“The Social Justice Institute in the Aftermath of the Racial Justice Uprising”

Members of the Case Western Reserve University community are invited to a Faculty Spotlight featuring Social Justice Institute Co-Directors Ayesha Bell Hardaway and Mark Chupp Tuesday, April 6, from 5 to 6 p.m. After opening remarks from Interim President Scott Cowen, Hardaway and Chupp will discuss the topic “The Social Justice Institute in the Aftermath of the Racial Justice Uprising.”

Register for the talk.

About the speakers

Mark G. Chupp (GRS ’03) is assistant professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University, where he chairs the concentration in Community Practice for Social Change in the master’s of social work program. He also is the founding director of the Community Innovation Network, a resource for communities and practitioners seeking strength-based approaches to community change. His work over the past 25 years has focused on appreciative inquiry, community building, community development and inter-group conflict transformation. 

In 2020, Chupp was named co-director of the Social Justice Institute at Case Western Reserve University.

Chupp began his career in restorative justice, directing the first Victim Offender Reconciliation Program in the U.S. Chupp is an international consultant and trainer in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. He lived in Costa Rica and Nicaragua from 1988 to 1991, where he worked extensively throughout Central America. He also provided leadership in the establishment of the Culture of Peace Program and a UN Local Zone of Peace in post-war El Salvador. 

He holds a PhD in social welfare from Case Western Reserve University. He has published numerous theory- and practice-oriented articles, manuals and book chapters. Chupp is a founding trustee of the National Peace Academy, an adjunct faculty at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute of Eastern Mennonite University and a member of the faculty of the Asset Based Community Development Institute based at DePaul University.

Ayesha Bell Hardaway (LAW ’04) is an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. As a member of the faculty, Hardaway teaches as a clinician in the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic. She also is the director of the School of Law’s Social Justice Law Center and the co-director of the university’s Social Justice Institute. 

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Hardaway serves as deputy monitor of the Independent Monitoring Team appointed to evaluate the progress and implementation of Cleveland Police Department reforms mandated by a settlement agreement between the City of Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Prior to joining the law school faculty, Hardaway practiced in the Litigation Department of Tucker Ellis LLP and was also an assistant prosecuting attorney for Cuyahoga County. 

Hardaway was elected to serve on the Shaker Heights City School Board in 2017.