The Ombuds Blog: Houston Community College Reopens Ombuds Office

February 03, 2025

Houston Community College Reopens Ombuds Office

Michael Edwards has been appointed as the new Ombudsman for the Texas community college system. He will restart a program that has been dormant for several years following the departure of Christena Alcorn. Edwards will provide services to nearly 5,000 faculty and staff across eight campuses, practicing to IOA standards.

Edwards has worked for the Houston Community College System for almost three decades, most recently as President of HCC's Northeast College since May 2022. Other positions have included Associate Vice Chancellor for Systems Operations, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Government Relations, Executive Director for Institutional Effectiveness, Interim President of Coleman College for Health Sciences, Executive Dean for Instruction and Student Services, Dean of Workforce Development, and President of the HCC Faculty Senate. Edwards graduated from Rice University and earned a JD at the University of Texas. (HCC Ombuds; Northeast News.)

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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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