The Ombuds Blog: Germanna Community College Names First Ombuds

February 04, 2022

Germanna Community College Names First Ombuds

Keyanna Hawkins has been appointed the first Student Ombudsperson for the community college in Virginia. GCC has 10,000 students and five campuses between Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. Despite Hawkins title, a webpage for her office explains that she "responds to concerns and complaints from faculty, staff, and students." The GCC Ombuds is located within the Equity Advancement Office.

Hawkins comes to GCC after previously working as a Project Coordinator at nearby Thomas Nelson Community College. She graduated from Old Dominion University, and earned a Master's at Liberty University and a PhD at Northcentral University. (GCC Ombuds; LinkedIn.)

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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

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Croatia -- pravobranitelji

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Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

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February 04, 2022

Germanna Community College Names First Ombuds

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