The Ombuds Blog: University of Massachusetts Amherst Hires Associate Ombuds

August 18, 2025

University of Massachusetts Amherst Hires Associate Ombuds

Kenneth Russell has been named the Associate Ombuds for the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts. He joins the University Ombuds, Colette Carmouche, and will assist in providing services to over 38,000 faculty, staff, and students, practicing to IOA standards.

Russell comes to the position from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, where he was a Graduate Research Fellow. Prior to that, he was a Program Development and Research Specialist at Michigan State University and Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at Cornerstone University. He graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University and earned a MDiv at Asbury Theological Seminary and PhD at Michigan State University. (LinkedIn; UMass News.)

2 comments:

Chuck Doran8/19/2025 5:20 AM
Congratulations, Kenneth! Wishing you and Colette all the best. See you at ECOG!
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Kenneth Russell8/21/2025 3:42 AM
Thanks, Chuck! See you at ECOG!
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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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