The Ombuds Blog: Ole Miss Appoints First Ombuds

July 08, 2015

Ole Miss Appoints First Ombuds

The University of Mississippi has hired Brett Harris to be its first Employee Ombudsman. She will report to the Office of the Chancellor and provide services to graduate assistants, staff, and faculty. The announcement of her appointment on the Ole Miss Blog includes an interview in which she talks about her transition from working as a mediator and attorney in Idaho.

Most recently, Harris worked as the Mediation Program Coordinator for Idaho’s 7th Judicial District. Previously she investigated high conflict custody cases for two years for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and completed an internship at Idaho Legal Aid. She earned her JD from the University of Idaho. (Ole Miss News.)

Harris was briefly named as the first permanent Ombuds for the University of North Dakota earlier this year.

Related posts: University of North Dakota Hires Ombuds; (Ole Miss) Job Posting; University of North Dakota to Reopen Search.

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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