University of California President Endorses Ombuds Offices

UC President Janet Napolitano says every campus in the sprawling 10-campus system should have an Ombuds program. Napolitano's statement came in response to an independent investigation and recommendation by former California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno into allegations of bias and discrimination by faculty at UCLA. Napolitano directed all of the UC campus chancellors to implement a range of measures to monitor and address bias and discrimination.

Napolitano said, in relevant part:

Every campus should have an official who serves as an ombudsperson, responsible on his or her own or through other staff for providing confidential advice about perceived acts of discrimination, bias, and harassment involving faculty, students, and staff from all parts of the campus. The ombudsperson will remain entirely independent from the lead discrimination officer and will be located separately from the lead discrimination officer. He or she may carry out some investigations and seek informal resolutions of complaints, as well as contributing data to the annual report.

At present, nine of ten UC campuses have Ombuds offices.  (UCLA Faculty Assn Blog.)

Related posts: UC Santa Cruz Closes Ombuds Office; University of California Report on Protest Policies Reaffirms Role of Ombuds; University of California Merced Enacts Ombuds Charter; UC Santa Barbara Ombuds to Host Colloquium on Bullying in Higher Ed; UC Davis Appoints First Ombuds .