Ombuds Offer Guidance for Faculty on Procedural Fairness

Three Ombuds are the authors of an article in Inside Higher Education: "Are Faculty Members Fair?" The trio, Heather McGhee Peggs, Julie Boncompain, and Brent Epperson have all worked as University Ombuds. Drawing on the "fairness triangle," they recommend five things that faculty members can do to enhance procedural fairness in their interactions with graduate students: 

Letter to a Workplace Harasser

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management adjunct professor and former Ombuds, Mary Rowe, has some advice for employees who want to confront a workplace harasser. Rowe is the author of “‘Drafting a Letter’ for People Dealing with Harassment or Bullying: How Did this Option Evolve? How May it Help?”

Research Confirms that Preparation Improves Conflict Outcomes

A recent pair of studies found that people who prepared by thinking about others' perspectives and an outsider's viewpoint before an anticipated interpersonal conflict felt better about the other person afterward. The study, “Wise Reasoning About the Future Is Associated With Adaptive Interpersonal Feelings After Relational Challenges,” was authored by Johanna Peetz and Igor Grossmann, and published in the journal, Social Psychological and Personality Science. 

Nature Article about Academic Bullying Endorses University Ombuds

A recent commentary by Morteza Mahmoudi in Nature Human Behavior offers, "A survivor’s guide to academic bullying." He learned some key lessons that targets can employ to protect themselves and fight back. These include using their institution's Ombuds Office.

Colorado Ombuzz Blog Offers Virtual Work Pointers

Two recent posts in Ombuzz, the University of Colorado Ombuds blog, provide some timely suggestions for people working at home. The posts are by Liz Hill, the Associate Director of the Ombuds Office at the University of Colorado Boulder. 

UC Santa Barbara Ombuds Offers Guidance for Virtual Meetings

Don Lubach, the Associate Ombuds at UCSB, has posted a helpful video, "Good Meetings From Your Desktop." The video is aimed at UCSB employees working from home. It's a good example of Ombuds responding to significant organizational changes and also an Ombuds modeling a resilient mindset. (YouTube.)

Concordia Ombuds Pens Book on Effective Complaining

Amy Fish, the Ombuds at Concordia University, is releasing a book in October, I Wanted Fries with That: How to Ask for What You Want and Get What You Need. She wrote it “for people who would really like to stand up for themselves — but they don’t because they don’t know how to.” Fish believes that standing up for oneself is “absolutely a skill anyone can learn.” She has been an Ombuds since 2017.

IOA Releases Memo Providing Legal Grounds for Ombuds Confidentiality in Title IX Matters

In April of this year, the International Ombudsman Association solicited a legal memorandum from a highly respected law firm—WilmerHale—on the issue of Ombuds confidentiality in the cases implicating Title IX and the Clery Act. The memo, which IOA has just made public, makes clear that a campus Ombuds following IOA Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics may be designated as a confidential resource and not a “responsible employee,” and would normally not be considered a “campus security authority” under the Clery Act.

CERN Ombuds on Rebuilding Trust

In her latest newsletter article for staff at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, Sudeshna Datta-Cockerill examines the breakdown and restoration of trust.  She observes that trust is built on reliability, integrity, expertise and good will. Of these bases, good will is the most critical for restoring trust. The Ombuds is an important resource for disputants to restore trust.

CERN Ombuds Considers Effects of Connectivity

In her latest newsletter article for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, Sudeshna Datta-Cockerill urges employees and especially managers to think about the new social norm of 24/7 worldwide connectivity. She observes that, "Unspoken or implicit expectations such as these can make us feel as if being “offline” is a waste of time and unproductive." 

Survey Shows Extent of Workplace Bullying, Support for Legal Solution

A new survey by The Workplace Bullying Institute found that on the job bullying affects 48% of employees in the U.S. Bullies are predominantly bosses and male, while women are the targets 60% of the time.

New CERN Ombuds Continues Newsletter Articles

Sudeshna Datta-Cockerill, who was appointed to be the Ombuds for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is has published her first article for the CERN employee newsletter.  In the first piece, Datta-Cockerill addresses the change that comes with the end of research projects.

CERN Ombuds on Ethics and Compassion

In a recent newsletter article, Vincent Vuillemi, the Ombuds at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, explores the role of ethics and compassion and their relationship to management and leadership.

Coalition of Federal Ombudsmen Posts 2013 Meeting Minutes

CoFO has posted meeting minutes for January through July 2013.  These minutes update the work of many Federal Ombuds programs.  here are some of the highlights.

University of Michigan Ombuds Launches Blog

Tom Lehker, the UM Ombudsman for Students, has started a blog: Conflict as a Catalyst for Change. After an initial post to introduce himself, Lehker's latest post is about, "The Process (and not just the content) of Dispute Resolution." He offers three pieces of advice for people working through a conflict: 1. Listening is paramount; 2. Validating the experiences of others; and 3. Expressing empathy. (UM Ombuds Blog.)

CERN Ombuds: Leadership Depends on Empowered Employees

In a recent newsletter article, Vincent Vuillemi, the Ombuds at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, discusses self-empowerment and leadership. Vuillemi observes most of his cases arise from an evaluative relationship, but believes that the problems are not solely due to a lack of leadership of a direct or indirect supervisor.

Kenyon College Ombuds Posts Info About Workplace Bullying

Carrie Knell, the Ombudsperson at Kenyon, has updated her website with a new page about workplace bullying. The page covers: What is Workplace Bullying?; Who does a bully target?; Why do bullies bully?; Bullying tactics; What are the Effects?; What to do if you're being bullied; and links to Additional Resources.

Flip Adversary by Asking for Advice

The latest post on the Harvard Program on Negotiation Blog reflects wisdom many Ombuds share with their visitors.  "Turn Your Adversary Into Your Advocate: The Benefits of Seeking Advice" suggests four benefits generated by requests for advice during negotiation: collaborative problem solving; increased likability; shifted perspectives; shared responsibility.

Lessons From a Case of Sexual Harassment

An anonymous MIT alumnus blogs about her first incident of workplace sexual harassment and offers nine salient pieces of advice. For example: 3. Know your allies, and use them; 6. Whatever you do, don’t lie to Human Resources; and 7. Protect your reputation. Most especially, her advice regarding the use of an Ombuds office is right on.

CERN Ombuds Considers the Dangers of Email

In his latest newsletter column, Vincent Vuillemi, the Ombuds at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, looks at the fallout from an employee's careless email and the role of Ombuds in remediating the situation.