The Ombuds Blog: Southern Methodist University Plans Ombuds Office

September 09, 2020

Southern Methodist University Plans Ombuds Office

The new Chief Diversity Officer for the private university in Texas says that she will oversee a new Ombudsperson. Maria Dixon Hall was promoted to become SMU's Chief Diversity Officer in August and quickly announced a range of new diversity initiatives, policies and programs. These will include a new Ombuds for the campus's 15,000 faculty, staff, and students.

Snip from SMU's media office:

Dixon Hall will supervise an employee to be hired for the newly created position of University Ombudsperson, who will provide confidential, neutral counsel for faculty, students and staff who encounter conflicts relating to such things as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religion. (Complaints of discrimination on a protected basis that may violate the University’s nondiscrimination policies remain the responsibility of the Office of Institutional Access and Equity.)

Additional details are not yet available. (SMU News.)

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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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September 09, 2020

Southern Methodist University Plans Ombuds Office

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