The Ombuds Blog: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Selects an Ombuds

August 22, 2025

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Selects an Ombuds

Marcus Stergio has been selected as the next Ombudsperson for MIT, following Nick Diehl. Stergio joins the other MIT Ombuds, Judi Segall, and reports to the President. Together, they serve as a resource for all members of the MIT community, including faculty, staff, postdocs, and students — a total population of nearly 35,000.

Stergio comes to MIT from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, where he established an IOA-compliant external Ombuds program in 2019. In addition, he has been an active volunteer and leader with the Coalition of Federal Ombuds. Stergio graduated from Northeastern, and earned an MA in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts Boston. He also completed training in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Harvard Law School. (MIT News.)

6 comments:

Chuck Doran8/23/2025 5:20 AM
Congratulations, Marcus! Your experience and dedication as an organizational ombuds and ADR professional is wonderful news for the University. MIT made a smart choice! Wishing you much success in your new role.
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Laurel Gordon8/25/2025 9:08 AM
Congratulations Marcus!! Well-deserved - though we will miss you in the federal community!
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Liz Hill8/26/2025 5:47 AM
Congrats, Marcus! I wish you well on this next journey,
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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:

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany/Austria -- Ombudspersonen and Ombudsleute

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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