Each year SCMA presents the L. Randolph Lowry Award to a member of the dispute resolution community who has honored and inspired us through their passion and dedication to education in the field of dispute resolution.
The award is named in honor of L. Randolph Lowry, one of the founders of SCMA and an educational leader of the mediation movement in Southern California for many years. Lowry taught law at Pepperdine University and established the Pepperdine Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. He is currently the President of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.
The recipient of the 2020 L. Randolph Lowry Award is Susan Guthrie. Susan was a visionary and leader in moving towards on-line mediation during the past 5 years and took her leadership in this area to the next level during 2020. As the Covid-19 situation put a screeching halt to the in-person mediation process that we had been accustomed to, Susan proactively reached out and made available to thousands of people at all levels, education and tips on how to mediate in the new online world. Her programs were in such demand that she put a temporary halt on her mediation practice to devote full time to this effort. Susan is a role model in the spirit that this award is all about!