October 14, 2024

Tilburg University Names First Student Ombuds

In August, Ingrid Segers-Claessen was appointed the first Ombudsfunctionaris Studenten for the public research university in the Netherlands. She will provide services to about 20,000 students. Tilburg is in the process of hiring an Employee Ombuds. 

Journal of IOA Article Urges Ombuds to Reflect on How Identities Impact Work

Three Ombuds and a student from the University of Maryland, Karen M. O’Brien, Nazish M. Salahuddin, Mashanda Y. Mosley, and Karoline J. Trovato, are the coauthors of a new article in the peer-reviewed Journal of the International Ombuds Association. In "Doing Our Best Work: Bringing Identity Awareness and Cultural Humility to the Ombuds Role," the authors encourage practicing Ombuds to become more mindful of how their racial and gender identies affect their work. The article is the second JIOA's Special Issue on Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging.

October 10, 2024

Job Posting: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The federal agency that issues patents and registers trademarks is hiring another Senior Associate Ombudsman. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, the position will report to Chief Ombudsman Paul Sotoudeh and work alongside Senior Associate Ombuds Andrea Brown and Nellie Haddad. The job does require living in the DC area (and USPTO can’t pay for relocation), but does allow for three days per week of telework.

October 08, 2024

John A. Logan College Creates Ombuds Office

The public community college in Carterville, Illinois, has appointed Adrienne Barkley Giffin as its first Student Ombudsperson. She will provide services to over 3,300 students following IOA standards. 

Podcast: Managing Work Conflicts: Celebrating the Work of Ombuds Professionals

Liz Hill, the Associate Director at the University of Colorado Boulder Ombuds Office was a guest this week on "Conflict Managed," a podcast hosted by Merry Brown, a workplace conflict restoration consultant and mediator. Hill has been an Ombuds for 17 years and brings a wide range of experience to her work with clients and advocacy for the profession. In this podcast, she offers advice for managing workplace conflict.

International Conference on Student Participation to Feature Ombuds

The first International Conference on Student Participation will include several sessions relevant to Ombuds. The conference "seeks to address all the dimensions in which student participation develops and can develop within higher education institutions, with a multilevel and multi-stakeholder approach." The conference will be hosted by on the University of Córdoba and Pablo de Olavide University in Córdoba, Spain, on 28-29 October 2024 (and partially streamed online).

October 07, 2024

The MacArthur Foundation Unveeils Ombuds Program

MWI has announced that Jacqueline Villafañe and Ralph Johnson will serve as Ombuds team members for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support nonprofit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. Villafane and Johnson will serve over 200 staff at their headquarters in Chicago, and offices in India and Nigeria. Previously, a different contractor provided Ombuds services to the Foundation for a little over years.

October 04, 2024

Job Posting: European Molecular Biology Laboratory

EMBL, the intergovernmental laboratory for the life sciences in Heidelberg, Germany, seeks its next Ombudsperson. The search will fill a position established by Martina Peskoller-Fuchs in 2015. The position serves about staff members, local staff, fellows, trainees and visitors at sites across Europe, including: Hinxton near Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg, Rome, and Barcelona. The EMBL Ombuds will serve a five-year term and is renewable to nine years. 

October 02, 2024

Job Posting: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

The multilateral development bank based in Beijing has opened search for an Ombuds Service Analyst. The position reports to the Ombudsperson (which is being filled by a concurrent, international search) and will assist with research, training and outreach event organization, data collection and analysis, and reporting.

Job Posting: DC State Board of Education

The Ombudsman for Public Education in Washington, DC⁠—a neutral and independent office that provides conflict resolution services related to public education⁠—is hiring a Senior Advisor to the Ombudsman. The position "serves as a subject matter expert and key advisor to the Director, providing a broad range of operational management, project management, and research and writing support [including] coordination of case management, outreach and engagement, mediation, policy recommendations, and ensures compliance with applicable policies, procedures, regulations, and laws." Kimberly R. Humphrey was named the Director and Ombudsman on April 22, 2024.

October 01, 2024

Job Posting: University of Waterloo

The public research university in Ontario has opened a search for a full-time Ombudsperson. The position is expected to establish and manage an office to serve approximately 40,000 students following ACCUO standards of practice and reporting to the University Secretary. UWaterloo conducted a similar and ultimately unsuccessful search in November 2023.

Inter-American Development Bank Names Ombuds

Nick Diehl has been selected the next Head of Ombuds & Mediation Services for the Latin American Development Bank. He follows Ellen Connors in the position and is expected to serve an initial five-year term. Diehl will be based at IDB's headquarters in Washington, DC, and report directly to the President.

University of Iowa Adds Another Assistant Ombuds

Tijuana D. Collier has been selected as the second, full-time Assistant Ombudsperson in the Ombuds Office at the University of Iowa. She joins University Ombuds, Chanelle Reese, Assistant Ombuds, Corey P. Pass, and half-time Faculty Ombuds, Meenakshi GiGi Durham. They service faculty, staff, and students—including all of UI Healthcare.

University of Wyoming Down to Two Ombuds Candidates

The University of Wyoming is inviting campus stakeholders to sessions with the two finalists in the current search for the next Ombudsperson. Both candidates will be on campus on October 1, 2024: Don Appiarius, a VP for Student Development Services at Pitt Community College; and Onye Riches, Regional Ombudsman for The Redeemed Church International (Redeemed Christian Church of God). (UWyo News.)

September 30, 2024

Count Down to Seventh Annual Ombuds Day on October 10, 2024

The theme for this year's Annual Ombuds Day is "Ombuds: Here to Hear You." The goals of Ombuds Day are to improve public awareness of ombuds, to connect Ombuds in their communities, and to encourage greater use of Ombuds programs and services. The event created by the American Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section has been embraced by Ombuds and professional associations around the world.