OU has appointed Judy Piercy to serve as Interim Ombudsperson, filling a vacancy left by Dianne Bouvier, who moved to the University's Office for Institutional Equity. Piercy will begin her Ombuds duties on August 12 and will continue to support special projects in the Division of Student Affairs about one-third of her time.
George Fry, the Ombudsperson for the applied arts and technology college in Toronto, reports that significant fluctuation in the demand for Ombuds service over the past three years. Cases rose from 45 in 2009-10 to 114 in 2011 (when there was a transition to calendar year reporting), and then fell to 66 in 2012. Fry attributes the variation in part to changes in the Ombuds Office, including his appointment in 2011.
KP
is hiring a full-time Health Care Ombuds/Mediator in San Francisco, California. 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."
The non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes has named Jeff Palamar to serve as the team Ombudsperson for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games. Palamar has volunteered in the position for three prior Paralympic Games.
UBC has announced that Maria Mazzotta is the new Ombuds Officer for its Okanagan campus. She will be setting up the new office in the University Centre over the summer. Like the UBC Ombuds Office in Vancouver, Mazzotta will serve students.
AMF, the independent Ombuds for Frances financial markets, said that cases rose 15% in 2012 -- coinciding with a new strategic focus. Marielle Cohen-Branche, the AMF Ombudsman, said that her office received 747 last year. More than have of the cases, 382, were resolved by mediation. AMF practices to IOA standards.
The USOC Athlete Ombudsman Office in Colorado Springs is seeking an Assistant Ombudsman. The position will assist in providing independent and confidential advice to elite athletes regarding their rights under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, and all applicable rules and regulations from the IOC, USOC, IFs and NGBs; and mediating conflicts between athletes and their respective NGB.
The next episode of IOA’s teleconference-based “talk show,” will feature Reto Meister, Ombudsman of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The show will take place on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 12:00pm Eastern and will be recorded for future access. (IOA News.)
FCO, the non-profit professional association of government, private industry and higher education Ombudsmen in Canada has issued a request for proposals for provision of professional administrative services. The FCO Secretariat assists the Board of Directors and volunteers under a contract for approximately 45 hours per month.
The federally chartered, private university in Washington, D.C has opened a search for its first Ombudsperson. The position reports directly to both the President of the University and the Chair of the Faculty Senate and will work with administrators, faculty, students and staff. The search follows a decision by the Howard University Board of Trustees in January 2011 approving a Faculty Senate recommendation to establish an Ombuds Office.
The land-grant, public research university located in north-central Oklahoma has reopened its search for an Ombudsperson. The full-time position reports directly to the university president and serves a population of about 26,000 faculty, staff, administrators, and students. (A search during the winter had sought only a part-time Ombuds.)
Kenya's Office of The Ombudsman (Commission on Administrative Justice) will convene a meeting of African Ombuds and oversight institutions on September 18, 2013. The Colloquium is intended to offer an opportunity to share lessons and insights as well as examin new prospects for administrative justice and human rights in Africa and especially, the future of Ombuds institutions in the continent.
The International Ombudsman Association has published its Standards of Practice in Chinese, Russian, and Italian. Previously, the association had translated its English standards into Spanish and French. (IOA News.)
The U.S. federal agency that regulates consumer protection with regard to financial products and services is hiring an Associate Ombudsman. The position liaises between CFPB and consumers, banks, or nonbanks to address individual and systemic issues resulting from the CFPB’s regulatory activities, while practicing to basic Ombuds principles of independence, impartiality, and confidentiality.
The International Ombudsman Association will offer a six-part, live webinar program on conflict management starting in August and running through March 2014.
