The Ombuds Blog: Alumni Candidate for Penn State Board Suggests Ombuds

January 19, 2012

Alumni Candidate for Penn State Board Suggests Ombuds

Prompted by the recent controversy involving its football program and allegations of child abuse, thirty alumni have applied to run for three open positions on the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees. One of these alumni, Richard Marshall, wants the university to create an Ombuds for employees and others. Marshall is head of transformation services for AllianceBerstein, which hired its first Ombuds in 2004. Penn State currently has an Ombuds network for faculty issues headed by University Ombudsperson Deborah F. Atwater. (Philadelphia Inquirer.)

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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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January 19, 2012

Alumni Candidate for Penn State Board Suggests Ombuds

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