Quick Facts
Biography
Robert Alan Baruch Bush (born January 24, 1948, in Phoenix, Arizona) is the Harry H. Rains Distinguished Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Law at Hofstra University School of Law, Hempstead, New York. Together with Joseph Folger of Temple University he is the originator, and best known advocate, of the transformative model of mediation. He has authored over two dozen articles and books on mediation and ADR. In 2006 he received the Annual PeaceBuilder Award by the New York State Dispute Resolution Association to honor individuals and organizations that have promoted the field of ADR.
Coming from a secular Jewish environment, in his adult life Bush became an orthodox Chabad Jew. Recently he authored an article on mediation in the Jewish tradition, discovering that many of his earlier research findings were compatible with Jewish principles of mediation (P'shara).
Bush is a graduate of Harvard University (B.A. in 1969) and Stanford Law School (J.D. in 1974). He has practiced mediation in various contexts since starting a community mediation program in San Francisco in 1976, and has developed and conducted many training programs on mediation and ADR, including training for lawyers and judges. He has been at Hofstra Law School since 1980.