Western Carolina University Opens Ombuds Office

The public university in Cullowhee, part of the University of North Carolina system, has a appointed Jayne Zanglein to serve as its first Ombuds. The pilot program will assist faculty, staff, and administration in resolving disputes and preventing future conflicts at WCU. In 2008, the WCU Faculty Senate approved a resolution in support of an Ombuds office. Subsequently, faculty and staff sought information from other Ombuds, especially the Ombuds Office at UNC Chapel Hill.

Zangelein is an Assistant Professor of Business Law in WCU's Business Administration and Law and Sport Management Department. She graduated from teh Berklee College of Music and earned a JD from SUNY at Buffalo. She teaches mediation and has held leadership positions with the North Carolina Agricultural Mediation Program and Mountain Mediation Services. (WCU Faculty Forum, Faculty Senate Chair Report, Faculty Profile.)