Elizabeth McMillan
Institute for Conflict Management
Assistant Professor
Biography
Elizabeth McMillan is an Assistant Professor of Conflict Management in the College of Leadership and Public Service. She also serves as the Training Director for Lipscomb’s Institute for Conflict Management. McMillan has a long-time academic interest in Conflict Management. She created her undergraduate degree in Conflict Resolution at the University of Tennessee, where she studied under the direction of Professor Grayfred Gray in the university’s mediation clinic. After finishing law school at the University of Tennessee, she earned her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University, where she co-mediated cases at the Los Angeles office of the EEOC, and in Los Angeles County small claims court.
Her professional career spans both legal practice and education. McMillan practiced as a litigator with a large Nashville law firm for many years, focusing primarily on corporate contract disputes. She subsequently transitioned to a national nonprofit company where she recruited and trained mid-career professionals to become certified public school teachers teaching in hard-to-staff subject areas.
At Lipscomb, McMillan teaches graduate courses in Modern Foundations of Conflict Management, Conflict in Business Settings, and Negotiation, and guides students in completing their capstone projects. She also manages the Institute for Conflict Management’s Rule 31 mediation training program, and provides training in conflict management techniques to professional and community groups. Her research interests include the history of conflict management, creating effective conflict management curricula for K-12 classrooms, and the use of technology to improve access to conflict management support. She is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution and the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators.