The Ombuds Blog: Rutgers University Appoints Next Ombuds

September 12, 2024

Rutgers University Appoints Next Ombuds

Kaamilyah Abdullah-Span has been named the new Ombudsperson for the State University of New Jersey. She will will restore a program that has been dormant since 2021, when the long-time Ombuds, Sybil James, moved into the Dean of Students role. Abdullah-Span will serve a student body of nearly 70,000 and report to the University Provost. (A separate Ombuds Office serves students and house staff at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.)

Abdullah-Span comes to the job from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she has worked since 2003, most recently as the Director of Campus Culture and Climate. She earned her Bachelor's, Master's, and JD from the University of Illinois. (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

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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