Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Names New Ombuds

Dallas Brown has been appointed the next Organizational Ombudsman for the Department of Homeland Security agency that coordinates federal cybersecurity efforts. Brown joined DHS in 2008, serving initially as Chief Operating Officer and acting Under Secretary for CISA’s predecessor, the National Protection and Programs Directorate. Prior to that, he had a career in the Army that culminated at the rank of Colonel when he retired in 2005. His posts included serving Director for Multilateral Affairs on the National Security Council Staff at the White House. He follows Reggie McKinney, who held the position for about five year.

Job Posting: Grand Valley State University

The public, liberal arts university in Allendale, Michigan will hire its first Employee Ombuds. The position will serve faculty, staff, and administrators and coordinate with GVSU's Students Ombuds, Takeelia Garrett. Unlike the Student Ombuds, which reports to the Dean of Students, the new Employee Ombuds will report to the University President.

American Society for Aesthetics Reappoints First Ombuds

Jeanette Bicknell, who established the Ombuds program for the philosophical organization in 2018, has been reappointed to a second three-year term. As the ASA Ombuds, Bicknell is the primary resource and point of contact for members with concerns about discrimination, including sexual harassment. (ASA News.)

Georgetown Plans to Expand Ombuds Service to All Students

The Georgetown University Provost has announced that the campus Ombuds program will soon serve the entire student body. Previously, the Georgetown Ombuds have been a resource only for faculty and some graduate students. (Separately, Georgetown School of Medicine has an Ombuds for its students.) The new Ombuds will be a permanent staff in the Provost's office, reporting to the Vice Provost for Education and practicing to IOA standards. It does not appear that there is any plan for the Ombuds to serve staff. 

York University Ombuds Announces Retirement; Interim Appointed

John D. McCamus, who has served as Ombudsperson at York since March 2009, has retired. McCamus began his career as a Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1971 and eventually served as Dean. He retired from the faculty in 2013, but continued in the Ombuds role. Maureen Armstrong has been appointed Interim University Ombudsperson. She was York's University Secretary and General Counsel from 2014 until her retirement in 2019. (YorkU News.)

Job Posting: Ubisoft, Canada

The French video game company is hiring its first Ombuds for its Canadian studios in Montreal. "The Ombuds’s role is impartial and independent of the organization, and they report directly to the President of the Nominations, Compensation and Governance Committee of the Ubisoft Group’s Board of Directors. As this is an external position, they will work in collaboration and complementarity with the company’s various internal processes and departments, such as human resources, to ensure cohesion and transparency for studio employees and senior management."

Clark University Names First Ombuds

The private university in Worcester, Massachusetts has appointed Israela Brill-Cass as its first Ombudsperson for 500 plus faculty and staff. Clark has been considering an Ombuds since at least 2010, when students petitioned for an Ombuds after a staff strike. Brill-Cass starts on November 12, 2020 and will report to Clark's new President, who started this summer. Meanwhile, she continues as the Ombuds for Wesleyan University, a position she established in 2017.

Job Posting: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The federal agency that issues patents and registers trademarks is hiring a Senior Ombudsman in Alexandria, Virginia. Reporting to Paul Sotoudeh, the USPTO Chief Ombudsman, the position serves, "USPTO employees and managers, including bargaining unit and non-bargaining unit employees, supervisors of all experience levels, and senior executives, and working to help prevent, address, and facilitate resolution of workplace conflict." Some travel is required.

Job Posting: United Nations, New York

The Office of the Ombudsman for UN Funds and Programmes (which comprises UNDP / UNFPA / UNICEF/ UNOPS / UN Women) is seeking a Conflict Coaching Consultancy. The consultant will provide conflict coaching services to funds and programmes’ staff members and non-staff personnel at the direction of the Deputy Ombudsman, Giuseppe De Palo. Some travel to field offices is required. 

Office for the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to Consider Group Complaints from Students

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, the Ombudsman for university students in England and Wales, is proposing a rule change to allow complaints from large groups.  The change could open the door for OIA investigations where a particular problem has impacted a many students, including students who have not completed their university's internal grievance procedures.

Ombuds at Northern Illinois University Reports Surge in Mediation Work

In a report to NIU’s University Council, Ombudsperson Sarah Klaper said she conducted a record number of mediations and facilitationsin the 2019-20 academic year. “I was involved in 74. A lot of it was involving respect, ethical concerns, discrimination issues, fears,” she told the student newspaper, Northern Star. 

Policy Magazine: The Future of Ombuds in Canada

The bi-monthly magazine about Canadian politics and public policy features an analysis by Howard Sapers, the former Correctional Investigator of Canada, and Daniel Johns, Manager of Institutional Knowledge and Research with the Alberta Ombudsman,: "The Future of Ombudship in Canada." The authors write, "At a moment in history when trust in public institutions has been depleted by corruption and democracy is under siege in many parts of the world, the role of the public ombuds as mediator between citizens and their governments has never been more crucial."

Independent Coalition Campaigns to Restore Dartmouth Ombuds

An independent group of students and employees has launched a petition to reinstate the Ombuds Office at Dartmouth College. The leadership of the group is identified and it is not clear whether the current effort is related to an advocacy group, “Dartmouth Community Against Gender Harassment and Sexual Violence,” that made sought restoration of the Ombuds as part of a broader set of demands in January 2019. The current petition is supported by a white paper that details the history of the Dartmouth Ombuds, an explanation of why the current resources are insufficient, a value proposition, and policies and structure for an Ombuds office.

WSIB Fair Practices Commission in Ontario Selects Next Commissioner

Tom Barber has been named the Commissioner of the Fair Practices Commission of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ontario, Canada. Barber has worked for WSIB since 2017, and previously served as the Acting Commissioner for about nine months in 2018. He will serve a five-year term leading an office that serves as the Organizational Ombudsman for injured workers, employers, and service providers with complaints. Barber succeeds Anna Martins has served as the Commissioner since 2016. 

Ron Slater: Former Ombuds at University of Pittsburgh

Ronald J. Slater Jr., passed away on October 27, 2020, after a long battle with pancreatitis. He for most of his three-decade career, he served as the Student Ombudsman. As of earlier this year, Slater was the student appeals coordinator. 

A few years ago, a former student, Donald E. Collins, wrote about the help he received from Slater: