This paper depicts the origins, operation, and success of the Community Mediation Service established at the University of Hawaii, Manoa in 1979. During the 1970s, a national impetus for change arose out of stresses in the justice system including clogged courts, expensive and lengthy litigation, distrust of lawyers, and dissatisfaction of both winners and losers with outcomes. Proponents of community justice in Hawaii studied the three models of alternative dispute resolution: (1) the agency model that operates as part of a government agency; (2) the community model that operates independently of government at the grass-roots level, and (3) the agency-affiliated model that operates outside of a government agency but with government cooperation. After holding community meetings, conferences with experts, undergraduate classroom simulations, and graduate seminars, faculty and students at the University of Hawaii created a fourth model, the university-based community justice center. University faculty and students underwent training in mediation and volunteered their time to administer the program and to serve as mediators. While keeping costs low, the program achieved very high success rates in resolving disputes and satisfying participants. Students and researchers constructively combined theory in practice and gained valuable experience in politics and personal relations. (JD)