University of Tennessee Appoints Two Ombuds for Faculty and Staff

UT Knoxville Chancellor Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek announced that Bill Nugent will become the faculty Ombuds and Elaine Wynn will become the staff Ombuds effecive January 1, 2010. Cheeck said, “They are both very experienced mediators and can help diffuse situations that otherwise might go to the formal grievance or complaint processes. Using mediation to resolve issues before they reach a boiling point is cost-effective, time-saving and allows everyone to remain more productive.”

Nugent has been a professor in the UT College of Social Work since 1991. He earned his PhD from the University of Maryland in Baltimore and worked there as an assistant professor. He has also worked as an adjunct professor at Florida State University, as an outpatient psychotherapist in Florida, and as a training director for a network of runaway shelters and family service agencies in Florida.

Wynn has 20 years of experience as a conflict resolution specialist, and most recently worked in Knoxville as an independent mediator and volunteers as a mediator for Knox County Juvenile Court. She has a bachelor’s degree in behavior science from Lesley College and a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School. She has also training and program design for a wide variety of organizations. (UTK News.)

Prior posts: University of Tennessee, Knoxville Names Interim Faculty Ombuds; Job Posting.