Engineering professor Rama Gorla, PhD, has been appointed as Ombudsperson for CSU Ohio. The announcement completes the process of restoring the the Ombuds Office promised earlier this year by CSU President Ronald Berkman. Gorla will be paid a modest stipend to assist faculty, staff and students part time, but has no budget or staff.
Gorla earned his BS from Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, South India, his MS from the Indian Institute of Technology, and his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Toledo. He has been a member of the CSU faculty since 1977 and has authored hundreds of articles and book chapters, primarily on the topic of fluid dynamics. In the first three weeks on the job, Gorla has already handled five cases. (CSU Ohio Cauldron; CSU Ohio Gorla Homepage.)
Gorla will be serving as Ombuds for a campus population of about 19,000. Although it is laudable to see a new program, data from comparable institutions would indicate that CSU has not allocated sufficient resources. A constituency this size could easily support one or two full-time Ombuds with a dedicated support staff person.
It's a foot in the door. Hopefully this leads to an expanded program.
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