Graduate School of Management on Managing Diverse Workforce Within the Law and Managerial Mediation.

Professor Weatherspoon chairs the Promoting Opportunities for Minorities in the Field of ADR National Conference, which last year attracted more than 300 practitioners and policy-makers from 25 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Jamaica. The conference includes workshops dedicated to broadening opportunities in the area of special education dispute resolution. He presently serves on the Editorial Board of Conflict Resolution Quarterly and is the Director of Minority ADR Initiatives at Capital.

Professor Weatherspoon has authored a number of publications and holds a B.S., cum laude, from North Carolina A&T State University, and a J.D. from Howard University.