Restorative justice pioneer to speak during Bluffton University Forum

Dr. Howard Zehr, professor and co-director of the Center for
Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), will
present "Doing Justice on the Healing Edge" at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13,
in Founders Hall, as a part of Bluffton University's weekly Forum
series. This event is free and open to the public.

Zehr is widely known as a major restorative justice pioneer. His
work with the first victim offender encounter program in the United
States helped his insights on the topic grow and his book, Changing
Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice, is considered foundational in
the restorative justice movement.

Prior to his time at EMU, Zehr served as an associate professor and
co-director of the Social Science and the Law Project at Talladega
College in Talladega, Ala. Zehr also served as the director of the
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Office on Crime and Justice, as well as
founded and directed the Elkhart County PACT, the first U.S. victim
offender reconciliation program, now known as the Center for Community
Justice. On top of his restorative justice work, Zehr has also worked as
a professional photographer and photojournalist throughout the world.

Zehr continues to give frequent lectures and serve as a trainer and
consultant to community groups, justice practitioners, criminal justice
officials and universities throughout the world. Zehr was also appointed
by the federal court to assist the defense and to work with victims
during the Oklahoma City bombing trail of Timothy McVeigh in 1997, which
continues to this day.

Anna Yoder, public relations office