The Ombuds Blog: University of Arizona Shuts Down Ombuds Program

March 11, 2021

University of Arizona Shuts Down Ombuds Program

The impact of Covid-19 has lead the University of Arizona to defund several diversity-related programs including the Office of the Ombuds. According to the office's Twitter feed, today is the last day of operations. The program was established in 2003 and relied on faculty and staff volunteers to provide services to the large campus in and around Tucson. Caitlan Hendrickson has been the Director of the UA Office of the Ombuds since 2015. (Daily Wildcat; Twitter @UAOmbuds.)

Updated 3/12/21: Hendrickson correct start date was 2015.

4 comments:

Duncan McDonald3/11/2021 6:48 PM
I predicted this before Covid. More money invested in Mental Health. Ombuds nice to have, not necessity.
I was an Ombuds and loved the role. Times are changing.
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Liz Hill3/12/2021 5:58 AM
Sorry to hear. Quick correction - Caitlan had been the director since 2015, not 2005.
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Caitlan Hendrickson3/12/2021 1:34 PM
Correction and additions: The program was established in the 1980's and transitioned away from the volunteer committee model in 2017. My employment has now been extended part-time to close out current cases.
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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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