JIOA: Article Traces the U.S. History of Student Ombuds

A new article in the peer-reviewed Journal of the International Ombudsman Association surveys the development of Student Ombuds in the United States. The author, Ryan Smith, serves as the Assistant University Ombudsperson at Michigan State University. The full article, "A Brief History of the Student Ombudsman: The Early Evolution of the Role in US Higher Education," is now available online.

Here's the abstract:

College and university ombuds were created throughout the United States in the late 1960’s in response to campus tensions created by the Vietnam War and a growing university bureaucracy. The role of these offices was to guard against violations of student rights and to provide pathways for redress of student grievances and based upon the Danish model of ombudsing. The ombuds role evolved with changes on college campuses and in society broadly. Within a short time, these offices expanded their scope to serve faculty, staff, and other constituencies, eventually becoming a part of the organizational ombuds model. This paper examines early ombuds practice, specifically the shift away from a model that served only students to one that served the entire campus community.

(JIOA.)

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