The Ombuds Blog: Williams College Hires First Ombuds

February 21, 2022

Williams College Hires First Ombuds

Waged Jafer has been appointed to establish the Ombuds program at private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She arrived on campus last month and introduced herself to faculty last week. In the new part-time role, Jafer reports to the college's president and serves faculty and staff following IOA standards.

Jafer comes to the position from the International Committee of the Red Cross, where she served as the first Regional Ombuds for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Prior to that, she worked in dispute resolution and higher education in Canada for a decade, including time as the Ombudsperson for Quest University in British Columbia. She earned a BA and MA in Conflict Studies at the University of Ottawa, and a PhD at the University of British Columbia. (Williams Record.)

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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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February 21, 2022

Williams College Hires First Ombuds

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