Free Speech Purge Snares UWF Collateral Duty Ombuds
In May of this year, a hidden camera caught Aurora Osborn, the Director for the Office of Campus Culture and Access and Student Ombudsperson, explaining how the university could bypass Florida's ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming. The footage showed Osborn having a casual conversation with someone off camera and it was unclear whether she was speaking as the administrator for Culture and Access or as the Ombuds. It is also not clear whether she is advocating for the strategy or just speculating that it could be occurring. A reporter following the case, now says that Osborn has been terminated. (Accuracy in Media; Rick's Blog.)
UWF has already appointed two new, collateral duty Ombuds. Lauren Loeffler, the Assistant Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Divisional Operations is the Student Ombuds and Lindsey Walk, the Senior Director for Career Development and Community Engagement, is the Deputy Student Ombuds. Both are long-time employees of the university. (UWF Student Ombuds.)
Updated 9/24/25: Information about the current UWF Ombuds has been added.
https://uwf.edu/academic-engagement-and-student-affairs/departments/student-ombuds/
ReplyDeletePickering and Connick notwithstanding, public employees would be wise to assume that they do not have free speech rights. While, technically, those cases still control, does anyone really believe that the current supreme court will put employee free-speech rights, as we have come to know them under the Pickering-Connick test, above the desires of public employers who seek to restrict public employees' speech?
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