The Ombuds Blog: Ombuds for Graduate Students at Virginia Tech

February 04, 2008

Ombuds for Graduate Students at Virginia Tech

On April 25, 2007, just days after tragedy struck the campus, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University announced the creation of the Graduate Student Ombudsperson's office and the appointment of Ennis McCrery. McCrery earned her MFA candidate in poetry from Virginia Tech and has served as the Graduate Representative to the Board of Visitors, the governing authority for the University. This week, the website for her office went on line. (VT Grad School Announcement; VT English Dept Newsletter; VT Grad Student Ombuds Website.)

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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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February 04, 2008

Ombuds for Graduate Students at Virginia Tech

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