Robin Dickey has been named the Academic Ombuds at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. In this new role, she serves faculty, medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and medical graduates who are part of the largest medical center in the world. She continues also as a Faculty Assistance Specialist for UTHealth. As the Ombuds, she practices to IOA standards.
The private research university in Upstate New York hiring an Ombuds Director. It appears that this is a new position that will work with all faculty, staff, and students—a population of about 15,000. It is not clear from the posting whether this is a full- or part-time position or how it will interact with the existing Ombuds programs for Arts, Sciences and Engineering, graduate students and faculty, and School of Medicine and Dentistry graduate students, postdocs, and trainees. The position is located in the provost's office.
The private university near Boston, MA is hiring a part-time Ombuds Officer. The position will work with the two University Ombuds, Don Greenstein and Elena Lewis, and serve about 7,500 faculty, staff, and students.
The Department of Commerce agency that produces data about the American people and economy is hiring its first Ombudsman. The position is based in the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer at the Census Bureau Headquarters in Suitland, Maryland. The position serves all Census employees and travel will be required. Telework may be an option.
Tyler Smith, an Associate Ombuds at the National Institutes of Health, has been named the next Ombuds for NEIU, the public state university in North Park, Chicago. Smith succeeds Bradley R. Ginn who established the program in 2012 and who moved to Argonne National Lab earlier this year. Smith will report to the University President and serve faculty, staff, and 8,000 students.
The county in Silicon Valley, California is hiring a Senior Mediator with significant Ombuds duties. In addition to providing ADR services (including Ombuds work), the part-time position also provides professional training and development efforts in the fields of ADR and/or Ombuds.
In 2013, the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman and Osgoode Professional Development began an certificate program taught by distinguished Ombuds, lawyers, and academics from across Canada. The program has been so successful that a second spring session was added last year. FCO/Osgoode are now offering an advanced course with modules in November 2019 and February 2020.
Amy Fish, the Ombuds at Concordia University, is releasing a book in October, I Wanted Fries with That: How to Ask for What You Want and Get What You Need. She wrote it “for people who would really like to stand up for themselves — but they don’t because they don’t know how to.” Fish believes that standing up for oneself is “absolutely a skill anyone can learn.” She has been an Ombuds since 2017.
Marisa Mason-Smith will be the first Ombuds for the national university based in Nassau and the country's first Organizational Ombuds. Mason-Smith will report to UB's board of trustees and serve students, faculty, staff and administrators—a population of almost 7,000.
The independent nonprofit mathematical research institution in Berkeley, California has named Catherine Glaze as its first Ombuds. Practicing to IOA standards, Glaze will provide services to MSRI's 260 members, including visiting faculty and fellows.
UCSB's Office of the Ombuds has hired Don Lubach as an Associate Ombuds, starting September 1, 2019. This is a new position that expands the size of the office. Previously, Lubach was the university’s Associate Dean of Students and Director of First-Year and Graduate Student Initiatives. He helped redevelop the Graduate Student Resource Center, taught graduate students, and helped establish a social justice and public policy program in Mexico.
Ada Emmett has been selected as the next Faculty Ombuds at KU. She joins University Ombuds DA Graham and succeeds Maria Orive, who served in the role for over a decade. Emmett is expected to serve an initial, renewable three-year, renewable term. The Faculty Ombuds position is a 20% appointment and Emmett continues as a Librarian and the director of a campus center that provides online tools for faculty, staff, and students to share scholarly work and educational resources.
The large Minnesota school district has reopened its search for a Director, Staff Ombudsperson. MPS has been seeking to fill the position since June 2018. The current posting gives applicants a window of four business days to submit.
In an announcement last night, the International Ombudsman Association Board announced that Charles Howard will become the inaugural Executive Director starting next month. He is expected to be, "the public champion and representative for the IOA, its members, and the organizational ombudsman profession." This is a momentous development. An attorney by profession, Howard has been the leading advocate for Organizational Ombuds for decades and authored the definitive legal treatise.
The American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section Ombuds Committee has a number of exciting updates for the next Ombuds Day. Set for Thursday, October 10, 2019, the second annual celebration of the Ombuds profession will be marked by several events. Already planned are events in Washington, D.C. and Chicago at the ABA headquarters, in Boulder, CO at the University of Colorado School of Law.
Rachel Nicholson has joined the the UC Berkeley Staff Ombuds Office as an Assistant Ombudsperson. She follows Evan Lutz and joins Director, Sara Thacker, and Associate Ombuds, Julia Horvath. Previously, Nicholson was a Case Assistant at the University of Oregon Ombuds Program.
Marcus Stergio will be the new Ombudsman for OFCCP, the U.S. Department of Labor office that ensures Federal contractors comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondiscrimination. “The Ombudsman fits squarely within the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ broader initiative to improve transparency in our compliance evaluation and compliance assistance activities,” said OFCCP Director Craig E. Leen. “The Ombudsman will provide an independent perspective and facilitate communication between external stakeholders and OFCCP regional and district offices.”
Fulfilling its promise to have Ombuds for each of its three campuses, the Ombudsperson's Office at U of T now has five staff members. University Ombudsperson, Ellen Hodnett, has been joined by: Kristi Gourlay, Ombuds Officer at the St. George (Downtown) campus; Cindy Ferencz Hammond, Ombuds Officer at the Mississauga campus; Emma Thacker, Ombuds Officer at Scarborough campus; and Stephanie Goldner, Secretary to the Ombudsperson. In May, Hodnett was reappointed to a two-year term that ends June 31, 2021. (UofT Ombuds; UofT Governing Council.)
In an email to members, the International Ombudsman Association Board announced that two Directors have stepped off due to personal and professional commitments. Ruthy Kohorn Rosenberg and Elaine Shaw have served on the Board since April 2018 and departed in July 2019. Both served as IOA Secretary.
The multinational energy company is hiring an Ombuds Manager. The full-time position is based in Perth, Western Australia and reports to Chevron's Principal Ombuds Manager, Sana Manjeshwar. The office practices to IOA standards
More details are now available and registration has started for the fourth annual International Ombudsman Association's APRAC meeting, hosted Asian Development Bank at its Manila headquarters. Set for October 16-18, 2019, the meeting includes two full days of meetings about the opportunities and challenges of Ombuds practices in the Asian-Pacific region.
Meg Willoughby has been selected as the first Faculty Ombudsperson for the private Catholic university in southeast Pennsylvania. This is a part-time position and Willoughby is concurrently employed as Senior Attorney and Subject Matter Expert (investigator) in the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, where she has practiced since 2005.
The International Ombudsman Association Board of Directors is seeking approval from its members for a set of bylaws amendments. The changes will move the association from a calendar-year membership schedule to rolling memberships. IOA voting members can vote online via proxy now or during a special online meeting August 27, 2019. The full text of the bylaw changes and related policy changes are available online along with instructions for voting. (IOA Proposed Bylaw Changes.)
The fast-growing campus of the University of Texas System has named Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Diego Garcia Theodore as its first Student Ombuds. Practicing to IOA standards, Theodore serves a student population of about 30,000. He moves into the position after a short stint as senior director of the International Center at UT Dallas.
Earlier this year, the private women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts selected Kathryn Bender as its new Ombuds. The website for her office was updated this week. Bender succeeds former Wellesley professor Liz Lieberman, who retired after serving as the Ombuds from 2011 to 2018. The appointment of Bender also marked the expansion of the role to include facilitation, mediation and training services.
