Joel Conarroe: Inaugural Ombuds at University of Pennsylvania

Joel Osborne Conarroe, Penn’s first Ombudsman from 1971 to 1973, passed on April 28 at the age of 89. Connaroe was a Professor of English, and later Department Chair and Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. In 1971, Penn President Martin Myerson named Conarroe as the university’s first Ombuds. According to Faculty Senate Chair in 1972, Conarroe “plunged into the manifold tasks of his two-year tenure with élan and imagination.” In reports he wrote for the Penn Almanac, “he expounded poetically about the joys of meeting a wide swath of faculty, staff, and students from across the University and helping them resolve issues.” In addition to his academic work, Connaroe spent five years as Executive Director of the Modern Language Association (MLA). (UPenn Almanac.)