Labor Peace at Risk

Alexander Colvin, Ph.D., ’99, is the Kenneth F. Kahn ’69 Dean and the Martin F. Scheinman ’75, M.S. ’76, Professor of Conflict Resolution at Cornell University’s ILR School.

Dean Colvin’s research and teaching focuses on employment dispute resolution, with a particular emphasis on procedures in non-union workplaces and the impact of the legal environment on organizations. His current research projects include empirical investigations of employment arbitration and cross-national analysis of labor law and dispute resolution. Dean Colvin is the co-author of “An Introduction to U.S. Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations” (with T. Kochan and H. Katz) and of “Arbitration Law “( with K. Stone and R. Bales).

Dean Colvin received his J.D. in 1992 from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. in 1999 from Cornell University. He received the 2003 Outstanding Young Scholar Award from the Industrial Relations Research Association (IRRA) and the 2000 Best Dissertation Award from the IRRA for his dissertation entitled “Citizens and Citadels: Dispute Resolution and the Governance of Employment Relations.” Before joining the faculty of the ILR School, Dean Colvin taught at Penn State University from 1999 to 2008.

Ariel Avgar is the David M. Cohen Professor of Labor Relations, Law, and History, and the Academic Director of the Center for Applied Research on Work at the Cornell University ILR School.

Professor Avgar’s research focuses on two primary areas within employment relations. First, he explores the role that employment relations factors play in the healthcare industry. As such, he examines the effects of a variety of workplace innovations, including new technology, delivery of care models, and innovative work practices, on patients, frontline employees, and organizational performance. Second, Professor Avgar studies conflict and its management in organizations with a focus on the strategic choices made by firms. He seeks to better understand the consequences of conflict for employees and employers. Professor Avgar also investigates the adoption and implementation of organizational-level conflict management practices and systems.

Professor Avgar’s research has been published in a number of journals, including Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, International Journal of Conflict Management, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Negotiation and Conflict Management Review, Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Health Services Research, and Medical Care.

Professor Avgar received the 2008 Best Dissertation Award and the 2013 John T. Dunlop Scholar Award, both from the Labor and Employment Relations Association and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the association. His paper (with Eric J. Neuman) titled “Blind spots and mirages: A dyadic approach to the study of team conflict” received the 2012 Best Paper: New Directions Award from the Academy of Management Conflict Management Division.

Professor Avgar earned a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the ILR School at Cornell University and a B.A. in Sociology and an LL.B in Law from Hebrew University. He served as Law Clerk for the President of the Israeli National Labor Court before being admitted into the Israeli Bar. Prior to joining ILR, Professor Avgar was an associate professor (2014 to 2016) and assistant professor (2008 to 2014) at the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Javier Ramirez has over 30 years of experience in labor relations, mediation, and dispute resolution at the highest levels of government and in the private sector. As Executive Manager of the National Conflict Resolution Service, Mr. Ramirez leads national initiatives to deliver mediation, conflict resolution, and labor management training across sectors.

Prior to the establishment of the NCRS, Mr. Ramirez served as Deputy Director of Field Operations at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, where he guided nationwide strategy and staff development, and pioneered innovative approaches to collective bargaining.

Dionne Pohler is the Associate Director of the ILR School’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. She joined Cornell University in July 2025 and was named the David and Alexandra Lipsky Professor in Dispute Resolution and Labor Relations.

Professor Pohler is the associate editor at the ILR Review and a practicing mediator. Her current collaborative projects include exploring sources of conflict in different contexts and the role of mediators.