Omaha Public Schools Names First Ombuds

Earlier this year, Crystal Boyd became the first Ombudsperson for the largest school district in the state of Nebraska. According to a press release from the district, Boyd "will serve as a 'trusted navigator' to support students, families and staff. Crystal Boyd stepped into the new role earlier this year and she is working to promote awareness and understanding about how she can help." Boyd explained, "A big part of my work is helping families that maybe don’t know what to do or where to turn. Sometimes a student is facing difficulties and the family doesn’t know what options or resources are available to them, so I’m here to show them what help is available and to guide them through the process."

Today is the Fourth Annual Ombuds Day

Ombuds of all types around the world are celebrating October 14, 2021, as Ombuds Day. This year’s theme is “Ombuds: exploring options to resolve conflict together” is being marked by individual Ombuds offices and their professional associations, including: the American Bar Association; the International Ombudsman Association; United States Ombudsman Association; Coalition of Federal Ombudsman; and the National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs. Over two dozen states have issued proclamations in support. It's not too late to register for many of the programs. (ABA Ombuds Day; IOA Ombuds Day Events.)

With Unexpected Vacancies, Cal Caucus Extends Registration Deadline

The California Caucus of College and University Ombuds has a few spots left and is extending registration to Tuesday, October 19th. (In recent years, this event has been sold out.) The caucus, "Towards Restoration: What We’ve Lost and What We’ve Found," will be held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on November 10-13, 2021. Cal Caucus attendees must show proof of vaccination and a current Covid test, will be required to wear masks indoors. (Cal Caucus Registration.)

Johns Hopkins University Names First Ombuds for PhD Students and Postdocs

JHU has selected Annalisa Peterson as its first Ombudsperson for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. A charter agreement signed in September ensures the new program will practice to IOA standards and report to the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education.

Liz Tomaszewski: Former Ombuds at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Elizabeth M. Tomaszewski, the former Campus Ombudsman at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, passed away on October 3, 2021 in the embrace of her family at the age of 67. She served in the role (and as Associate Director of Sustainability and Facilities Systems Manager) for nearly 16 years until she retired in July 2020. She graduated from Keene State College and earned an MBA at Bentley College. She was an active volunteer in many community organizations and with the IOA. Among other things, she served on IOA's Strategic Alliances/Partnership Task Force in 2016. (Telegram Obituary; WPI Bio; IOA 2016 Annual Report.)

Agenda Now Available for 2021 Cal Caucus

The California Caucus of College and University Ombuds has posted the agenda for its 2021 conference, "Towards Restoration: What We’ve Lost and What We’ve Found," to be held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on November 10-13, 2021. (Registration opened in July.) 

This is the first in-person event for Ombuds since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Attendees must be vaccinated and show proof of a recent negative Covid test, in addition to other health protocols.

Montgomery County Public Schools Hires Experienced Ombuds

Ryvell D. Fitzpatrick has been selected as the next Ombudsperson for Maryland's largest school district. He will report the the Montgomery County Board of Education and serve a large group of stakeholders, including 28,000 employees, and 160,000 students. Fitzpatrick comes to the position after more than three years as the Deputy Ombudsman for Public Education for the DC State Board of Education.

Job Posting: National Security Agency

The U.S. Department of Defense intelligence agency is hiring a "Senior-Expert Level" Ombudsman. The full-time position is based in NSA's Fort Meade, Maryland, Office of Dispute Resolution and Grievances. The new position will help grow the program: "The professional selected for this position will help us to expand conflict skills building delivery beyond mid- to senior-level employees to the newest members of our workforce, respond to the increased requests for team engagements, and conduct expert-level conflict-resolution interventions." 

Job Posting: Kaiser Permanente Honolulu

KP Hawaii is hiring a full-time HealthCare Ombuds/Mediator for its medical facilities in Honolulu. The Kaiser HCOM, "functions as a trained alternative dispute professional offering patients, family members, staff & providers a conflict management program to resolve patient/provider healthcare disputes early thereby improving patient safety & reducing the costs of health care dispute resolution."

Slides Reveal Full List of Ombuds Programs Evaluated by Harvard Law Students

Over the years, law students from the Dispute Systems Design Clinic at the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program have consulted with various Ombuds programs. Sometimes the Ombuds were open about the consulting and sometimes they preferred to keep it quiet. Now a complete list is found in a presentation by Oladeji Tiamiyu, a Clinical Fellow at the HNMCP, that recaps his paper. "From the Field: An Ombuds Guide, Learnings from the Dispute Systems Design Clinic at Harvard Law School."

IOA Board Yields to Members' Concerns with Updated Bylaws Proposal

In response to members' concerns, the International Ombudsman Association's Board of Directors announced a new process to amend the IOA Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation. At a special meeting in June, an omnibus package of updates to the bylaws failed to come to a vote in the face of procedural objections from the floor. At follow-up townhalls, members also took issue with the Board's omnibus proposal for changes to multiple bylaws. Since then, the IOA has held multiple meetings to understand the concerns and fashion a response. An email from the entire IOA Board late last week outlined a process to provide more discussion of the changes in advance of another special meeting and then  allow separate votes on individual proposals.

Job Posting: Simon Fraser University

The public university in Burnaby, Vancouver is hiring a temporary, full-time Associate Ombudsperson. The position will report to the Student Ombudsperson, Laura Reid, and join an office that provides services to over 30,000 students. The job will end October 31, 2022.

Students Selected as Peer Ombuds at Wesleyan University

Four students have been selected as the first Student Ombuds for private liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut. Seniors Amy Guaman and Kalyani Mohan, junior Logan Tomlinson, and sophomore Sarah Asiedu and will serve for the 2021–22 academic year and are managed by Wesleyan's Dean for Academic Equity, Inclusion, and Success, April Ruiz. According to the student newspaper, the Student Ombuds "underwent an intensive three-day training session" from September 1 through 3 (which was not a time that IOA offered Foundations). 

Ombuds at University of Kansas Releases 2021 Annual Report

According to an article in the Daily Kansan, the KU Ombuds Office handled 174 cases in the 2020-21 academic year. Acting University Ombuds Ada Emmett said that interdepartmental conflict and graduate advisor issues where the leading concerns of visitors. Unclassified staff visitors accounted for 27% of cases, followed by tenure-track faculty at 19%. The KU Ombuds serves undergraduate students, but does not promote its services to that population. Emmett also said that COVID-19 was also a factor in many cases. (Daily Kansan.)

American Academy of Religion Opens Elections for Next Ombuds

The world's largest association of religious studies scholars is holding an election to find its next Ombuds. AAR has three Ombuds who hold staggered, three-year terms. The election will fill the seat of the founding Ombuds, Laurie L. Patton, and join Barbara Patterson and Katherine Downey, whose terms end in December 2022 and December 2023. The two candidates are Joshua Canzona, the Associate Ombuds at UNC Chapel Hill, and Herbert R. Marbury, an Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University. (2021 AAR Elections.)