Mary Ellen O’Connell is Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution at the Kroc Institute. She also is the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law at Notre Dame, a position which she has held since 2005.
O’Connell's research focuses on peace through law, specifically international legal regulation of the use of force, conflict and dispute resolution, and the resolution of disputes prior to an escalation to armed conflict. She teaches a graduate-level course on international dispute resolution, advises Kroc graduate students and collaborates with Kroc faculty on research.
A prolific writer and active speaker, O’Connell also contributes to policy studies and public outreach, including articles for Peace Policy, Kroc's online journal. As an engaged Catholic intellectual, she deepens Kroc’s expertise in Catholic social ethics and theory of justice.
Prior to joining the Notre Dame faculty, Mary Ellen was the William B. Saxbe Designated Professor of Law at Ohio State University. She earned her J.D. from Columbia University, and she has taught at Indiana University School of Law; the Bologna Center of The Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna, Italy; the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She is the author of The Power and Purpose of International Law (Oxford University Press), three casebooks, four edited collections, and more than 60 articles and book chapters.
