Robert Alan ‘Baruch’ Bush passed away on Friday, February 27, 2026, in Brooklyn, New York, following a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 78 years old.
A distinguished Professor of Law at Hofstra University for over forty years, Bush served as the Harry H. Rains Distinguished Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution Law. His passing is a profound loss for the mediation community, as he was a visionary founding father of the Transformative Approach to conflict resolution.
Baruch Bush (1948-2026)
The Vision: Transformative Mediation
Bush’s most significant contribution was redefining mediation not as a tool for “settlement,” but as a way to transform human interaction. Alongside his colleague Joe Folger, he identified two essential pillars:
- Empowerment: Helping individuals regain their sense of competence and self-worth (agency). Bush believed the mediator’s role was to support parties in making their own clear, confident decisions.
- Recognition: Encouraging parties to see and acknowledge the perspective of the other side, shifting their relationship from a destructive dynamic to a constructive one. [2, 3]
For Bush, the Principle of Self-Determination was sacred. He strongly opposed “directive” mediators who pressured parties into settlements, arguing that such behavior betrayed the true “promise” of mediation.
A Life Dedicated to Human Dignity
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1948, Bush was an alumnus of Harvard University and Stanford Law School (p. 1). His career-long dedication to humanistic conflict resolution led to:
- The Promise of Mediation (1994): The seminal book that introduced the transformative model globally.
- The USPS REDRESS Program (1997): A massive real-world application where the U.S. Postal Service adopted his model to manage internal disputes.
- The ISCT: The founding of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation, which continues his work today. [4]
A Special Connection to Italy
Bush held a lifelong affection for Italy, beginning his academic journey in 1972 as an assistant to Professor Mauro Cappelletti in Florence.
A significant highlight of his later years was his participation in a two-day advanced workshop in May 2021 at the University of Florence (p. 2). Focused on “Agency and Self-Determination in Mediation,” the event allowed Bush to share his profound insights alongside Peter F. Miller and other close colleagues, once again emphasizing the transformative power of human agency.
His commitment to these themes was further captured in a notable AMT Tea Break discussion, where he explored how mediation helps individuals maintain their autonomy in an increasingly polarized world. You can watch the full discussion here: The Importance of Self Determination in Mediation. [1]
His work leaves an enduring legacy of respect for human dignity and the power of dialogue. Rest in peace.
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