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Math professor helps others tackle elephant in the room

by Dottie Barnes

    He and his students solve problems from discrete mathematics, advanced calculus and abstract algebra, but now Jonathan Hodge, associate professor and assistant chair of mathematics, is helping people solve life problems. When it comes to being right brain-left brain, Hodge is both.

photo by Bernadine Carey-Tucker Jonathan Hodge leads a presentation on conflict resolution for faculty and staff members. Hodge, associate professor and assistant chair of mathematics, is pursuing a master’s degree negotiation, conflict resolution and peace building.

    The Traverse City native has been teaching in Grand Valley’s Mathematics Department since 2002. He enjoyed math, physics and engineering while growing up in northern Michigan, so it was no surprise when he decided to pursue math as a career.

    “My research is in the mathematical social sciences, and I’ve always gravitated toward problems that involve people,” Hodge said.

    When he worked as a graduate assistant, Hodge discovered his love for teaching and the good rapport he had with students.

    “I don’t know if I was always good at relating to people, but I always enjoyed relating with people,” he said, jokingly. “I don’t know that I was particularly skillful at my reactions with others. I’d say my real interest in conflict resolution came out of looking at my own contribution to certain conflicts.”

    Hodge said he wanted to pursue conflict resolution as a way of professional development, while preparing for his role as assistant chair. “I wanted to be more effective, so I started with a book on tape,” he said. “The material resonated with me in many ways. Soon after, I attended a workshop on conflict resolution in Boston; it enlivened something within me. I wanted to immerse myself in it.”

    That immersion involved enrolling in a master’s program in negotiation, conflict resolution and peace building through California State University-Dominguez Hills. Hodge also became a mediator for Ottawa County District Court.

    “This process has changed the way I handle conflict in many ways,” he said. “I have certainly changed how I interact with my wife. I am reminded that my way isn’t the only way. There are ways of framing challenges and differences in ways that aren’t competitive, but set us up to be able to work together to solve problems.”

    Hodge said he has also become more open-minded. “I have become a lot less certain about a lot of things that I used to feel more certain about. I’ve learned to listen to different perspectives. There is a lot of value in hearing what others have to say,” he said.

    In February, Hodge gave a presentation as part of a Health and Wellness series at Grand Valley. During his discussion, “The Elephant in the Room: How to Talk About Difficult Issues,” Hodge told faculty and staff members about the four ways people respond to the elephant: charge at it, get out of the room, do what the elephant wants or talk to the elephant to work something out. These four responses reveal whether a person tends to compete, avoid, yield or problem solve, he said.

    He then gave tips for conflict resolution using the acronym S.L.O.W. — set the tone, listen and acknowledge, observe and organize, work toward a solution.

    “It’s important to legitimize other people’s feelings; people need to be heard,” he said. “There is great value in hearing other perspectives and celebrating them. When you engage in dialogue about significant differences you discover the underlying thread of common humanity behind all of it. When you better understand another person, your world gets a little bigger.”

    Hodge said he is sometimes reluctant to tell people he studies conflict resolution. “I’ll think back to a time when I handled something terribly and did everything wrong,” he said. “I taught an honors class on conflict resolution and found that every time I came to class, I had another failure to talk about. This is hard work. It’s a process. You can learn all this but it’s enormously difficult to apply in real life and takes a lot of practice.”

    Hodge said traveling internationally has helped him gain perspective. “In the last few years, my wife and I have been to Europe, China and Africa. I have traveled to Kenya three different times to work with a children’s rescue mission,” he said. “We all have our own cultural perspective. We see the world through our own little lens. I don’t have to abandon my own beliefs or values, but we all need to realize that others with different experiences may come to different views about the same issues.”

    Hodge said while conflict resolution can be painful at times, it’s fulfilling when done right. “It’s almost like a spiritual discipline or spiritual pursuit,” he said. “There is a discipline involved in reflecting and constantly growing and becoming more self-aware and more introspective.”